October 31, 2008

Appointments, honors and activities

— Jacqueline Knotts has been hired as a research associate in the office of advancement, effective Oct. 27. Knotts, a Purdue graduate, previously worked as a research analyst for Kiwanis International.

— John Norberg, former speechwriter for the office of the president, has taken a new position writing a book about the post-Beering years at Purdue.

 — Soumitro Sen has accepted the position of writer and publicist for University News Service. Soumitro, originally from Calcutta, India, earned degrees from Jadavpur University and the University of Nevada, Reno. He has previous experience in both journalism and public relations.

— Mary Jane Chew has accepted a speech-writing position in the office of the president. Chew has speech writing, advertising and marketing experience, primarily in the automotive industry.

• Campus activities:

— The Purdue Dance Marathon will hold a silent auction from 9-11:30 a.m. Saturday (Nov. 1) at Dauch Alumni Center. Items will include fat heads, Purdue memorabilia, a Hawaii vacation rental, and donations from baseball player Stan Musial, Marriott, Purdue Convocations, Starbucks and Vera Bradley. All proceeds will benefit Riley Hospital for Children.

• Faculty and staff honors:

— Chunghorng Richard Liu, professor of industrial engineering, has been chosen to receive the 2008 William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering's Manufacturing Engineering Division and Alcoa. The award is given for development of an innovative manufacturing technology. Liu is being honored for his research on the integrity and fatigue performance of finish machined surfaces which, the sponsors said, led to significant economic, reliability and safety benefits for load-carrying components made of hardened steels.

— Murray Blackwelder, senior vice president for advancement, has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award by the Indiana chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Blackwelder will receive the award at a dinner in Indianapolis on Nov. 18.

—Willie Reed, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, has received the E.P. Pope Memorial Award, the highest honor of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. The award is given to an individual who has made significant contributions in enhancing the visibility of veterinary diagnostic laboratory medicine. Reed received the honor at the annual joint meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and the United States Animal Health Association held Oct. 23-29 at Greensboro, N.C. 

At the same event, Herbert Leon Thacker, professor of veterinary pathology and former director of the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue, won the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians for his many years of service to the association and the field of veterinary diagnostic medicine. Thacker, a 1965 graduate of the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine, served 23 years as director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory before stepping down in August.  

— Bret Marsh, an alumnus of the School of Veterinary Medicine, received an award recently from the National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials for his contribution to animal health in the regulatory field. A 1984 graduate of the school, Marsh is the Indiana State Veterinarian and also serves as treasurer of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

• Student honors:

—A team of Krannert School of Management students placed third at Owen Vanderbilt's Human Capital Case Competition in Nashville, Tenn., in October. The team was given two weeks to analyze a merger and acquisition case, addressing issues of cost increases and saving, retaining top talent, labor relations hurdles and more. Emory University and Cornell University placed first and second, respectively. The Krannert students included Lee Bush, Chad Byron, Kim Corbitt, Geoff Gauthier, Mayu Matsumoto and Avik Saha.

—A team of MBA students from the Krannert School of Management placed second in the Smith Mergers and Acquisitions Case Competition held at the Smith School of Business in College Park, Md., in October. The Krannert Finance Club collected a $2,500 prize. The University of Chicago won the $5,000 first prize. Participants included teams from Brigham Young University, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, New York University, Texas Christian University, University of Chicago, University of Maryland, University of Rochester and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Teams deliver pitches to Wall Street bankers, corporate executives, Smith faculty and alumni. Purdue team members included Bilal Shahid, David Iverson, Matthew Jackson and Ulka Malekar.

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

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