sealPurdue Story Ideas
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April 15, 2002

JOURNALISTS: Here are story ideas and a list of selected Purdue events during the next two weeks.

Cancer Awareness Month brings school children to Purdue's Cancer Center

Seventh- and eighth-grade students from Hasten Hebrew Academy in Indianapolis will tour Purdue's Cancer Center on Tuesday (4/16) as part of the National Cancer Awareness Month. During the tour, students will see how cells are prepared for tissue cultures and will have hands-on opportunities to view cells in three-dimensions using state-of-the-art microscopy methods. Students also will have opportunities to use interactive computer programs developed at Purdue to enhance science education.

CONTACT: Barbara Coury, Purdue Cancer Center director of development, (765) 496-6374, bcoury@purdue.edu.

40-foot sculpture to 'transform' campus

Internationally acclaimed Spanish artist Faustino Aizkorbe's sculpture "Transformation" will be will be unveiled and dedicated during a ceremony for the Class of 1952 at 9:30 a.m. Saturday (4/20) at Agricultural Mall. "Transformation" will mark Aizkorbe's artistic debut in the United States.

Stretching nearly 40 feet high, "Transformation" will be mounted on a footing buried underground so the sculpture will appear to be coming out of the earth. Shipped separately in six crates, the sculpture will arrive unassembled after traveling from Madrid Spain, through Iberia, France, to O'Hare Airport in Chicago. In Chicago, it will be lifted and strapped to three flat bed trucks for the trip to West Lafayette. Aizkorbe is internationally known for his works in wood, marble and bronze.

Journalists should make reservations to attend the dedication ceremony.

CONTACT: Jesica Webb, Purdue News Service, (765)494-2079 or (765)423-7326, pager.

Purdue students design spacecraft to explore Jupiter moon Europa, which may harbor life

Purdue students have designed a complex mission to send a spacecraft to the Jupiter moon Europa, land a probe on the icy surface, burrow into the ice and insert a robot below the surface to search for life in the moon's apparent ocean. The students will present their mission plan from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday (4/18) in the Johnson Hall of Nursing, Room B002. The students also will display poster presentations about the work from 3-3:50 p.m. in the Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry, Room 320.

The students completed their plan just as an international group called the Planetary Society issued a plea to Congress last week not to cancel a mission to Europa. The society is asking Congress to restore funding to the Europa mission. "Nowhere in our solar system besides Earth -- and maybe Mars -- do we expect to find a planet with so much liquid water," the society said in a statement. "Water under the surface of ice-covered Europa may be a nurturing ground for life."

The Purdue students were led by Professor James Longuski, in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The Planetary Society was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan to advance the exploration of the solar system and to continue the search for extraterrestrial life. The society has members in more than 140 countries.

CONTACT: James Longuski, (765) 494-5139, longuski@ecn.purdue.edu.

45th annual Purdue Grand Prix features alumni race and Gene Keady as marshal

Purdue men's basketball coach Gene Keady will serve as grand marshal for the 2002 Grand Prix kart race Saturday (4/20). The 45th annual event also features an alumni race, for which eight alumni from Indiana and one alumnus from Ohio have registered.

The 50-lap alumni race, which is held every five years, will begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the go-kart track north of Ross-Ade Stadium on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. The main race will begin at approximately 3 p.m.

Among the drivers registered for the main race is last year's winner, Thomas Gray, a senior in the Schools of Engineering from Indianapolis.

The media are invited to cover both races. For press credentials, contact Casie Walukonis, Grad Prix promotions director, (765) 494-2708, casiewal@purdue.edu.

Students to celebrate Grand Prix week substance free

Purdue students looking for fun things to do this week have 32 alcohol-free events from which to choose. "Grand Alternative 2002" is sponsored by the Purdue Dean of Students Office, the Grand Prix Foundation and 31 student organizations.

The events include concerts, dances, athletic events, guest speakers, tournaments, free food and Grand Prix Race activities. Many of the events will make for good photo and video opportunities.

For a complete listing of Grand Alternative Events, visit the web.

CONTACT: Tim Rumple, Grand Alternative coordinator, (765) 494-5407.

April 15-19: Indiana Information Security Week

Do you know the top 10 things to do for safer home computing?

This week (4/15-19) is Indiana Information Security Week, and the experts at Purdue's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) have developed a series of Web sites aimed at educators, students, business and industrial leaders, and home computer users. The site includes lists of the Top 10 security concerns for each group. The lists can be viewed on the web.

During the week the experts at CERIAS will launch a series of workshops, lectures, informational Web sites and giveaways to help Hoosiers and state businesses better secure the information stored on their computers and electronic networks.

CONTACT: Teresa A. Bennett, (765) 494-7806, tkbennet@cerias.purdue.edu.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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