PURDUE NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF MAY 13-19 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 institute at Purdue will assist military families 2. Past performance may indeed predict future investments results 3. New partnership puts Purdue students on Speedway to learning 4. Beering focuses on power of ideas during commencement 5. Purdue recognizes Beerings with honorary degrees 6. Purdue University sophomores honored for research achievements 7. Purdue notebook 8. Diversity: what you don't say speaks volumes 9. Purdue helps teachers put character education in the classroom 10. Purdue announces changes in pesticide applicator's certification 11. Purdue Marching Band makes 81st appearance at Indy 500 12. Girls explore high-tech careers at innovative summer camp 13. Purdue calendar 14. Agriculture Calendar 15. National Agricultural Package 16. Inside Purdue and Perspective ------------------------------------- RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS ------------------------------------- 1. New institute at Purdue will assist military families Purdue University is the new home of the Military Family Research Institute, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Defense to gather research data on the special needs of military families. Principal investigators for the institute will be Shelley MacDermid, associate professor of child development and family studies and the director of Purdue's Center for Families; Howard Weiss, associate professor of psychological sciences; and Stephen Green, professor of management. ''Our primary responsibility is to study the effects of quality-of-life factors on job satisfaction, performance and retention of military personnel,'' MacDermid explained. ''The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the country, so it follows that there's a great deal to be gained by understanding and responding to the special needs of military families.'' 2. PAST PERFORMANCE MAY INDEED PREDICT FUTURE INVESTMENTS RESULTS The standard mutual fund legal disclaimer notwithstanding, past performance may indeed predict future results, according to a study by two finance professors. ''The same professional investors and fund managers who sold their high-technology stocks when a judge ruled against Microsoft, which they knew was in the offing anyway, consistently underreact to important corporate events that have long-term effects on companies' financial future and investors' returns,'' says Raghu Rau, an assistant professor of management at Purdue University's Krannert Graduate School of Management. ------------------------ GENERAL INTEREST NEWS ------------------------ 3. New partnership puts Purdue students on Speedway to learning Students, start your engines. A new partnership will allow Purdue University students to delve into the technological workings of one of the cars competing to enter the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. An educational partnership among Purdue, Beck Motorsports Inc. of Avon, Ind. and Hubbard Immke Racing of Indianapolis, will give Purdue students a unique opportunity to tie lessons in engineering and technology to automotive development and racing, said Don K. Gentry, dean of Purdue's School of Technology. ''This is a great opportunity for our students, who are already known for their technological expertise and the annual Grand Prix race,'' Gentry said. ''The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race represents some of the highest levels of engineering and technology in automotive development. With this partnership, we will be able to provide students with hands-on opportunities that few people outside the racing community have.'' --------------------------- NEWS ABOUT PURDUE PEOPLE --------------------------- 4. BEERING FOCUSES ON POWER OF IDEAS DURING COMMENCEMENT Purdue President Steven C. Beering told new graduates they should remember that ideas are the real power of society during commencement ceremonies today (Saturday, 5/13). Ceremonies were scheduled at the West Lafayette campus May 12-14 in Elliott Hall of Music. Approximately 4,900 students - 3,840 of whom are undergraduates - were to earn degrees during four ceremonies on the West Lafayette campus. 5. PURDUE RECOGNIZES BEERINGS WITH HONORARY DEGREES Purdue University today (Saturday, 5/13) honored its outgoing president, Steven C. Beering, and his wife, Jane, with honorary degrees. ''Steven Beering's tenure as president has been one of the most important in Purdue's 131-year history,'' J. Timothy McGinley, chairman of Purdue's board of trustees, said just before awarding the degrees at the second of four commencement ceremonies held this weekend in Elliott Hall of Music on the West Lafayette campus. ''He has taken this university to new heights of excellence in scholarship, research, development, private fundraising, capital improvements and national and international prominence. ''He and first lady Jane Beering have motivated and inspired the entire Purdue family as a tireless team since 1983. What he achieved in his office in the ensuing 17 years, as well as on this campus, and around this nation and the world in support of Purdue and its people has been absolutely remarkable. That legacy has positioned Purdue for ever-higher levels of greatness in the new millennium. And all of us in the Purdue family are thankful for that.'' President Beering was awarded an honorary doctorate of science. Mrs. Beering was awarded an honorary doctorate of hospitality management. 6. Purdue University sophomores honored for research achievements While most in-depth research is reserved for scholars at the graduate- and postgraduate-level, three Purdue University sophomores have received recognition for their research in fields of science and chemistry. Eric M. Brustad, Indianapolis; Daniel T. Dawson II, Plainfield, Ind.; and Bryce F. Sadtler, Newburgh, Ind.; have each been named Goldwater Scholars through the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The award is given to students who have exhibited scholarly merit, an understanding of academic research, and are pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering with a goal of obtaining a Ph.D. in one of those fields. 7. Purdue Notebook - Faculty and staff honors: - John Greene, professor of communications, has been selected to serve a three-year term as editor of Human Communication Research, the flagship journal of the International Communication Association. - Erik Props, academic advisor for the Krannert Graduate School of Management, has been selected as a 2000 National Academic Advising Association Outstanding Advisor. --------------------------------- GUEST COLUMNS FOR NEWSPAPERS --------------------------------- 8. Diversity: What you don't say speaks volumes By Klod Kokini, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University. You say you're not a racist. You say you empathize with other cultures. You say you're sensitive to the needs of others. You say discrimination doesn't occur where you work, because you wouldn't tolerate it. You say the slavery and segregation that happened 200 or 100 or 50 years ago has no impact on America today. Do you really mean it? 9. PURDUE HELPS TEACHERS PUT CHARACTER EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOM By Lynn Nelson, professor in curriculum and instruction and director of the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship at Purdue University. ''Development of character is a solution to social problems and a worthy educational ideal,'' wrote English philosopher John Stuart Mills more than 200 years ago. With school violence on the rise and a baffled society wondering what to do to curb this trend, his observation is just as true today as it was then. Yet, character education remains extracurricular rather than central to a young person's education. -------------------- AGRICULTURAL NEWS -------------------- 10. PURDUE ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN PESTICIDE APPLICATOR'S CERTIFICATION Purdue University Extension is changing the way farmers are trained and qualify for certification in pesticide application. The changes will benefit farmers by providing them ongoing professional education on a greater variety of pesticide issues at no extra cost to them. The first major revisions in the program in some 20 years, the changes affect some 17,000 farmers across Indiana who currently have pesticide applicator permits. The new system goes into affect starting with those whose licenses expire December 31, 2000. ------------------------------- ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ITEMS ------------------------------- 11. Purdue Marching Band makes 81st appearance at Indy 500 Moving into the eighth decade of a very special relationship between racing machines and marching bands, the Purdue ''All-American'' Marching Band makes its annual appearance at the Indianapolis 500 Parade on Saturday, May 27, and in opening ceremonies at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28. Rising young country star Jessica Andrews will sing the Star Spangled Banner accompanied by the band during Sundayıs ceremonies, adding her name to an all-star list of performers who have worked with the band. The list also includes Jay Leno, Florence Henderson, Cee Cee Wyans and Jim Nabors. ---------------------- MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS ---------------------- 12. Girls explore high-tech careers at innovative summer camp Girls who have finished grades six or seven have until May 31 to complete applications for an innovative summer camp that will help them explore rewarding careers in technology. ''Exploring Interest in Technology and Engineering'' is a week-long, nonresidential summer camp designed to expose middle school girls to engineering and computer science. The program is offered by Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network. The pilot project, supported by IBM, will take place at six U.S. universities, including Purdue University, this summer. 13. 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/ 14. Agriculture calendar This calendar lists Purdue Agriculture events during the next four weeks. 15. National Agriculture Package These stories were distributed nationally and internationally this week to about 1,200 agriculture 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.0005.html 1. New line of soybeans has complete nematode resistance 23. Protect corn crop value by protecting crop identity, expert says 3. Students invent healthful soybean snack cracker (Photo available) 4. Go fishing for fun, but eat more from the store 5. Material from pig intestine is remedy for deep sores, incontinence (Photos available) 6. Agriculture briefs -- Economists advise farmers to plan now for 2000 tax year -- Community practice clinic mirrors 'real world' for vet students (Photo available) -- Most foodborne illnesses stem from improper cooling 7. Ag biotech economics experts 16. 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. 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]
