Purdue news summary for week of March 19-24
This digest contains summaries of the following stories from Purdue News
Service and Agricultural Communication Service. All these stories, and more,
are available on the World Wide Web at
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html3month/3month.html
(Instructions for retrieving stories and photographs via the Internet are at
the end of this document.)
1. Researcher finds space fertile arena for gene transfers
2. Aquaculturist creates soy feed to keep fish on the table
3. Goldberg contestants vie for national title at Purdue
4. Bowl fever continues with Purdue's Bug Bowl
5. Prescription for pharmacist: Change of dosage
6. Experiments under way for 2000 'Vomit Comet' ride
7. Holocaust Remembrance Conference scheduled for April 8-9
8. Purdue expert expects food price hikes to lag behind cost of living
9. Survey to gauge importance of specialty grains in Indiana
10. Indianapolis Violin Competition gold medalist to play at Purdue
11. Purdue Nobel Laureate honored in weekend symposium, lectures
12. Purdue Notebook
13. Student arrested on confinement, battery charges
14. Purdue calendar
15. Agriculture calendar
16. Best Bets for Journalists
17. National Agriculture Package
18 Inside Purdue and Perspective
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RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS
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1. Researcher finds space fertile arena for gene transfers
Biotechnology may have found a new home in space, based on research that
found genetic engineering in microgravity was 10 times more successful than
on earth. Purdue's Richard Vierling is preparing to have his successful
soybean DNA transplant experiments recreated on board a NASA space shuttle
scheduled for launch April 13. Vierling's first microgravity experiments
were conducted in late 1998 by the oldest man to ever fly in space, former
astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn. Those experiments seem to indicate
that space may be a better environment for conducting gene transfers. (Photo
available.)
2. Aquaculturist creates soy feed to keep fish on the table
Purdue aquaculturist Paul Brown has created soybean and corn feeds for
farm-raised fish, which he hopes will open up new markets for the grain
crops. Brown predicts that with the world's current population growth and
declining wild fish populations, farmers in the year 2035 may produce as
many pounds of fish as chicken. If that's the case, and if the fish are fed
a soy-based diet, they would consume between 40 percent and 90 percent of
all soybeans now grown in the United States. Feed mills are starting to
churn out fish food based on his research. Fish meal, which is ground and
dried fish that is the traditional food for farm-raised fish, is getting
more expensive and harder to find, Brown says. He sees plant proteins as the
logical alternative, and soybeans as the best source of plant protein.
3. Goldberg contestants vie for national title at Purdue
The 20th century may be over, but its legacy will live on at the 12th Annual
National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest on April 8. The event honors the late
cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who drew wacky contraptions with elaborate
mechanisms to perform simple tasks. The challenge for 2000 is to contrive a
machine that will place seven of the 20th century's greatest inventions in a
time capsule. The machine must use 20 or more steps and complete the
operation in less than nine minutes. Universities in the competition are:
Purdue, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Toledo,
Northern Illinois University, Oakland University, Marquette University, and
Northwestern University. SOURCE: Chris Piano, (765) 743-5276,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(JOURNALISTS: Video and photos of past contests are available. B-roll,
photos and a news release about the outcome of this year's contest will be
available the afternoon of April 8. A satellite feed also will be available.
For details, contact Jesica Webb, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2079,
[EMAIL PROTECTED])
4. Bowl fever continues with Purdue's Bug Bowl
Purdue is making its second appearance in a bowl this year. But this bowl
doesn't have anything to do with football. It's an insect bowl, and the 10th
annual Purdue Bug Bowl on April 15 and 16 will be filled with as much action
as a Boilermaker football game. The thousands of people who visit campus
that weekend can participate -- or just watch -- the world-famous
cricket-spitting contests. There also will be cockroach racing, a
cake-decorating contest, insect crafts, an insect petting zoo, and snacks of
chocolate-covered crickets. Bug Bowl is part of Springfest, which includes
the 87th annual Horticulture Show, the 37th annual Veterinary Medicine Open
House (Saturday only), an animal sciences open house and scores of other
activities. Details are available on the Web at
http://www.anr.ces.purdue.edu/sfest/sfest2000/. The Purdue Student Union
Board also celebrates Mothers Weekend with an Arts and Crafts Show from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 15, in the Memorial Union. There also will be
two free concerts that weekend; the softball, baseball, and tennis teams are
in action; the Black Cultural Center and Purdue Theatre each will present
live theater performances; and Purdue Convocations presents a violin
recital.
(JOURNALISTS: For photos and b-roll of previous Bug Bowls, or to arrange
coverage of this year's event, contact Jesica Webb, Purdue News Service,
(765) 494-2079, [EMAIL PROTECTED])
5. Prescription for pharmacist: Change of dosage
If the pace of filling prescriptions continues to advance at its current
rate, it soon may take you longer to open a child-proof container than it
takes a pharmacist to fill a dozen medicine bottles. ''Fifteen years ago a
pharmacist considered it a very busy day to fill 100 prescriptions in a
single day, but today they fill twice that many on an average day,'' says
Patrick George, associate director of Purdue's pharmaceutical student
services office. At the same time, there's a national shortage of practicing
pharmacists. Educators say a change in the practice of pharmacy, rather than
an increase in the number of retail pharmacists, is the way to address the
shortage. (Photo available)
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GENERAL INTEREST NEWS
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6. Experiments under way for 2000 'Vomit Comet' ride
Purdue students will complete preliminary experiments this spring on fuel
lines, weightlessness and tank propellants as they prepare for a fall trip
to Houston for the 2000 ''Vomit Comet'' ride. Two Purdue teams will fly in a
NASA research jet used to train astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in
Houston. The modified KC-135 jet, affectionately called the ''Vomit Comet,''
recreates the type of weightlessness that astronauts experience in space by
making several steep climbs and descents, causing the occupants to
experience about 25 or 30 seconds of weightlessness on each dip. The two
teams are comprised of a freshman honors class and upperclassmen from the
university's School of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.
7. Holocaust Remembrance Conference scheduled for April 8-9
Addressing problems at home is at the heart of the 19th annual Holocaust
Remembrance Conference, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 8-9, at
campus and community sites in Greater Lafayette. The conference will focus
on ''Our Town - Overcoming Prejudice.'' ''Based on increasing signs we see
of the amount of prejudice expressed in our community, our committee said,
'Let's get people to talk and to learn how to get along,''' said Rabbi
Gedalyah Engel, conference coordinator. Several events will feature people
with Latino and Hispanic backgrounds. Some workshops will be conducted in
English and Spanish, Engel said. ''Why is this related to the Holocaust?''
he asked. ''Those who have survived to bear witness to what took place
during the annihilation of 6 million Jews and an equal number of other
Europeans can soberly remind their fellow citizens that attention must
always be paid to human rights issues - in our town as well as throughout
the world.''
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AGRICULTURAL NEWS
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8. Purdue expert expects food price hikes to lag behind cost of living
Food prices probably will rise somewhat faster this year than in 1999, but
still less than other consumer prices, predicts Joseph Uhl, a Purdue
agricultural economist. Uhl said many factors could contribute to higher
grocery bills this year. They include weather and the possible continuation
of last year's drought; the potential for rising food marketing, labor and
energy costs; a partial recovery in farm prices from 1998-99 lows; and the
possibility of increased U.S. food exports to economically recovering Asian
nations. ''If all of these should occur at the same time, food shoppers
could see substantial increases in food bills this year and next,'' he said.
9. Survey to gauge importance of specialty grains in Indiana
Growing specialty crops such as waxy corn, tofu soybeans and high-oil corn
is a rising trend in Indiana farming, given persistently low prices farmers
have been getting for traditional corn and soybeans. The Purdue Department
of Agricultural Economics and the Gibson County Plot Committee hope to learn
how big a trend it is by sending surveys March 29 to 8,000 Indiana farms
mainly in southwestern Indiana, where the highest concentration of specialty
grains are grown.
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ITEMS
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10. Indianapolis Violin Competition gold medalist to play at Purdue
Purdue Convocations presents violinist Judith Ingolfsson in recital at 3
p.m. Sunday, April 16, in Fowler Hall of Stewart Center. The winner of the
1998 gold medal at the renowned International Violin Competition in
Indianapolis, Ingolfsson will be accompanied by pianist Ronald Sat. Fresh
from her Carnegie Hall debut recital on April 1, the 26-year-old violinist
will play a program of Rorem's ''Autumn Music,'' Brahms' Sonatensatz,
Bloch's Poeme Mystique (Sonata No. 2), Bach's Solo Sonata No. 3 in C major,
and Wieniawski's Fantaisie brillante for her Purdue debut. This is the final
event in the 1999-2000 Discovery Concert series, which features
up-and-coming classical artists and ensembles and is made possible by the
financial support of Friends of Convocations. All tickets to the concert are
$9 at campus box offices or by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.
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NEWS ABOUT PURDUE PEOPLE
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11. Purdue Nobel Laureate honored in weekend symposium, lectures
The scientific contributions of Purdue Nobel Laureate Herbert C. Brown will
be highlighted the week of March 27 in two separate events. On Friday, March
31, 11 speakers from industries and universities around the world will
attend a symposium on campus celebrating the inauguration of the Herbert C.
Brown Center for Borane Research. Saturday, April 1, Brown will oversee a
series of lectures on new developments in organic synthesis during the 17th
annual Herbert C. Brown Lecture Series in Organic Chemistry. The lecture
series, open to the public, was established in 1984 to honor Brown. Lectures
and research presentations will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude about 5 p.m. in
Room 218, Stewart Center.
12. Purdue Notebook
-- Lisa Kuuttila is the new assistant vice president for technology
commercialization at the Purdue Research Foundation
-- Muriel Harris, professor of English, wins the 2000 Exemplar Award from
the Conference on College Composition and Communication
-- Purdue students, faculty and staff invited to participate in University
Day, an annual campus cleanup sponsored by Purdue Student Government, on
April 13
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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
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13. Student arrested on confinement, battery charges
Purdue police early Tuesday (3/21) arrested a male student in connection
with a confinement and battery incident involving a female student
acquaintance. Jie Chi, 23, of 230-8 Sheetz St., West Lafayette, a senior in
the School of Science, was taken into custody after the victim reported that
she struggled with Chi and was held against her will in a confrontation
outside Knoy Hall of Technology about 4 a.m.
14. Purdue calendar
This calendar lists entertainment events, lectures, exhibits and meetings
involving Purdue people during the next four weeks. An interactive, online
calendar of Purdue events is at http://www.purdue.edu/calendar/
15. Agriculture calendar
This calendar lists Purdue Agriculture events during the next four weeks.
16. Best Bets for Journalists
-- Ethanol could ease MTBE, gas-price woes
''Best Bets'' also has details about the 12th Annual National Rube Goldberg
Machine Contest on April 8; a March 27 lecture by William Greider, national
affairs correspondent for The Nation and former national editor of Rolling
Stone Magazine; the 19th annual Holocaust Remembrance Conference April 8-9;
an Indiana Court of Appeals session March 28 on campus; an Emerging
Technology Forum Day on March 31; and a Board of Trustees meeting April 7.
17. National Agriculture Package
These stories were distributed nationally and internationally this week to
about 1,200 agricultural writers, reporters, editors and other interested
parties. A Web site with links to all the stories and photos in this package
is at this URL:
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/paks/agpak.digest.0004.html
1. European markets for genetically modified grains 'lost' for now
2. Purdue researcher creates soy feed to keep fish on the table
3. Quality of herbal remedies often is guesswork, expert says
4. Researcher finds space fertile arena for gene transfers (Photo available)
5. Transgenic fish could threaten wild populations (Photo available)
6. Agriculture briefs
-- Purdue's low-cost hog feed lowers manure pollutants, odors
-- Contract production requires special considerations
-- Corn and soybean field guide available
-- Bowl fever continues with Purdue's Bug Bowl (For photos or b-roll of
previous Bug Bowls, or to arrange coverage of this year's event, journalists
should contact Jesica Webb, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2079,
[EMAIL PROTECTED])
7. Functional foods experts
18 Inside Purdue and Perspective
Check the online versions of Inside Purdue, the faculty/staff newspaper, and
Perspective, a quarterly publication for alumni, parents of students,
faculty and staff, for other news about Purdue, at
http://www.purdue.edu/PER/Periodicals.html.
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ftp://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/uns/.
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Jeanne Norberg, director
Purdue University News Service
1132 Engineering Admin. Bldg.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1132
Phone: 765-494-2096
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
