Purdue news summary for week of March 5-10
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. Most foodborne illnesses stem from improper cooling
2. Study suggests that logging may affect monkey health
3. Conference will explore key transportation issues
4. Coca-Cola continues graduate study funding
5. Sensing victory, techno entrepreneurs present a winner
6. Hoosier 4-H'ers fight plant invader, learn about exotic species
7. IQ+Beef training program offered via satellite
8. Roundtable to shed light on genetically engineered foods
9. Questions on GIS data? Answers at purdue.gis
10. Visitors will chart financial vital signs on the farm
11. The Smashing Pumpkins to play April 18 at Purdue
12. Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra to make Purdue appearance
13. Playshop leaders honored with scholarship
14. Indiana Court of Appeals to hear arguments at Purdue
15. Purdue calendar
16. Agriculture calendar
17. Best Bets for Journalists
18. Weather and climate Experts
19. Inside Purdue and Perspective
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RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS
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1. Most foodborne illnesses stem from improper cooling
Nationally reported incidents of foodborne illness caused by E. coli
bacteria have increased consumers' awareness of the importance of proper
food handling and thorough cooking, but the most common cause of
food-related sickness is far from common knowledge. ''Improper cooling is
the No. 1 reported cause of foodborne illness in the United States,'' says
Richard Linton, an associate professor of food safety at Purdue. Consumers
can speed up cooling time by using stainless steel containers that
facilitate heat transfer; dividing food into smaller, shallower containers;
slicing meat off the bone; stirring the food as it cools; or placing the
container of food in an ice-water bath before putting it in the
refrigerator.
2. Study suggests that logging may affect monkey health
Secondary forests, areas that have been logged and allowed to regenerate,
may provide second-rate habitat for primates, even decades after the forests
have been allowed to regenerate, according to a study of monkeys living in
African forests. While studying the movements of gray-cheeked mangabeys in
the Kibale National Park of Uganda, Purdue doctoral student William Olupot
found some unexpected differences in weight between animals living in
primary forest -- areas that have never been logged -- and those living
nearby in a forest that was logged in the 1960s and '70s. Of the 31 male
mangabeys studied in the project, monkeys living within the secondary
forests weighed on average 15 percent less than males living in relatively
untouched primary forests. ''The lower body weights were not related to the
skeletal measurements or the age of the animals, which means that these
differences might be attributed to different nutritional conditions and
habitat quality,'' Olupot says. (Photo available)
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GENERAL INTEREST NEWS
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3. Conference will explore key transportation issues
This year's Purdue Road School, an annual conference that attracts more than
1,000 city and county highway officials from across Indiana, will explore
transportation issues ranging from important environmental, economic and
traffic safety matters, to the future of high-speed trains in Indiana. The
86th Annual Purdue Road School begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 21, and
continues through Wednesday, March 22. The conference is free and open to
the public. A Road School brochure, in Adobe Acrobat format, is available on
the World Wide Web at http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/JTRP/road_school.
4. Coca-Cola continues graduate study funding
The Coca-Cola Foundation is continuing its support of minority students in
Purdue's Graduate School with an additional $50,000 for student scholarships
over the next two years. The Coca-Cola fellowships, which are administered
through the Graduate School, are awarded to students from Historically Black
Colleges and Universities who have demonstrated superior academic
achievements and want to attend Purdue for graduate study, said Dwight E.
Lewis, coordinator of minority affairs for the Graduate School. The
Coca-Cola Foundation, Atlanta, has provided funding for graduate fellowships
every year since 1995.
5. Sensing victory, techno entrepreneurs present a winner
A team of two Krannert Graduate School of Management students and a physics
professor won the 13th Annual Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition
at Purdue on Saturday (3/4). The winners pocketed $20,000 for their
presentation on bringing to market their product prototype, a microscopic
oxygen sensor with a myriad of potential commercial applications. The
Krannert students on the team are Derek M. Fetzer and Rene A. Yamin. Purdue
physics professor Michael W. McElfresh, who with graduate student Mark
Brazier made the initial scientific breakthrough that led to the development
of the prototype oxygen-sensing device, is the senior member. (Video b-roll
available)
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AGRICULTURAL NEWS
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6. Hoosier 4-H'ers fight plant invader, learn about exotic species
Purdue specialists have teamed up with 4-H'ers across Indiana to fight
purple loosestrife, a European plant invader that plagues Midwestern marshes
and lowlands. ''When purple loosestrife comes in, it takes over,'' said Pat
Charlebois of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. ''It pushes everything else out.
And animals don't use it.'' The plant's seeds are even too small for birds
to eat. The plant was brought to New England in the 1800s by immigrants from
Europe who planted it in their flower gardens. The insects that control it
in Europe don't exist in the United States. To help bring the invader under
control, Charlebois and Natalie Carroll, the state environmental 4-H
specialist, are teaching volunteer 4-H leaders to raise and release
loosestrife-eating Galerucella beetles this spring. (Photo available)
7. IQ+Beef training program offered via satellite
Producers, veterinarians and trainers have the opportunity to become
certified in the Indiana Quality Plus Beef program, also known as IQ+Beef,
during a training session to be offered via satellite from 7 to 10 p.m.
March 30 at various locations around the state. According to W. Mark Hilton,
doctor of veterinary medicine at Purdue, the IQ+Beef program was developed
last summer and establishes guidelines for producers concerning
vaccinations, weaning, castration and dehorning. It is designed to reduce
risk and health problems while improving profitability for cow-calf
producers and cattle feeders.
8. Roundtable to shed light on genetically engineered foods
Genetically engineered foods in the global economy will be the topic of a
roundtable discussion at Purdue on March 23. The roundtable, which will run
from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Room 320, Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry, will
feature Philip Paarlberg, associate professor of agricultural economics;
Louis Sherman, head of the Department of Biological Sciences; and Mary Lyn
Stoll, a doctoral candidate in philosophy. The discussion is free and open
the public, but seating is limited to 90. ''The roundtable is intended for
Purdue students and faculty, but I think anyone who attends would find it
interesting,'' said Paul Thompson, a professor of philosophy who is a
specialist in the ethics of biotechnology. He will moderate the discussion.
9. Questions on GIS data? Answers at purdue.gis
Land-use planners, farmers -- any Hoosiers learning to use geographic
information systems -- now can subscribe to a free Internet forum for their
questions at ''purdue.gis,'' a newsgroup on the news.cc.purdue.edu server.
''We've aimed the newsgroup at people using GIS software in Indiana,'' said
Purdue GIS specialist Larry Theller. ''Our main goal is to help them get
access to public data formatted for GIS programs. We want the newsgroup to
answer questions we get over and over, like 'Where do I find scanned
topographic maps for Indiana?' Since newsgroups are archived, they become a
permanent resource.''
10. Visitors will chart financial vital signs on the farm
They won't see stethoscopes or blood-pressure gauges, but some Indiana
farmers will be getting house calls through the end of March. The on-farm
visits from members of Indiana's Agricultural Statistics Service are
designed to gauge the financial health of Indiana farms. About 500 Indiana
farmers already have gotten letters that explain the survey and encourage
them to participate. The data gathered in Indiana and in other states will
directly influence the next farm bill to come out of Congress, according to
Andy Higgins, associate statistician for Indiana.
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ITEMS
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11. The Smashing Pumpkins to play April 18 at Purdue
The Smashing Pumpkins will play in the Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue at 8
p.m. Tuesday, April 18. Tickets went on sale to Purdue students, faculty and
staff Thursday, March 9, and to the public Saturday, March 11. Tickets are
$25 at all Ticketmaster outlets. Charge by phone at (765) 746-5151 in
Greater Lafayette or (317) 239-5151 in Indianapolis.
12. Moscow Virtuosi chamber orchestra to make Purdue appearance
Famed chamber orchestra the Moscow Virtuosi, with conductor and violin
soloist Vladimir Spivakov, will perform an all-Mozart program at 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 30, at Loeb Playhouse in Stewart Center. One of the world's
pre-eminent chamber ensembles, the Moscow Virtuosi was formed in 1979 by
Spivakov, following his conducting debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
at the Ravinia Festival. Each member of the Moscow Virtuosi is a top-ranking
soloist, drawn from the principal chairs of the great orchestras of the
former Soviet Union. Tickets are $23 for the public and $15 for Purdue
students. Discounts are available to groups of 15 or more. Charge by phone
at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW.
13. Playshop leaders honored with scholarship
Members of Purdue Playshop have established a scholarship endowment to honor
two men who helped guide the Purdue theater community through its developing
years. The Joe Stockdale/Ross Smith Scholarship Endowment, announced at the
Purdue Playshop Theatre Reunion banquet on Feb. 26, will provide
scholarships for undergraduate students majoring in theater. Purdue Playshop
started as a laboratory or experimental producing unit in 1927 and was taken
under the wing of the English department in 1931. Later, the speech
department aided the theater program by providing a sizable drama staff and
extended the curriculum in drama. Theater became a separate academic unit in
1966 as a division in the Department of Creative Arts, now known as Visual
and Performing Arts.
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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
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14. Indiana Court of Appeals to hear arguments at Purdue
In an effort to bring the workings of the judicial system closer to the
people it serves, the Indiana Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on a
pending case at Purdue later this month. A three-judge panel will hear the
case of Rhonda Daugherty vs. Ronald Allen at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in
Room 310, Stewart Center. The event is free and open to the public, but
seating is limited to 50 people. The case involves an issue of prior
restraint in which the Daugherty obtained a preliminary injunction from the
Hancock County Circuit Court restraining Allen from speaking on certain
matters. Allen has appealed, arguing that such restraint violates the free
speech provision of the First Amendment and that restraining speech is
inappropriate when the plaintiff has other legal options.
15. 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/
16. Agriculture calendar
This calendar lists Purdue Agriculture events during the next four weeks.
17. Best Bets for Journalists
-- Expert: Kids need alternatives to violence
''Best Bets'' also lists these events: the 86th Annual Purdue Road School
March 21-22, which draws more than 1,200 people to campus to explore ways to
improve Indiana's roads; a March 23 roundtable discussion by Purdue experts
about genetically engineered foods in the global trading system; a March 23
presentation of ''The Ages of Agriculture: A Millennium Celebration''; and a
March 10 lecture by a furniture manufacturing executive about ''Engineering
Change in a 'Splintered Industry.'''
18. Weather and climate Experts
Indiana will conduct statewide tornado drills on Monday, March 13, as part
of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Indiana, March 12-18. This list has
information about five Purdue experts on all kinds of weather.
19. 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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