PURDUE NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF MAY 28-JUNE 2 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. New approach may help in design of future circuits 2. Trustees approve Purdue system budget for 2000-2001 3. Trustees approve request for state funding 4. Trustees OK entomology, chemical engineering, Cary projects 5. Trustees approve distinguished professors, new dean at Calumet 6. Supercomputer will give Purdue research, teaching edge 7. A Purdue top teacher left career behind for the classroom 8. Purdue professor 'tied' to teaching wins top award 9. New Purdue apple orchards shun pesticides 10. It's not easy being greenery if the rain stops falling 11. Weed Day spotlights weed control strategies, products 12. Purdue offers pesticide program 13. Purdue Notebook 14. Diversity program to be offered at Purdue 15. Biblical Hebrew course offered again on West Lafayette campus 16. Purdue calendar 17. Agriculture calendar 18. Best Bets for Journalists 19. Inside Purdue and Perspective ------------------------------------- RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS ------------------------------------- 1. NEW APPROACH MAY HELP IN DESIGN OF FUTURE CIRCUITS As electronic circuits become more compact, the individual, overlapping wires are crammed so close together that their signals interfere with each other, causing devices to work more slowly or to fail. Now, a Purdue University researcher is proposing a novel design strategy to reduce the interference. His method also might enable engineers to predict how the tiny circuits will perform long before building the first prototype, which would speed development and reduce costs. ------------------------ Board of Trustees ------------------------ 2. TRUSTEES APPROVE PURDUE SYSTEM BUDGET FOR 2000-2001 The Purdue University Board of Trustees Thursday (6/1) approved 2000-2001 operating budgets totaling $1.11 billion for the West Lafayette campus, three regional campuses and the Statewide Technology Program. The total represents an increase of 4.9 percent from last year's total of $1.06 billion. In presenting the 2000-2001 overall budget, Kenneth Burns, executive vice president and treasurer, said the spending plan will ensure that the quality of Purdue's educational programs remains high while providing excellent value for students. 3. TRUSTEES APPROVE REQUEST FOR STATE FUNDING Purdue's Board of Trustees approved state funding requests for 2001-2003. The plan includes a $13 million request for the West Lafayette campus that would help establish a new undergraduate program in bioengineering, improve computer-based instruction and enhance the biotechnology programs, said Kenneth Burns, executive vice president and treasurer. 4. TRUSTEES OK ENTOMOLOGY, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, CARY PROJECTS Purdue's Board of Trustees agreed to move forward on three major renovation/expansion projects on the West Lafayette campus. The trustees approved a planned renovation and expansion of Entomology Hall, the hiring of an architect to oversee an expansion of the Chemical Engineering Building and a construction contract for the first-phase renovation of Cary Quadrangle, a men's residence hall. 5. TRUSTEES APPROVE DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORS, NEW DEAN AT CALUMET The Purdue Board of Trustees honored three veteran faculty members with distinguished professorships, ratified the appointment of a dean at Purdue Calumet and approved the creation of a new four-year business degree at the Purdue North Central campus. George M. Bodner, professor of chemistry; John J. McConnell, the Emanuel T. Weiler Professor of Management; and Connie M. Weaver, professor of foods science and head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition in the School of Consumer and Family Sciences were awarded distinguished professorships for outstanding contributions to their respective fields. The board also confirmed the appointment of Michael A. Gealt as the dean of the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science at Purdue Calumet. 6. SUPERCOMPUTER WILL GIVE PURDUE RESEARCH, TEACHING EDGE Purdue will upgrade its research computing facilities with a $10 million IBM supercomputer that will be among the most powerful research tools in the nation. The RS/6000 SP supercomputer, which probably will be installed before July 1, will be more than 15 times as powerful as the university's current system, says John Steele, director of Purdue's Computing Center. It will be operational by the start of the fall semester. ''The system will be in the top 10 percent of the most powerful systems in North America, and certainly among the most powerful systems at any university in the Big Ten,'' Steele says. The Board of Trustees approved the contract for the computer Thursday (6/1). --------------------------- NEWS ABOUT PURDUE PEOPLE --------------------------- 7. A PURDUE TOP TEACHER LEFT CAREER BEHIND FOR THE CLASSROOM An award-winning Purdue professor in the School of Agriculture had no teaching experience before he packed up his family and moved across the country to join the Purdue faculty. It was a choice Robert Sovinski made with much doubt and trepidation, but years, and a few teaching awards later, he figures it was the right decision. Sovinski, a native of South Bend, Ind. was recently named one of five Purdue winners of the Murphy Award, which has annually honored the top teachers on the West Lafayette campus since 1967. The award carries a cash prize of $5,000. 8. PURDUE PROFESSOR 'TIED' TO TEACHING WINS TOP AWARD It's official. After recently earning the Murphy Award as one of Purdue's outstanding undergraduate teachers, John Graveel now has accrued more teaching awards in his 17-year academic career than neckties. Graveel, a professor of agronomy, has earned the outstanding teaching award from the American Society of Agronomy, the University of Tennessee National Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award and was named outstanding counselor in Purdue's School of Agriculture in 1998. ''Yeah,'' Graveel, admits with a laugh, ''I probably own about three neckties.'' The Murphy Award breaks the unofficial ''tie'' between ties and teaching awards. -------------------- AGRICULTURAL NEWS -------------------- 9. NEW PURDUE APPLE ORCHARDS SHUN PESTICIDES Johnny Appleseed would be proud in more ways than one. First, Purdue researchers planted more than 500 apple trees in two Indiana locations this spring. Second, they're setting up all-organic research orchards that they hope will reduce growers' dependence on pesticides. ''We're starting these orchards for conventional growers, as well as organic growers, looking for ways to make organic production economical,'' says Purdue entomologist Rick Foster. 10. IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREENERY IF THE RAIN STOPS FALLING Recent rains have grass and plants looking vibrant. There are no guarantees they'll stay that way, with long-range forecasts calling for drier than normal weather or even drought throughout much of Indiana in June, July and August. Should the heavenly spigot shut off, homeowners can avoid wilting lawns and gardens by watering at appropriate times, mowing the grass more frequently and at a higher height, pruning trees and shrubs, and limiting the use of fertilizers, say Purdue turfgrass and horticulture experts. 11. WEED DAY SPOTLIGHTS WEED CONTROL STRATEGIES, PRODUCTS Farmers growing corn and soybeans don't want to produce a crop of weeds, too. At Purdue's annual Weed Day, they'll learn how to keep fields clear of the unsightly, harmful intruders. Weed Day will take place from 8:30 a.m. to noon June 27 at Purdue's Agronomy Research Center, located seven miles northwest of campus on U.S. 52. According to Tom Bauman, professor of botany and plant pathology, Weed Day showcases the latest weed-fighting strategies and products. 12. PURDUE OFFERS PESTICIDE PROGRAM Purdue is offering a workshop on turf pest control for persons interested in starting a residential lawn pest-control business or in expanding an existing lawn-care service. According to Indiana law, anyone who applies turf pesticides on a for-hire basis must be certified to do so. State certification involves passing a series of examinations and providing documentation of active experience using turf pesticides. Attendance at ''Pest Management and Lawn Maintenance,'' a practical, hands-on workshop offered by Purdue Pesticide Programs, is one way to meet the experience requirement. ---------------------- MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS ---------------------- 13. PURDUE NOTEBOOK Effective July 1, the Office of Publications will be known as the Office of Marketing Communications. The Purdue Board of Trustees approved the name change at its meeting on Thursday (6/1). Director David Brannan says the new name more accurately reflects the office's responsibilities, which have grown beyond producing printed materials to include Web page and site development and maintenance, signage projects and venue design for special events. 14. DIVERSITY PROGRAM TO BE OFFERED AT PURDUE Purdue's Diversity Resource Office offers a diversity awareness workshop this month on campus. ''VISIONS, VOICE, VISIBILITY: Developing a Purdue Competency Based Diversity Paradigm'' will include ways to increase awareness, improve skills to live and work in a global community, and discussions on successful strategies to enhance diversity at all levels. The workshop will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 9 in Stewart Center, Room 214 A. 15. BIBLICAL HEBREW COURSE OFFERED AGAIN ON WEST LAFAYETTE CAMPUS A course in biblical Hebrew will be offered again this fall at Purdue, and Purdue students, as well as people from the Greater Lafayette community, are invited to register. The course will be taught by Stuart Robertson, a Presbyterian pastor with a doctorate in Hebrew from the Annenberg Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. ''If students want to get the meaning of the Hebrew Bible, here's the way,'' said Robertson. 16. PURDUE CALENDAR This calendar lists entertainment events, lectures and meetings involving Purdue people during the next month. An online calendar of Purdue events is at http://www.purdue.edu/calendar/ 17. AGRICULTURE CALENDAR This calendar lists Purdue Agriculture events during the next four weeks. 18. BEST BETS FOR JOURNALISTS -- PetSafe program provides pet housing for pet owners in crisis ''Best Bets'' also has details about a June 12-13 campus seminar for budding Internet entrepreneurs called ''Creating Successful E-Business Strategies for the Future.'' 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. HOW TO RETRIEVE STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS ELECTRONICALLY Releases, publication-quality photographs, and a searchable database of Purdue and Big 10 experts are available at the PurdueNews Web site at http://news.uns.purdue.edu. Faculty and staff may register as experts at the Web site. Publication-quality photos also are available at the PurdueNews ftp site at ftp://ftp.purdue.edu/pub/uns/. Purdue News Service also produces e-mail digests of stories on five topics: agriculture; business, finance and technology; lifestyles, education and careers; science, engineering and health; and weekly Purdue News (that's this digest). To subscribe (or unsubscribe) to this service: -- Address your request to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Use a mail form with no text or graphics -- Leave the subject line blank. In the body, indicate which digest(s) you want: subscribe agnews subscribe biznews subscribe lifenews subscribe scinews subscribe pu-news (Purdue subscribers) subscribe puweek (non-Purdue subscribers) To unsubscribe, just substitute ''unsubscribe'' for ''subscribe.'' Problems? Contact Mike Willis, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-0371, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Jeanne Norberg, director Purdue University News Service 1132 Engineering Admin. Bldg. West Lafayette, IN 47907-1132 Phone: 765-494-2096 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
