Purdue news summary for week of March 26-31
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. Parents pass on religious beliefs more by word than by deed
2. Quality of herbal remedies often is guesswork, expert says
3. U.S. News ranks Purdue engineering grad programs in top 10
4. Purdue sciences highly ranked in U.S. News survey
5. U.S. News ranks Krannert School among nation's best
6. U.S. News rates speech, hearing programs among best
7. Reward offered in bomb threat
8. Purdue president honored by athletic department
9. Purdue Notebook
10. Global trade representatives will meet at Purdue
11. Economists advise farmers to plan now for 2000 tax year
12. PMO/Rotary Club benefit concert will help restore Long Center
13. Musical depictions of dinosaurs highlight Windworks II concert
14. Purdue sorority chapter announces redevelopment plan
15. Space is focus of public symposium at Children's Museum
16. Board of Trustees agenda
17. Researcher seeks hearing aid users for speech study
18. police looking for man who sexually assaulted woman
19. Police question student about e-mail bomb threat
20. Purdue calendar
21. Best Bets for Journalists
22. Functional foods experts
23. Inside Purdue and Perspective
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RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS
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1. Parents pass on religious beliefs more by word than by deed
The saying goes that ''actions speak louder than words,'' but in the case of
parents wanting their children to share their religious beliefs, words may
be just as important as actions. That was the finding of a Purdue study that
looked at parents' influence on religious beliefs in young adults ages 18 to
25. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology. ''We asked students to tell us what they believed and what they
thought their parents believed,'' says Lynn Okagaki, an associate professor
of child development and family studies. ''We then asked the parents what
their beliefs were and how strongly they felt they had tried to nurture
their child in terms of religious beliefs and values. What we found was that
the perception does not always match the reality.'' (A copy of the study,
''Socialization of Religious Values,'' is available from Sharon Bowker at
the Purdue News Service, (765) 494-9723; [EMAIL PROTECTED])
2. Quality of herbal remedies often is guesswork, expert says
What do you get when you buy a bottle of the herbal cold remedy echinacea?
You really don't know what you're getting, says James Simon, professor of
horticulture and co-director of Purdue's New Crops Center, because of the
lack of consistency in herbs and medicinal plants. Several different
echinacea species are used commercially in the United States, and product
labels often give little information about which species or which parts of
the plant were used in the herbal remedy, he says, even though the different
species and the different plant parts may vary in their biochemistry. The
way to control the variations in quality and to instill consumer confidence
is to demystify herbal products through scientific research, he says.
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GENERAL INTEREST NEWS
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3. U.S. News ranks engineering grad programs in top 10
Purdue graduate engineering programs were ranked third in the country by
employers and ninth overall in a U.S. News and World Report survey released
today (Friday, 3/31). In a specialty ranking, several of Purdue's individual
Schools of Engineering were rated in the top 10 by deans of prominent
engineering schools across the nation. Those rankings for Purdue were:
School of Industrial Engineering, third; School of Aeronautical and
Astronautical Engineering, sixth; School of Civil Engineering, seventh;
School of Mechanical Engineering, seventh; School of Nuclear Engineering,
eighth; and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ninth.
4. Purdue sciences highly ranked in U.S. News survey
U.S. News and World Report ranks graduate study in analytical chemistry as
tops in the nation in a survey released today (Friday, 3/31). In the
specialty area of mathematical statistics, Purdue tied with Cornell for
seventh place nationally. Overall, chemistry at Purdue ranked 18th among the
nation's graduate schools, computer science 17th (a tie with Harvard, Rice
and Yale) and mathematics 25th (a tie with Duke, Johns Hopkins, Rice and the
University of Washington).
5. U.S. News ranks Krannert School among nation's best
U.S. News and World Report ranks Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of
Management 23rd among the nation's 325 accredited master's degree programs
in business and management. The rankings, contained in the magazine's 2001
guide to best graduate schools, also list the Krannert School in the top 10
nationally in two specialty areas - third in production/operations
management and seventh in quantitative analysis.
6. U.S. News rates speech, hearing programs among best
U.S. News and World Report ranks two graduate programs in the Purdue
Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences among the tops in the nation:
The master's degree program in speech-language pathology ranks fourth
nationally, and the master's degree program in audiology tied for 13th
place.
7. Reward offered in bomb threat
Purdue officials have offered a $5,000 reward for information that leads to
the arrest and conviction of the person who called in a bomb threat to
Grissom Hall on Tuesday (3/28). ''Such acts have a significant impact on the
campus community that no one appreciates,'' said Bill Coghill, director of
Purdue Safety and Security.
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NEWS ABOUT PURDUE PEOPLE
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8. Purdue president honored by athletic department
Purdue's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has honored President
Steven C. Beering and his wife, Jane, by renaming North Russell Street
after the president and the academic support offices for athletes after the
first lady.
9. Purdue Notebook
- Joe E. Haberle, Dianne L. Kennedy, T. Lamar Kerley and Albert I.
Wertheimer named Distinguished Alumni by the School of Pharmacy and
Pharmacal Sciences
- Span Plan accepting applications for the annual Cecelia Zissis Graduate
Student Grant
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AGRICULTURAL NEWS
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10. Global trade representatives will meet at Purdue
For a few days in April, Purdue could be called the center of world trade
analysis. Representatives of 18 international and national trade
organizations will meet on the West Lafayette campus April 12-14 to discuss
a program that allows them to share trade data and analyses of commodities
and manufacturing. The occasion is the advisory board meeting of the Global
Trade Analysis Consortium, whose members include the World Trade
Organization, World Bank, European Commission, United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development, and groups representing the governments of the United
States, Japan, Australia and several European countries.
11. Economists advise farmers to plan now for 2000 tax year
Now is the time for farmers to begin thinking about how they'll file their
2000 tax returns, say two Purdue agricultural economics professors. Farmers
should get an early start taking stock of their farming operations and
document any changes that could affect their tax liability in the year
ahead, say professors George Patrick and Gerald Harrison. They have tips on
everything from selling the farm to taking a deduction for purchased animals
that die or are lost or stolen.
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ITEMS
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12. PMO/Rotary Club benefit concert will help restore Long Center
Purdue Musical Organizations has teamed up with the Lafayette Rotary Club to
present ''Singing for Greater Lafayette: A Celebration of Community to
Benefit the Restoration of the Long Center for the Performing Arts'' at 7:30
p.m. Saturday, April 8. All proceeds from the benefit concert at the Long
Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette, will go toward the restoration of the
historic structure. Concert tickets are $50, $30 and $10, available at the
Long Center box office or by calling (765) 742-5664. The show will features
the student members of five PMO ensembles, plus a select children's choir
from Greater Lafayette.
13. Musical depictions of dinosaurs highlight Windworks II concert
Creating the sounds of dinosaurs challenged Purdue's Varsity Band to design
new instruments and play old ones in new ways for ''Dinosaurs,'' a featured
number at the Sunday, April 9, Windworks II concert. Set for 2:30 p.m. at
the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette, the concert will feature the
Varsity Band, directed by Pamela Nave, along with the Collegiate Band, led
by William Kisinger, and the University Concert Band under the baton of
David Leppla. Admission to the concert, sponsored by Purdue University
Bands, is free.
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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
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14. Purdue sorority chapter announces redevelopment plan
The National Council of Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity has approved a
recommendation for the Purdue chapter of the sorority to become dormant
effective May 15. The chapter has continued to experience membership
obstacles, despite numerous efforts from the national sorority, regional
volunteers, local advisers and chapter members, according to Courtenay Frew,
director of public relations for Alpha Xi Delta's national organization.
During the dormant period, all current members will be promoted to alumnae
membership status, and the chapter's alumnae corporation board will retain
ownership of the chapter house at 519 University St. The national sorority
plans to re-establish the undergraduate chapter in the spring of 2001.
15. Space is focus of public symposium at Children's Museum
NASA space suit engineer Amy Ross, the daughter of astronaut Jerry Ross,
will speak about the ''Best Dressed Astronauts - The Latest in Mars Wear,''
during an annual symposium Friday, April 14, at the Children's Museum of
Indianapolis. The Indiana Aerospace Symposium will begin with an 8 a.m.
registration and continue until 5 p.m. All events are open to the public.
Ross will speak at 4 p.m.
16. Board of Trustees agenda
The board will meet at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 7, in Room 304 (Anniversary
Drawing Room), Purdue Memorial Union. The agenda will be available on the
News Service Web site on Monday, April 3.
17. Researcher seeks hearing aid users for speech study
A Purdue professor studying the effect of age-related hearing loss and
hearing aids on speech perception is seeking volunteers for a study that
could produce new training techniques for hearing aid users. For more
information, contact Amy Neel, assistant professor of audio and speech
sciences, at (765) 494-3796, or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
18. police looking for man who sexually assaulted woman
Purdue police are investigating a female student's report of an attempted
sexual battery as she walked in the Purdue Village (formerly Married Student
Housing) Thursday night (3/30). The woman told investigators she was walking
on the east side of Building 116 when a man grabbed her from behind and
tried to remove her pants. She screamed, and the man fled south toward
Nimitz Drive.
19. Police question student about e-mail bomb threat
Purdue police Friday (3/24) questioned a student in connection with a bomb
threat sent by e-mail to other students in a class, as well as the professor
and the teaching assistant. Detective Capt. Steven R. Dietrich said police
met the student, Man Fai Chan, 25, a senior in civil engineering, at his
room in Young Graduate House, and he told them that the threat was a joke
and he apologized for his actions. The case will be forwarded to the
Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office and the Office of the Dean of Students
for review.
20. 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/
21. Best Bets for Journalists
-- To the moon, or on to Mars? An April 7 debate
-- NPR and MTV executives address prejudice in April 8 lectures
-- Creativity reigns at National Rube Goldberg Contest on April 8
-- Professor to speak April 6 about global warming
-- What are they wearing on Mars? An April 14 speech in Indianapolis by
NASA space suit engineer Amy Ross
-- Row, row, row your boat - Purdue Crew Club sponsors ''Battle of
Tippecanoe'' on the Wabash River on April 8
''Best Bets'' also has details about a board of trustees meeting, the 19th
annual Holocaust Remembrance Conference, and a Women in Engineering Career
Day.
22. Functional foods experts
This list contains four experts who can discuss various aspects of
functional foods, which are foods that not only are nutritious, but also
offer health benefits.
23. 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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