From the Dean

Another school year has begun, and once again the campus is alive with students. Those who are new are beginning to find their way around campus, and those who are returning have jumped back into student mode with classes, studying, and reconnecting with old friends. The sidewalks are crowded, the streets are busy, and the parking garages are full, but the excitement of a new academic year can be felt all over campus.

There is much to celebrate at Purdue this year. On Homecoming weekend, October 15 and 16, we will have an exciting announcement about the naming of the new Computer Science Building. Preliminary work on the building site has been in progress all summer, and we will start construction for the facility in October.
We are near the fifth year of The Campaign for Purdue, and the contributions of our alumni, friends, and corporate and foundation partners have put us on a pace to exceed the fundraising goal we set at the beginning of the campaign. Last year the School of Science received new gifts of over $20 million, a 22% increase over the previous year and a new record for Science!

Our major challenge and top priority in the coming year is to raise funds for the construction of a new home for our world-renowned Structural Biology group. If we are to meet the challenge of maintaining excellence in structural biology, there is not a minute to spare.

For the latest information about Science and Purdue, be sure to check our Web site (www.science.purdue.edu). As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. Please feel free to send them to me at dean@science.purdue.edu.

Best regards,
Jeff Vitter

 

SCIENCE NEWS AND RESEARCH

Virus known for its photo ops makes its movie screen debut

High-resolution snapshots of a virus attacking its host – which have culminated in a movie of the process – could reveal secrets of viral infection and improve gene therapy techniques, according to Purdue’s Structural Biology research group.

Structural biologists led by Professor Michael G. Rossmann have obtained clearer pictures of how the T4 virus, long known to infect E. coli bacteria, alters its shape as it prepares to pierce its host's cell membrane. The complicated infection process requires a flower-like section of the virus, known as the baseplate, to shape-shift by dramatically changing the configuration of the numerous proteins that form it. The team has taken cryoelectron microscope images of the baseplate from different moments in the process and transformed them into a brief animated movie, helping scientists understand how infection occurs and possibly enabling them to apply this knowledge for the benefit of human patients in the future. Full story.

Bright idea could doom cancer and viruses, say Purdue scientists

Cancer and viruses may someday find themselves blinded by the light of therapies based on recent Purdue University chemistry research.
A team of scientists including Professor Harry Morrison of the Chemistry Department has developed a group of rhodium-based compounds that, when exposed to light, can kill tumor cells and deactivate a virus closely related to the West Nile and yellow fever viruses. Unlike the ordinary substances used for chemotherapy, these chemicals are not harmful to the body in general – they only become lethal to DNA when activated by light of a specific frequency. While therapies based on the discovery are likely many years away, the compounds could have potential as anticancer agents and for blood sterilization. Full Story.

NSF center led by Purdue to give students early research experience

Purdue will lead a new federally funded center that will provide research experience to university freshman and sophomore chemistry students to increase their enthusiasm for careers in the sciences.
The Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education will involve faculty members from Purdue, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Ball State University, Chicago State University, which is primarily an undergraduate institution, and four other institutions that are either four-year colleges or community colleges: Olive Harvey College, Harold Washington College, the College of DuPage and Moraine Valley Community College. Professor Gabriela Weaver of the Chemistry Department is principal investigator of the Center. Full story.

The intricate behaviors of quarks may finally yield to calculation

Quarks are the smaller-than-a-proton particles without which there would be no stars, dogs, or breakfast burritos. Now, decades after Physicist Kenneth Wilson devised the computational technique called lattice-QCD to calculate properties of quark-containing entities such as protons and neutrons, souped-up computer power and improved understanding of QCD theory are enabling researchers do some calculations with long-awaited accuracy. So promising are the results that theorists may soon for the first time make predictions that can be tested by experimentalists working at a large particle collider. Purdue Physics Professor Ian Shipsey is featured in this article from Science News Online.

Activities bring Science fun to the Fair

Kids and adults alike had fun while they learned about science at this year’s Indiana State Fair. On Purdue Day at the Fair, August 18, School of Science K-12 Outreach Coordinators showcased hands-on activities to demonstrate the fun as well as the challenge of science and mathematics. Full story.

School of Science K-12 Outreach also conducted its Standards-Based Integrated Science Instruction (SISI) teacher workshop this summer from July 5 to July 16. SISI is a year-long program, including a two-week summer workshop and school-year follow-up. Jenny Mole, an anthropology post doctoral fellow, finds a bone with a distinctive red mark on it at a local dig site. Thirty teachers came to Purdue over the summer and used this scenario to explore a problem in forensics, Kiss of Death, using an integrated science approach. Teachers use physical, chemical, biological, mathematical, and earth science concepts to solve a crime, thus gaining detailed science knowledge and an understanding of the use of inquiry in the classroom. Each outreach coordinator in the school of science teaches a part of the program. This teacher development program is funded by an Improving Teacher Quality Partnership Program grant administered through the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Teachers use their experience to create inquiry-based lessons for their classes. The program has been in place for three years and has trained 90 teachers. More information on Science K-12 Outreach.

Science welcomes students to fall semester

The School of Science kicked off the first day of the semester by passing out donuts to students on their way to class. Dean Jeff Vitter and members of the Science Administration and Counseling staff gave almost as many directions as donuts, helping confused students navigate all the red brick buildings.
The School of Science once again enrolled nearly 3,000 undergraduate students in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Physics, and Statistics.
The School of Science also welcomes 18 new faculty members. Complete list of new faculty members in Science.

School of Science Distinguished Alumni Call for Nominations

The School of Science invites nominations for our 2005 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Persons who have received any degree (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.) from the School of Science are eligible for consideration for this award. The nominee's record should include distinguished accomplishments that reflect favorably on his/her profession, Purdue University, and society in general. Click here to submit a nomination. Nominations must be submitted by November 1, 2004.

Complete list of School of Science Distinguished Alumni

 SCIENCE PEOPLE

Computer Science Professor Greg Frederickson Receives Po'lya Award

At its August 2004 meeting in Providence, RI, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) announced that Professor Greg Frederickson had won its annual George Po'lya Award. Presented to authors of articles of expository excellence that appear in the College Mathematics Journal, the award recognized Frederickson's article, "A New Wrinkle on an Old Folding Problem," which appeared in the September 2003 issue. Full story.

Science Alumna named to National Women’s Hall of Fame

Rita R. Colwell, who earned a master’s degree in genetics from Purdue, will be one of ten people inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame during ceremonies in October 2005. Colwell became the first woman and first biologist to head the National Science Foundation in 1998, spearheading the agency’s emphases in K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education/training, and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.

Purdue community mourns the death of Professor Michael Laskowski

Professor Michael Laskowski, 74, suffered an unexpected heart attack on August 2 while on vacation in Grand Teton National Park. He was born March 13, 1930, in Warsaw, Poland. He was active as a messenger in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, and he was wounded protecting a friend from a hand grenade. Separated from his parents by World War II, he walked across Poland with his grandmother, who died on the trip. He joined his uncle with whom he lived until emigrating to the United States in 1947 to reunite with his parents. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1955. In 1957 he married Joan Claire Heyer. He graduated from Lawrence College magna cum laude in 1950 and received his doctorate from Cornell in 1954. He was hired as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Purdue in 1957, was promoted to full professor at age 35, and remained active in that position until his death. Full obituary.

 

PURDUE NEWS

Purdue expands statewide scholarship program

Ninety Hoosier freshmen attending Purdue as part of a new university initiative that covers the costs of their first year on campus got good news on August 26– the program will continue to offer aid when they return as sophomores.
During a dinner for Purdue Opportunity Awards recipients, university President Martin C. Jischke announced that the program, designed to pay for tuition, room and board for a high-need incoming freshman from each of the state's 92 counties, has been extended. Opportunity Awards students returning to Purdue next year as sophomores will be eligible to receive up to $2,500 to assist in covering the gap remaining after federal, state and other university aid has been applied to their college costs. As part of the program, those returning students will be asked to mentor the next group of students receiving the award. Full story.

11.7-foot, high-resolution screen on display at homeland security demo

Researchers showcased a new type of large high-resolution display last week that promises to have applications in everything from TV news production to homeland security and home theatres to higher education. The prototype was developed by Thomson, a leading technology provider for media and entertainment companies, with assistance from Purdue engineers. It was demonstrated during a three-day program featuring homeland security simulations aimed at improving how officials respond to terrorist attacks. The prototype uses four separate projectors to display a single image onto the large screen. Innovative software allows the four separate projections to be blended together so that no seams are seen between adjacent segments, joining the four images into a single picture with higher resolution than regular television sets. Full story.

Purdue places more interns for Indiana thanks to Lilly Endowment

Purdue University software development major Andrew L. Robinson III enjoyed his summer internship with Griffin Analytical Technologies in West Lafayette so much that he said he will return this fall as an intern. Robinson, a senior from Indianapolis who honed his skills as a computer programmer at Griffin, will be one of approximately 27 Purdue students who will work 100-150 hours during the fall semester in exchange for a class credit and a $1,500 stipend from Purdue's Lilly Interns for Indiana program. Supported by a $3.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., approximately 27 startup companies are expected to place interns through Purdue. Full story.

 

RESEARCH FUNDING REPORT

Science researchers received funding totaling approximately $4.5 million in July 2004. Complete list of funded proposals.

 

CALENDAR

School of Science Alumni Association Board meeting: October 15

Homecoming: October 16

School of Science Dean's Leadership Council Fall meeting: October 21-22

President's Council Annual Weekend: October 22-23

Science Events

Purdue Events