PURDUE NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF JUNE 11-16
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. Purdue researchers clean up petroleum spills with plants
2. Genetic method has promise for assessing environmental cleanup
3. New GPS standards won't affect precision farming, expert says
4. Task force combs beaches for E. coli contamination
5. Purdue joins Midwest effort to create biobased products
6. Farm tour showcases some of the best in the business
7. Purdue Large Animal Hospital closes temporarily
8. Video focuses on passing generational reins in family businesses
9. Purdue calendar
10. Agriculture calendar
11. Biofuels Experts
12. National Science, Engineering and Health Package
13. Inside Purdue and Perspective
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RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS
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1. PURDUE RESEARCHERS CLEAN UP PETROLEUM SPILLS WITH PLANTS
A husband and wife research team at Purdue University has pioneered the use
of plants to help clean up soil contaminated with petroleum products. The
Environmental Protection Agency and industry researchers already use methods
developed by the Purdue team at several petroleum spill sites across the
nation. ''We're using natural methods to clean up soil pollutants,'' says
Katherine Banks, a Purdue professor of civil engineering. She and her
agronomy professor husband, Paul Schwab, were one of the first research
teams to develop methods for field-testing phytoremediation, the use of
plants to clean up contaminated soil.
2. GENETIC METHOD HAS PROMISE FOR ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
Engineers are using genetics to develop a simple, quick method for assessing
the progress of environmental cleanup efforts at sites contaminated with
petroleum-based pollutants like gasoline and diesel fuel. The technique
works by screening soil for genes that reveal the presence of an enzyme
produced by pollution-busting bacteria. If the enzyme is detected, that
means bacteria probably are cleaning the soil. ''It's like a direct
biochemical method to take the attendance of the bacterial organisms in the
soil,'' says Loring Nies, an associate professor of civil engineering at
Purdue who specializes in bioremediation, or using microorganisms to clean
up environmental contamination.
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AGRICULTURAL NEWS
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3. NEW GPS STANDARDS WON'T AFFECT PRECISION FARMING, EXPERT SAYS
A recent upgrade of the United States' global positioning system (GPS) will
do little to assist farmers in their fields, says a Purdue expert. Mark
Morgan, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, says
farmers' combines and tractors already have devices more accurate than
hand-held GPS receivers. On May 1 the federal government removed the
selective availability component of the global positioning system. This
component intentionally downgraded the GPS signal to prevent it from being
accurate to within 100 meters. By removing the selective availability
component, the federal government claims to increase the accuracy of the
system from 100 meters, or approximately 300 feet, to 20 meters, or 60 feet.
''From my personal experience, I've learned that GPS is now accurate to
within 5 meters most of the time,'' Morgan says.
4. TASK FORCE COMBS BEACHES FOR E. COLI CONTAMINATION
One unwelcome beach visitor this summer - E. coli - can put a damper on
water fun. Last year, due to safety concerns, there were 26 beach closures
in the three Indiana counties along the Lake Michigan shoreline, according
to Leslie Dorworth, a Purdue aquatic ecology specialist for Illinois-Indiana
Sea Grant. Dorworth is part of the E. coli Interagency Task Force, which
monitors the waters in the southern Lake Michigan region. ''When the beaches
have to be closed due to high levels of E. coli, it's not just an
inconvenience and disappointment for swimmers and boaters - it may also
result in a loss of revenue to businesses in those areas. We want to do
everything we can to help keep the beaches open,'' Dorworth said.
5. PURDUE JOINS MIDWEST EFFORT TO CREATE BIOBASED PRODUCTS
As this summer's gasoline prices soar skyward, Purdue has joined with five
other institutions to help the United States free itself from dependence on
petroleum-based products. The Midwest Consortium for Sustainable Biobased
Products and Bioenergy was created to combine research efforts in the
development of new ''green,'' environmentally friendly and renewable
chemical products. ''The Midwest economy would greatly benefit from expanded
use of its crops,'' says Randy Woodson, director of Purdue's Agricultural
Research Program. ''And reducing our country's need for petroleum - which is
non-renewable and economically less stable - would also prove beneficial.''
6. FARM TOUR SHOWCASES SOME OF THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS
Successful farms come in all shapes and sizes. Hoosiers can visit five prime
examples July 5-6 during the Indiana Farm Management Tour. The annual tour
showcases top-performing farms across the state. This year's tour includes
farms in Tippecanoe, White, Jasper and Newton counties. The operations are
as different as a farm that produces specialty grains in the spring and
summer and Christmas trees in the fall, to a new state-of-the-art dairy.
Also, U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate
Agricultural Committee, will speak on farm issues at a meeting the evening
of July 5.
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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
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7. PURDUE LARGE ANIMAL HOSPITAL CLOSES TEMPORARILY
Purdue's Large Animal Hospital is not accepting new patients for at least
two weeks while clinic personnel rid the facility of Salmonella bacteria.
Alan Rebar, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, said that recently a
number of horses in the hospital were infected with the Salmonella bacteria.
''At this time, only two animals with diarrhea remain in the hospital,''
Rebar said. ''They have been isolated from the rest of the patient
population and are being treated.'' The hospital began notifying referring
veterinarians of the situation Wednesday (6/14).
8. VIDEO FOCUSES ON PASSING GENERATIONAL REINS IN FAMILY BUSINESSES
Purdue consumer sciences and retailing students recently tapped local
business people to learn how to handle the transition of leadership from one
generation to the next in family businesses. The result is a 35-minute
educational video, ''Management Continuity in a Family Business,'' that is
equally useful in the classroom and the boardroom. The students of Holly
Schrank, Purdue professor of consumer sciences and retailing, will unveil
their work on June 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 2280, Liberal Arts and Education
Building on the Purdue campus. A reception will precede the video showing,
and discussion and questions will follow. The event is free and open to the
public.
9. 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/
10. AGRICULTURE CALENDAR
This calendar lists Purdue Agriculture events during the next four weeks.
11. BIOFUELS EXPERTS
Here's a list of five Purdue experts who can discuss the use of biological,
renewable resources to make fuels and other products to replace
petroleum-based products, such as gasoline.
12. NATIONAL SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND HEALTH PACKAGE
These stories were distributed nationally and internationally this week to
about 1,450 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/scipak.digest.0006.html
1. New chemical instrument uses advanced missile technology (Photo
available)
2. Wireless Net may require 'smart antennas'
3. New approach may help in design of future circuits
4. Genetic method has promise for assessing environmental cleanup
5. Quality of herbal remedies often is guesswork, expert says
6. Purdue Research Park news
7. Functional foods experts
13. 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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