PURDUE NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF JAN. 2-5 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's supercomputer ranked third among U.S. universities 2 Purdue expert: Seniors can reap weighty gains from strength training 3. Purdue announces international entertainment technology center 4. Employee performance evaluations: How to do them right 5. Day of service begins two-week recognition of Martin Luther King 6. Purdue Fish Fry to honor new U.S. and Purdue presidents 7. Futurist predicts agriculture as dominant industry of 21st century 8. Farming Together teaches 'getting along' skills 9. Workshop to teach tools for increasing animal comfort 10. Pig TV: Swine courses broadcast to six Indiana cities 11. Meetings address variety of beef production issues 12. Nicholas Payton brings Armstrong tribute to Purdue 13. Horses highlighted during January events 14. Purdue calendar 15. Agriculture calendar 16. Best Bets for Journalists 17. Inside Purdue and Perspective ------------------------------------- RESEARCH NEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS ------------------------------------- 1. Purdue's supercomputer ranked third among U.S. universities Purdue University's supercomputer is the third most powerful at U.S. academic institutions, according to a recently released listing. The IBM computer, which became operational in July, is surpassed only by similar systems at the University of North Carolina and the University of Minnesota, according to the most recent TOP500 supercomputer list, which is updated twice a year. The listing, available on the Internet at http://www.top500.org, is compiled by computer scientists at the University of Tennessee and the University of Mannheim, Germany. 2. Purdue expert: Seniors can reap weighty gains from strength training Weights clank, treadmills hum and people sweat, but there is no music blasting, the televisions are tuned to CNN or the Arts and Entertainment Network, and many of the exercisers are senior citizens. Sound like your local gym? Probably not. But it¹s a common scenario at Purdue¹s A.H. Ismail Fitness and Nutrition Research and Education Center, and one that Michael Flynn would like to see duplicated in exercise facilities around the country. ------------------------ GENERAL INTEREST NEWS ------------------------ 3. Purdue announces international entertainment technology center Purdue cast its spotlight on the future of the entertainment industry. ''The arts and sciences of moviemaking will come together in Purdue's new International Center for Entertainment Technology,'' said Dennis R. Short, center co-director. The faculty and student researchers will take advantage of the university's interdisciplinary programs and develop software, evaluate technology, hold conferences, offer consulting services, coordinate technological meetings at industry conferences and serve as ''information brokers'' to the industry. 4. Employee performance evaluations: How to do them right Employee evaluation should start early - when management, using a focused selection process, chooses the right person for the job, according to a Purdue professor who studies employer-employee relations. ''In a more perfect world, all employees would begin their orientation by being shown around - not just where the break room is but also where the real culture and history of the business or organization lives,'' says Daniel O. Lybrook, associate professor of organizational leadership and supervision. ''The new hire needs to know not just what the company espouses but also the truth about what it really values.'' 5. Day of service begins two-week recognition of Martin Luther King Purdue students, faculty and staff will begin a two-week observance of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., ''Acts of Kindness: Acts of Justice,'' Monday, Jan. 15. Events include a day of service to the Greater Lafayette community, ''True Freedom: A Tribute to Martin Luther King Junior,'' a non-food item drive, a lecture series, and a diversity workshop. ''We are offering the events in an effort to bring the vision of Dr. King to our campus in a very, very meaningful kind of way,'' said Dorothy Simpson-Taylor, director of Diversity Resources. -------------------- AGRICULTURAL NEWS -------------------- 6. Purdue Fish Fry to honor new U.S. and Purdue presidents When the curtain rises on this year's Purdue Ag Fish Fry, the country and the university will be operating under new presidents. To pay honor to this changing of the guard, both at Purdue and in our nation's capital, this year's Fish Fry theme is ''Hail to the Chief.'' The annual gathering of the Purdue Ag Alumni Association will begin at 11:30 a.m., Jan. 26 in the Purdue Armory. 7. Futurist predicts agriculture as dominant industry of 21st century American agriculture enjoyed unparalleled gains in productivity and sophistication during the 20th century, but one forecaster predicts even greater things to come during the next 100 years. Lowell Catlett, professor of agricultural economics at New Mexico State University, will speak on the future of agriculture during the Purdue Ag Forecast Jan. 26. 8. Farming Together teaches 'getting along' skills An abundance of training programs exist in the technical aspects of growing crops and raising livestock. Unfortunately, the opposite is true when it comes to educating farmers in human resource skills. A Purdue workshop addresses that void. The Farming Together workshop aids current and future agricultural practitioners in their business relationships, both on and off the farm. The 21st annual workshop is scheduled for Feb. 2-3 in Stewart Center, on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. 9. Workshop to teach tools for increasing animal comfort It started with humans, then it moved on to pets, now scientists are studying the psychology of beef cattle. They'll use their expertise to teach cow/calf producers how to raise better cattle by providing the animals a more comfortable, stress-free environment. The fourth annual Winter Beef Cow/Calf Producer Production Seminar, will take place Jan. 20 at the Bedford National Guard Armory, 2020 19th St., in Bedford, Ind. The seminar is sponsored by the Purdue Extension Service, Lawrence County. 10. Pig TV: Swine courses broadcast to six Indiana cities Swine production practices are advancing, as are the methods for sharing the information with farmers. Experts in Purdue's departments of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Clinical Sciences will begin the first in a series of electronic swine education courses in February. 11. Meetings address variety of beef production issues Indiana beef cattle producers can pick up helpful information on herd health, selection, reproductive management and marketing at regional meetings in January and February. The meetings are cosponsored by the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. Purdue beef and veterinary specialists will present the educational sessions. ------------------------------- ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ITEMS ------------------------------- 12. Nicholas Payton brings Armstrong tribute to Purdue Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton will open the 2001 Purdue Jazz Festival with his tribute to Louis Armstrong at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, in Loeb Playhouse. Admission is $26 for general public and $17 for Purdue students. Tickets can be purchased at Purdue box offices or charge by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. ---------------------- MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS ---------------------- 13. Horses highlighted during January events Registrations are still being accepted for the annual Horsemen's Conference Saturday, Jan. 20, on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. The day-long event, cosponsored by Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine and the Indiana Horse Council, will feature a variety of presentations and demonstrations of interest to horse owners, trainers, breeders and equine veterinary practitioners. 14. 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/ 15. Agriculture calendar This calendar lists Purdue agriculture events during the next four weeks. 16. Best Bets for Journalists -- Day of service begins two-week recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. -- Purdue to host media briefing on plant, animal genomics research 17. 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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