ABeABe-Notes

AGRICULTURAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

Issue 8 – June 13, 2007

Funding Opportunities Diversity Faculty Fellow - the time has come again for interested faculty to submit their application for consideration as a 2007-2008 Diversity Faculty Fellow. This past academic year we had one Diversity Faculty Fellow, B. Allen Talbert, professor in YDAE who successful completed the program! Our college can support up to two faculty for the upcoming year. Each fellow will receive a $2000 grant to revise a course by incorporating a diversity component or develop a new diversity related course. For further information contact Pam Morris, Assistant Dean/Director in the Office of Diversity at 494-8293 or via email at [email protected]. Note: Application deadline is by 5:00 pm., Friday, August 24, 2007!!!!

Budweiser Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation Research Prize - Anheuser-Busch and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are accepting applications for the Budweiser Renewable Energy and Wildlife Conservation Research Prize. The prize, which is new, will be awarded through a competitive process and will recognize and support a single innovative project that advances new technologies or practices that contribute to making renewable energy a practical energy alternative. The $100,000 prize will be awarded in consideration of a project\'s ability to develop or evaluate new cost-effective renewable energy technologies or practices for industrial applications and demonstrate the measurable benefits such practices may have in advancing wildlife conservation. Eligibility for the research prize is limited to accredited post-secondary academic institutions, with preference given to those working collaboratively among different departments within an institution(s) and with public agencies and nonprofit organizations. The Request for Proposal is available at the NFWF Web site at http://fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/10007023/nfwf and for additional RFPs in Environment, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_environment.jhtml.

Grants – Projects Funded Purdue Alumni Association Faculty Development Incentive Grant PI: Jenna Rickus. $3,000.00 "Establishing the Biological Engineering in Genetics (BEG) Undergraduate Research Team as competitors in the international Genetically Engineered Machine competition."

Papers Paper presented in Tampere, Finland at the 10th Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power: “The Effect of Pump Efficiency on Displacement-Controlled Actuator Systems” Authors: Christopher Williamson, Monika Ivantysynova.

Seminars/Workshops/Lectures International Conference of Biorefinery - Beijing, China, October 20 23, 2007. In the century, biobased industry producing chemicals and fuels from renewable raw materials will play an important role due to the depletion of petroleum oil, and the environmental and energy problems in the world, and biorefinery will greatly contribute to a sustainable development of the world. In the conference, there will be a forum to discuss a variety of topics and present recent scientific researches. The Social Program will also be scheduled, offering ample opportunities to renew standing friendships and forge new ones from all around the world. In addition, Beijing has four world cultural heritages including the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. October is the golden time for traveling to Beijing. Participants and their families may take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy the visiting of Beijing and the delicious Chinese food.

ABE in the News ABE Business Office – Welcome to Connie McMindes who joined the

ABE Business Office as Account Clerk on May 14th. Connie is just returning to the workforce after being an at home mother of three for the past 20 plus years. Connie is also a proud new Grandmother – to Mia, born in January. Business Manager Adam Knust is asking for everyone’s patience as Connie learns her new responsibilities and Purdue processes.

Stan Harlow - On the week of June 18-22 the pasture fileserver will be upgraded. The upgrade will pasture to the new server. not be available. The amount but there will be some with specific time periods of

involve moving all computer files from There will be times when some files will of down time will be kept to a minimum, downtime. Announcements will be made unavailable services.

In preparation, all web pages danpatch to a more secure tables will be moved from Oracle database. If you have at [email protected].

are being moved off pasture and ECN web server. All Oracle database pasture and danpatch to a new ECN questions, please contact Stan Harlow

Student News 2007 ASABE 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition - After 9 months of long weekends and late nights, twenty Purdue Agricultural and Biological students were rewarded with several first place category finishes and a second place overall finish at the 2007 ASABE 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition. Thirty universities from the United States and Canada participated in the event. This was the highest overall finish ever recorded by Purdue (4th in 2005) and the first time that Purdue won the overall performance title. Purdue took a “no holds barred” approach and was able to design and build a six engine tractor weighing less than 900 lbs, the only school able to do so. The University of Illinois managed to install five engines, and the remaining schools utilized four or less engines. For Purdue this meant that over one-half the weight of the tractor was solely from the engines. To achieve this remarkable feat Purdue’s tractor utilized lightweight electric steering, electronic throttle control for each of the six engines, and an electric reverse gear using a starter motor from a Geo Metro automobile. A joystick and onboard computer is used to steer and operate the tractor, collect data, and maintain safe operation. The tractor will automatically send SMS messages to a cell phone if safe limits are exceeded, and a person can remotely disable the operation of the tractor by calling the cell phone located in the tractor computer. Faculty advisor for the team, Professor John Lumkes noted that “what the students achieved this year is remarkable. The results are a testimony to the quality and dedication of these students, their willingness to function as a team, listen to different opinions, and to overcome the many challenges brought on by designing and building the only six engine tractor at the competition. The results speak for themselves with winning the overall pulling title. I am extremely proud of what they accomplished and am privileged to be able to see the students mature not only as outstanding engineers during their years at Purdue, but as young men and women excited to go out and become leaders in a world needing new ideas and new solutions to the energy, food, and water problems facing our society.” Team members are: Keith Harmeyer, Michael Holland, John Mahrenholz, Cody McKinley, Josh Sander, Mitch Fenneman, John Andruch, Anna Weimer, Jon Owens, Ben Schlipf, Casey Fillinger, Keith Mears, Brandon Manier, Brad George, Brad Paulus, Andrew Crandel, Craig Clemson, Dusty Price, James Bartlett and Joe Dynes. Faculty advisor is Professor John Lumkes. Complete results are posted at: http://www.asabe.org/students/tractor/asaecomp.html.

The MAHA lab would like to welcome its newest researcher, Reece Garrett. Reece will be at the MAHA Lab for at least two years working towards his MSME degree. The MAHA lab would like to welcome Bob Woody from IvyTech. Bob will be here for the summer, participating in the RET (Research Experience for Teachers) program. Bob teaches fluid power, process control and robotics at IvyTech. The MAHA Lab would also like to welcome the following undergraduate summer researchers: 1. John Andruch, from Purdue 2. Jose Manuel Rivera, from Puerto Rico, Electrical Eng. 3. Elvis Ulloa, from Puerto Rico, Electrical Eng. 4. William Hinson, from Purdue, Mechanical Eng. 5. Neil Dantam, from Purdue, Mechanical Eng. and Computer Science

Retiree & Alumni News Alumni Event – the ABE department hosted an alumni event on June 5th. ABE Alumni were invited to the Indianapolis Indian’s game complete Everyone enjoyed a nice evening at received game balls to take home We hope to continue to host events contact information is current by at [email protected] “Lets Make A Deal” offer at

with picnic before the game and group tickets. the ball park and several youngsters with them. for our Alumni, so be sure your sending an email to Micky Creech and/or by filling out our www.purdue.edu/ABE.

FYI ASABE Members – The International Preprofessional Council (IPC) is seeking judges for the 2007 Undergraduate Project Poster Competition that will be hosted during the annual meeting at Minneapolis. The purpose of the Undergraduate Project Poster Session is to encourage undergraduate students to interact with industry, faculty, and fellow students by giving a technical poster presentation on an engineering project useful to agriculture and related areas. This year there are 13 entries from 9 different schools, and in order to make this event happen, the IPC needs your help. The poster session is on Sunday, June 17 from 3:15pm-5:15pm and the IPC is looking for representatives of different technical divisions of ASABE to act as judges. More information can be found at http://www.asabe.org/membership/2004%20Poster%20Publicity%20Flier.htm.

Purdue Libraries - Purdue University along with all members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) has entered into an agreement with Google, Inc., to digitize the most distinctive collections across all 12 member libraries -- as many as 10 million volumes over the next six years. This agreement nearly doubles the number of universities participating in the Google Book Search project - http://books.google.com/googlebooks/partners.html. The CIC is a consortium of 12 research universities: University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin - Madison. This collaborative approach will bring together the holdings of some of the world’s largest libraries into one massive digital resource. This initiative is an important step to preserve and stabilize the libraries’ legacy collections, providing both broader and more in-depth access to historically significant print resources.

Summer Construction – for summer campus construction visit the web site at http://www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/campusconstruction. Grissom Hall – window replacement will begin soon, and the sidewalks on the east and south sides of GRIS will be closed during this period and will remain closed until the window replacement project is finished. The road between GRIS and PMU, and the east entrance to GRIS will remain open. A map of the area is available at: http://www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/pdf/grissom.pdf. Consumer Confidence Report – Daniel Gemmecke, Water Works/Waste Water Supervisor would like to inform everyone that the quality of our Purdue drinking water not only meets, but exceeds the standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The full repot can be found on the web at http://www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/publications.php.

ABE Department – No parking will be allowed behind the ABE building due to masonry repairs, this restriction will be in effect until August 15.

EWOTS - with the implementation of phase two of the OnePurdue system there is no longer a need for the EWOTS system. EWOTS has been replaced by the Plant Maintenance module of OnePurdue. All requestors of work orders should begin submitting those requests using the Plant Maintenance module of OnePurdue. The EWOTS system with be disabled effective June 25, 2007 to allow time for those who have not yet taken the FIPM 205 class to do so. The class is offered via WEBCT-Vista. We ask that people use their Building Deputies or Department Requestors to submit work order requests for the departments in their buildings when possible. If you have any problems with access to OnePurdue please contact Sally McGill at 4-6059. For assistance in submitting work orders in OnePurdue please contact the WRC help desk at 4-9999. Electrical Utilities Project - Phase II of the 2007 electrical utilities ductbank project begins June 11, 2007. Contractors will be working in and around the manholes located along Oval Drive, installing a small section of ductbank north of Oval Drive, and performing some preliminary work at Stewart Center in preparation for planned vault upgrades this winter. On Oval Drive, contractors will move from manhole to manhole throughout the duration of the project. The road will remain open, although traffic will be routed around areas where the contractors are working. Short sections of sidewalk may need to be closed temporarily, and some parking spots will be relocated while construction takes place in each area. Vehicles and pedestrians will be directed with the appropriate signage. At Stewart Center, a short section of underground conduit will be installed across Marstellar St. on the west side of Stewart. Any necessary lane closures will be brief, and traffic will be re-routed accordingly. Work will also be performed at the electrical vault below the Stewart Center loading dock. The loading dock will remain accessible during construction. The expected completion date for this phase of the project is August 17, 2007. A map of the area is available at: http://www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/pdf/ductbank_ph2.pdf Phase I work continues at Manhole 18 (west of the North Power Plant), and is expected to begin on the north side ENAD and POTR, and south of NUCL. For more information and updates, please visit the High Voltage Project website: http://www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/HVP/index.php

Mack Strickland – reserve

June 23rd for a retirement party at The Wright Center if you would like to contribute for a gift or would like to attend contact Becky Peer via email at [email protected] or 494-1162.

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Calendar

June 2007 13-15 4-H Science Workshop – contact C. Rusk at 494-8427 19 ABE Alumni/Friends Breakfast at ASABE meeting in Minneapolis, MN - 7:00 am – sign up with Becky Peer ([email protected]) 23 Mack Strickland’s retirement party – 4:00 pm at the Wright Center – sign up with Becky at [email protected] or 494-1162 25-27 4-H Youth Round-up – contact C. Broady at 494-8435 28 Faculty/Staff meeting at 1:30 pm July 2007 4 University Holiday August 2007 8-19 Indiana State Fair – contact D. Kirkpatrick at 494-9113 14 Faculty Retreat to prepare for CSREES Fall 2008 Review (may be some ABET too) – location to be determined 15 Purdue Day at the State Fair 28-30 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois – contact D. Kirkpatrick at 494-9113 September 2007 6-8 Farm World Expo in Terre Haute, Indiana – contact D. Kirkpatrick at 494-9113 15 Family Day – contact J. Alexander at 494-8480 18-20 Ohio State Farm Science Review in London, Ohio – contact D. Kirkpatrick at 494-9113 October 2007 27 Purdue Homecoming November 2007 16-17 Agronomy Centennial Celebration at the Beck Center – contact K. Delp at 494-6586