Highlights from Purdue
December 2019
Back a Boiler program tops 1,000th contract for student funding
When Purdue junior Kai Mangiaracina hit the "submit" button for his application to the University's Back a Boiler – ISA Fund for the current academic year, he had no idea that his was to become the program's 1,000th contract. He also wasn't aware that what was a milestone for the income share agreement program, which provides students an alternative to Federal Parent PLUS and private student loans, was to become a windfall for him. Since its inception, Back a Boiler has issued just over 1,200 funding contracts to 760 unique students representing more than 150 majors at Purdue. The program has disbursed $13.9 million in funding. More ...
Purdue room and board rates to remain flat on West Lafayette campus for 2020-21
Purdue students on the West Lafayette campus will see no increase in room and board rates for the 2020-21 academic year. This will be the eighth consecutive year students on the West Lafayette campus will not see an increase in rates. Board rates were reduced twice — for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years — and have not subsequently increased. Therefore, the total cost of room and board will be lower for 2020-21 than it was in 2012-13. More ...
Purdue trustees name Chris Ruhl CFO and treasurer, announce resolution honoring Bill Sullivan
The Purdue University Board of Trustees has named Chris Ruhl chief financial officer and treasurer, effective Jan. 1. Ruhl also was elected Dec. 6 to serve as treasurer of the Board of Trustees. As treasurer and CFO, Ruhl will be charged with managing the university's budget of more than $2 billion and overseeing all financial affairs, business services, human resource services and internal audit functions. More ...
Purdue announces plans to build new data science building
Purdue will build a new $40 million facility dedicated to data science, designed to help the university meet its goal to be a national and global leader in the field of data science research and education for all students. The flagship four-story building will be 86,000 square feet, featuring classroom and teaching space for all of campus alongside collaborative workspace for College of Science graduate researchers and faculty who form the core of the university's strong and growing data science program. More ...
Time magazine recognizes LightSail 2 among year's top inventions
A solar sail project led by Purdue professor David Spencer was named as one of Time magazine's Best Inventions 2019. The LightSail 2 project launched into space during the summer, demonstrating the use of reflective sails to harness the momentum of sunlight for propulsion. Spencer, an associate professor in Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has been involved with the LightSail program since 2010 and serves as the project manager for LightSail 2. More ...
Purdue engineering dean to spend year in U.S. Department of State on global technology
Purdue announced Dec. 9 that President Mitch Daniels has approved a one-year leave of absence for its engineering dean to provide vital expertise to the U.S. Department of State on the economic security of the nation's global technology initiatives, such as artificial intelligence, 5G wireless networks, energy infrastructure, cybersecurity for autonomous systems, and trusted microelectronic chips. More ...
$9 million from DOE, partners to take plant sensing from lab to market
Sending breeders into fields to manually measure the characteristics of plants is slow, laborious and expensive. Remote sensing technologies, coupled with advanced analytics, offer the promise of faster, more accurate data collection to improve the speed at which plant breeders can bring better cultivars to the market. Purdue scientists developed that technology under the Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA) program. More ...
College of Engineering accelerates research and innovation with ATT 5G at Indiana 5G Zone
Purdue's College of Engineering is working with AT&T to create a test bed for 5G-based research and development at its Purdue Research Lab. Located in the newly launched Indiana 5G Zone, the lab will use AT&T's 5G+ millimeter wave and commercially available Multi-access Edge Computing technologies to help solve societal challenges like disaster recovery in rural, agricultural areas and explore new use cases for where business and community intersect – like smart cities. More ...
New Purdue Aviation program, flight simulator address future pilot shortage concerns
The holiday travel season brings concerns of what a pilot shortage could mean for overflowing flight schedules. That shortage could soon be alleviated. Purdue Polytechnic Institute has introduced a Degree in 3 program, which is intended to get more flight students trained and in the air a year sooner. The move is expected to save participating students $20,000 to $30,000 in tuition and living expenses. Also aiding the aviation program is new simulator technology. More ...
Anthrax may be the next tool in the fight against bladder cancer
The current treatments for bladder cancer are invasive for patients – who often must sit for hours at a time with a bladder full of an agent designed to kill cancer cells and tumors. Bladder cancer also is one of the most recurring for people diagnosed with the disease. Now, researchers at Purdue have come up with a way to combine the anthrax toxin with a growth factor to kill bladder cancer cells and tumors. More ...
Machine learning advances new tool to fight cybercrime in the cloud
Increased adoption of cloud applications, such as Dropbox and Google Drive, by private users has increased concern about use of cloud information for cybercrimes such as child exploitation, illegal drug trafficking and illegal firearm transactions. Researchers at Purdue have developed a cloud forensic model using machine learning to collect digital evidence related to illegal activities on cloud storage applications. More ...
Availability of drugs as implants could expand, thanks to MRI maps
What if a drug you need every single day of your life could be implanted into your body so that you don't have to remember to take a pill? Unfortunately, chances are the drug you take isn't available in implantable form -- partly because it's challenging to design an implant that would work for every type of drug. Purdue researchers have developed a new method that uses an MRI to see noninvasively how an implant design affects the amount of a drug released into the body. More ...
New material points toward highly efficient solar cells
A new type of material for next-generation solar cells eliminates the need to use lead, which has been a major roadblock for this technology. A team of scientists and engineers led by Letian Dou, assistant professor of chemical engineering, have developed a sandwich-like material incorporating organic and inorganic materials to form a hybrid structure that doesn't use lead and has improved stability. More ...
Getting cancer drugs to the brain is difficult – but a new 'road map' might make it easier
The human brain has some remarkable capabilities – including the ability to block cancer drugs from effectively reaching cancer cells in the brain. The greatest obstacle when it comes to treating cancer that has spread to the brain is the blood-brain barrier, the brain's natural defense mechanism that is a collection of blood vessels that can filter out what goes in and out of the brain. Purdue scientists have provided the first comprehensive characterization of both the blood-brain and blood-tumor barriers in brain metastases of lung cancer, which will serve as a road map for treatment development. More ...
Risky business: Frogs' mating calls also attract predators
Frogs have been struggling a bit in recent years. Their populations around the world have been declining for decades, and the reasons for their loss come from many fronts. In the túngara frog — a tiny native of Middle, Central and South America — disease, predation and communication are intricately intertwined. Parasites are transmitted by midges, which find their way to frogs by "intercepting" their mating calls. More ...
New antenna tech to equip ceramic coatings with heat radiation control
The gas turbines powering aircraft engines rely on ceramic coatings that ensure structural stability at high temperatures. But these coatings don't control heat radiation, limiting the performance of the engine. Researchers at Purdue University have engineered ceramic "nanotubes" that behave as thermal antennas, offering control over the spectrum and direction of high-temperature heat radiation. More ...
Huber, Janick named National Academy of Inventors fellows
Jessica Huber, a professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Jules Janick, a distinguished professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, have been elected fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.
Purdue Bands director Gephart receives Sagamore of the Wabash
Jay Gephart, director of Purdue University Bands & Orchestras, has received the Sagamore of the Wabash, one of the state of Indiana's highest honors. Gephart received the honor during the Fall 2019 Purdue Bands & Orchestras awards banquet on Nov. 24. President Mitch Daniels presented the award on behalf of Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, recognizing Gephart's impact throughout the state. More ...
Purdue student named Mitchell Scholar
Mason Gordon, an agricultural economics major studying in the College of Agriculture, has been selected a recipient of the highly competitive Mitchell Scholarship. In his every endeavor, Gordon, a native of Rushville, Indiana, has proven his life is dedicated to serving rural communities. With this scholarship he will apply that drive to rural community research during graduate school in Ireland following his anticipated Purdue graduation in May 2020. More ...
Six Purdue students receive Fulbright grants
Six Purdue University students have won Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants. Samaah Al-Najjar, Samuel Al-Nimri, Jackson Bennett, Brendan Butler, Thomas Carpenter, and Taylor Lee were selected for 2019-20 Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants, which fully fund a postbaccalaureate year for graduate students and alumni to forge international bonds through research, graduate study or teaching English abroad. More ...
Wall Street Journal lists Purdue No. 3 nationally, No. 6 globally in startup creation from university technologies
The Wall Street Journal lists Purdue University sixth-best globally and third-best in the U.S. in a recent article highlighting startups generated from university-licensed technologies over the past 12 months. According to the article, ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge top the list with 33 startups originating from university-licensed intellectual property. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Oxford follow with 28 startups each, Stanford University has 17, Purdue created 16 followed by Harvard University with 15 within the past 12 months. More ...
Purdue Systemwide
PNW receives NSF grant for Research Experience for Teachers site
Purdue University Northwest has captured a $592,681 grant by the National Science Foundation to establish the first Research Experience for Teachers (RET) site in Northwest Indiana. The RET site will focus on simulation and visualization technologies for innovative industrial solutions. It will address critical issues of workforce development and the skills gap in industry, which have direct impact on the nation's prosperity. More ...
Purdue University Fort Wayne and Fort Wayne Sister Cities formalize partnership
Representatives of Purdue University Fort Wayne, including Chancellor Ronald L. Elsenbaumer, hosted members of the Fort Wayne Sister Cities International committee on Dec. 2 to formalize an existing partnership intended to further strengthen and grow both institutions in support of a vibrant Fort Wayne. The official alliance stands to increase educational opportunities and economic growth among the partner cities. It also helps solidify Purdue Fort Wayne's growing presence as an international player in higher learning. More ...
Purdue in the News
Wall Street Journal: Purdue is number one
Scientific American: Health concerns mount as more old sewer pipes are lined with plastic
University Business: Connecting higher education to workforce readiness
Chronicle of Higher Education: A modern great books solution to the humanities' enrollment woes
Big Ten Network: A Purdue professor looks to turn plastic pollution into useful products: BTN LiveBIG
WXIN/WTTV: Full Steam Ahead Podcast Episode 29: How Purdue is addressing the opioid epidemic
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