PURDUE NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF JUNE 18-23
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. Nine states adopt special-ed assessment program from Purdue
2. Web medicine: The new 'apple a day'?
3. Purdue, IBM, Dassault Systemes create a digital enterprise center
4. Gift bridges technology and aeronautical engineering at Purdue
5. Pesticide ban costs consumers
6. Double crops, cut the acreage by 2010, predicts plant scientist
7. First soybeans with complete nematode resistance developed
8. Top Farmer workshop looks at 'value-added' farming
9. Nominations sought for Hovde Award
10. Six students named Extension assistant educators
11. This July 4, declare your independence from unripe watermelon
12. Lafayette Symphony to be featured at Stars and Stripes concert
13. Gas-tax relief for Hoosiers - economists respond
14. Best Bets for Journalists
15. National Agriculture Package
16. Inside Purdue and Perspective
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RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS
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1. NINE STATES ADOPT SPECIAL-ED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FROM PURDUE
The educational progress of special needs students for the first time can be
gauged and documented, thanks to a computerized program created by Purdue
University educators. ''These are students who have been long overlooked by
traditional standardized testing programs,'' says Deborah Bennett, a Purdue
assistant professor of educational studies. ''With this alternate
assessment, the skills of special needs students can be monitored on an
ongoing basis throughout the school year.'' The project, the Indiana
Assessment System of Educational Proficiencies, is being implemented across
Indiana this year and will be adopted by eight other states by the end of
the year.
2. WEB MEDICINE: THE NEW 'APPLE A DAY'?
The Internet has the potential to dramatically affect the way medicine is
practiced in this country, but surfing the Web is not going to replace a
visit to the doctor's office any time soon. That's according to James
Anderson, a professor of medical sociology at Purdue who has studied the
impact of computers on medicine. ''The Internet has changed the way we
communicate with each other and the way we gather information,'' Anderson
says. ''In the case of medical information and services, it's a bit of a
double-edged sword. There is plenty of well-documented research available
that can give consumers a leg up in understanding the complexity of their
health-care issues, but there is also plenty of misinformation that can be
misleading or just plain dangerous.''
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GENERAL INTEREST NEWS
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3. PURDUE, IBM, DASSAULT SYSTEMES CREATE A DIGITAL ENTERPRISE CENTER
Purdue University, IBM and Dassault Systemes announced today (Friday, 6/23)
a collaborative alliance to create a digital enterprise applied-research
center in the School of Technology on the university's West Lafayette
campus. The research center, a $6 million project, will be part of a working
model of the digital enterprise, the framework that enables manufacturers to
manage their extended enterprise through a complete e-business environment,
from product concept and production to customer delivery and support.
4. GIFT BRIDGES TECHNOLOGY AND AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING AT PURDUE
Thanks to the generosity of an alumnus and his wife, Purdue will graduate
engineers better prepared to blend the theory of engineering with real-world
applications in aeronautics. The blending is made possible by a $2 million
gift from James Raisbeck, a 1961 aeronautical engineering graduate, and his
wife, Sherry, through their company Raisbeck Engineering Inc. The money will
fund a distinguished professorship, supporting a faculty member devoted to
developing interdisciplinary courses and pulling together students from two
different Purdue schools - the School of Technology and the School of
Aeronautics and Astronautics - to work on the same projects.
5. PESTICIDE BAN COSTS CONSUMERS
The recent ban on most uses of chlorpyrifos will keep kids from coming in
contact with much of the pesticide, but it also will make it harder for
homeowners to control insect pests in the house and garden, says Purdue
entomologist Gary Bennett. ''There are alternative products out there, but
everybody's going to pay more for less-effective control of occasional
invaders like spiders, cockroaches, ants and termites,'' Bennett says. ''In
general, the lower-priced products were the ones that contained
chlorpyrifos.'' Chlorpyrifos, sold under trade names such as Dursban and
Lorsban, has been one of the most widely used organophosphate pesticides in
the United States.
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AGRICULTURAL NEWS
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6. DOUBLE CROPS, CUT THE ACREAGE BY 2010, PREDICTS PLANT SCIENTIST
Imagine two crops of corn or soybeans each growing season. Plant in March,
harvest in July. Plant another crop, harvest in November. What to most
farmers would sound like pure foolishness could become a reality within a
decade, according to a Purdue plant scientist. Ray Bressan, professor of
horticulture and director of Purdue University's Center for Plant
Environmental Stress Physiology, says scientists have learned as much in the
past three years as in the previous 100 about how crops and other plants
withstand environmental stresses.
7. FIRST SOYBEANS WITH COMPLETE NEMATODE RESISTANCE DEVELOPED
The soybean farmer's biggest enemy - a tiny parasitic worm known as the
soybean cyst nematode - will soon not be a worry, thanks to Purdue
scientists and Midwestern plant breeders. A consortium of six agricultural
seed companies has announced that it will be the first to sell soybean
varieties that offer high yield and complete resistance to all known types
of soybean cyst nematodes. The first soybeans have been planted to obtain
seed, and the resistant soybeans will be available to farmers this fall for
the 2001 planting season.
8. TOP FARMER WORKSHOP LOOKS AT 'VALUE-ADDED' FARMING
To squeeze every ounce of revenue from his farm, an Indiana farmer builds
tile machines. An Illinois farmer boosts his operation's worth by making and
marketing tractors. Further west, a Kansas farmer adds to his bottom line
with an electronic auction business. Throughout the Midwest, farmers are
branching out into separate business enterprises to supplement their farm
incomes. They're discovering the importance of ''value-added'' practices.
The value-added concept and how it can benefit farmers is the focus of the
33rd annual Top Farmer Crop Workshop, July 16 to 19 at Purdue.
9. NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR HOVDE AWARD
Nominations are now being accepted for this year's Frederick L. Hovde Award
of Excellence, which is given annually to Purdue staff members who have an
outstanding record of achievement and service to rural Indiana. ''This is a
prestigious award, recognizing those who have distinguished themselves for
their educational contributions and efforts to promote the progress and
well-being of rural Indiana,'' said David Petritz, director of Purdue
Extension.
10. SIX STUDENTS NAMED EXTENSION ASSISTANT EDUCATORS
Six Indiana college students have been selected to participate in the Purdue
University Extension Assistant Educator summer internship program. College
seniors and graduate students are eligible to apply for the program. Those
taking part in the internship and the counties they are serving in are
Purdue students Amy Stenger, Shelby County; Joan Grott, Laporte County;
Bethany Moseley, Boone County; Ann Vidt, Lake County; and Jessica Dykstra,
Warren County. Angela Rosenberger, a Ball State University student, will
serve in Delaware County
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MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
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11. THIS JULY 4, DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE FROM UNRIPE WATERMELON
Choosing a great-tasting watermelon for Fourth of July feasts isn't
bottle-rocket science. A Purdue expert says consumers can improve their odds
of topping off Independence Day with the perfect dewy-sweet treat if they
examine the fruit carefully before buying. Daniel Egel, a pest management
specialist at the Southwest-Purdue Agricultural Center, said a watermelon's
appearance and feel are better gauges than the time-honored practice of
tapping on the outer skin.
12. LAFAYETTE SYMPHONY TO BE FEATURED AT STARS AND STRIPES CONCERT
The Lafayette Symphony Orchestra will be the featured entertainment during
the annual ''Stars and Stripes'' concert and fireworks show July 4 at Purdue
University. The rain date is July 5. Entertainment at Slayter Center of
Performing Arts will begin at 6 p.m. with the Purdue Jazz Band. The
Lafayette Symphony, featuring singers Michael Kelsey and Carrie Newcomer,
will take the stage at 7:15 p.m. The fireworks display will follow at about
9:30 p.m.
13. GAS-TAX RELIEF FOR HOOSIERS - ECONOMISTS RESPOND
To combat the rising price of gasoline, Gov. Frank O' Bannon announced this
week that he would suspend Indiana sales tax on gas purchases for the next
60 days, saving Hoosier motorists between 7 cents and 10 cents per gallon.
Purdue economists can talk about what this savings means for Indiana
consumers and business owners, as well as the national implications of the
governor's initiative to reduce rising gas prices.
14. BEST BETS FOR JOURNALISTS
-- Purdue to award the first German-international MBAs July 7
''Best Bets'' also has details about a June 27 activity for minority middle
school students, and the June 30 retirement open house for Purdue Musical
Organizations Assistant Director Jae Israel-Kellogg.
15. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE PACKAGE
These stories were distributed nationally and internationally this week to
about 1,200 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.0007.html
1. Understanding of floral scents blossoms in Purdue laboratory (Photo
available)
2. Double crops, cut the acreage by 2010, predicts plant scientist
3. Plant oils will replace petroleum in coming years, scientist says
4. New GPS standards won't affect precision farming, expert says
5. Purdue researcher solves sorghum mystery (Photo available)
6. Understand GMO crops? Test yourself with this quiz
7. Quiz yourself about foods from genetically modified crops
8. Agriculture briefs
-- Purdue joins Midwestern effort to create biobased products
-- Kiss and sell: Profs write economic ''Love Story''
9. Biofuels experts
15. 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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