Research preeminence in spotlight at Excellence in Research Lectures event

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Faculty and staff are invited to the Excellence in Research Award Lectures from 9-11:30 a.m. May 5 at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.

Recipients of the Arden L. Bement Jr. Award and the Lu Ann Aday Award will present talks on the groundbreaking research that garnered their recognition.

David Purpura, professor of human development and family science, who also is director of the Center for Early Learning, will speak about “The Science of Stories: Designing Picture Books To Test Empirical Theories and Improve Children’s Learning.” Purpura was chosen to receive the Lu Ann Aday Award, the university’s highest honor for a researcher who has made a major impact in the field of the humanities and social sciences.

Dongyan Xu, the Samuel D. Conte Professor of Computer Science and director of CERIAS, Purdue’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, will give a talk titled “Cybersecurity in an Increasingly Cyber-Physical World.” Xu received the Arden L. Bement Jr.  Award, Purdue’s most prestigious recognition for contributions in pure and applied science and engineering.

Roger Wiens, professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, received the Herbert Newby McCoy Award for his pioneering research in planetary science and instrumental role in advancing NASA’s Mars exploration efforts. Because he is unable to attend the May 5 event, he will present a lecture on his research during the Westwood Lecture Series in September.

Registration for the May 5 Excellence in Research Award Lectures event is requested here.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Media contact: Amy Raley, araley@purdue.edu