ECET reaching out in new directions
by Robert J. Herrick, department head of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology
The ECET Department welcomed two new faculty members this past fall semester, Dr. Helen McNally and Dr. Raji Sudararajan. They bring expertise in the areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and power electronics. Biotechnology is a rapidly expanding field of strategic interest to the state of Indiana and represents a major new direction for the ECET Department.
The faculty of ECET are forging new linkages with industry. Dr. Athula Kulatunga has been instrumental in forming a new partnership with International Rectifier (IR) in the field of power electronics and energy management. We are in the process of developing a new showcase laboratory funded and supported by IR. Additional areas of support are to include student and faculty projects; internships, coops, and graduate fellowships; and faculty development. American Electric Power (AEP) and Indiana Michigan Power (IMP) are expanding their support through funding major student projects with real-world applications. Prof. William DeWitt is providing seminars to AEP and IMP in the field of Forensic Engineering that will impact over 100 engineers from those companies. Prof. DeWitt has recently proposed Forensic Engineering Technology as a new Area of Specialization (AOS) in the master’s graduate program. This will be the first program of its kind in the country and its development was promoted and supported by the National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE).
Cybercomputing infrastructure is developing into a major area of interest for ECET. Dr. Jeffrey Evans is leading that effort and has developed a computer cluster node that is supporting education and applications research with other Purdue areas such as agriculture and chemistry.
The ECET Department is establishing international opportunities for its faculty and students. To date, agreements of faculty and student exchanges have been established with Dublin institute of Technology in Dublin, Ireland; DTA in Lucerne, Switzerland; and Fachhochschule Wolfenbuettel in Germany. A 2-week summer course is being offered to our students in Wolfenbuettel, Germany during Maymester which will include academic, industrial, and cultural experiences. Exploratory trips to China and Australia are being planned.
ECET is reaching out in new directions in support of our students, our faculty, the college, the university, the state of Indiana, and industry. These are exciting times for emerging technologies in a global economy, and ECET is evolving to help meet the needs created by a changing environment.
Identity Theft Presentation March 6
SCoTt Ksander, interim executive director of IT networks and communication at Purdue and assistant professor of CIT, will present "Identity Theft: Awareness and Prevention," from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.on Tuesday, March 6 in Stewart Center, Room 206. Ksander will discuss identity theft in both the physical and virtual worlds, how individuals can help protect their identity, and outline some best practices to follow for those who believe they have been the victim of identity theft. His talk is part of the 2007 Richard A. Hadley APSAC Professional Development series.
Student Leadership Award Deadline March 7
All College of Technology student organizations can nominate individual members for the College of Technology Student Leadership Award. In addition to the student being recognized for his/her selection, the student organization that nominated the student will receive $500 toward a community service project. More Info.
Technology Week Update
College of Technology faculty, staff, and students are getting involved in many ways during Technology Week 2007 offering presentations, assisting with tour groups and the blood drive, and lending the use of research posters for a display on Technology and Healthcare. Presenters for the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) teachers seminar include:
- Typical Career Opportunities for Engineering Technology Graduates
Robert Herrick, department head, ECET
- Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Cyber Forensics: Small-scale digital device forensics and unusual sources of digital evidence
Richard Mislan, assistant professor of CIT
- Hangar of the Future
Timothy Ropp, visiting professor of AT
- 3D Character Animation for Teaching Communicative Gestures
i.e., American Sign Language (ASL) and fine manipulative skills
Nicolette Adamo-Vallani, assistant professor of CGT
- Biometric Authentication and Behaviometrics Technology to measure and analyze human physical and behavioral characteristics for identification purposes
Stephen Elliott, associate professor of IT
For the latest information on the week's activities, visit the Technology Week Web site.
Help is still needed for Technology Week.
If you have an existing poster that relates to healthcare and would be willing to have it on display in a designated area during the blood drive, please contact Mary King, x63513. Note: This is a static display so you do not need to be present.
If you can lend a hand during the Senior Send-off Picnic or the Spring Fest Technology tent, contact Erin Pennington at x40887.
OLS Alum Featured on Spike TV Show
Morgan Alsop, a December 2006 OLS graduate, will be featured along with her father, Mike, on the debut of a new series called "Bullrun." It will air at 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13 on Spike TV.
"Bullrun" features 12 teams of two drivers who use their own cars in a rally that takes them across America. The teams compete for prize money and the 2007 Bullrun Trophy. The series is hosted by wrestling icon and former NFL player Bill Goldberg.
The Alsops' car is a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am, which was a graduation gift to Morgan from her father. Mike is the general manager of Raisor Auto Group in Lafayette.
CoT Sponsored Research
For an updated look at sponsored research activities within the College of Technology, visit the applied research section of the CoT Web site.
CoT News Submissions
Report your CoT news through the online reporting form. The next e-newsletter is scheduled for distribution on Monday, March 19. The deadline to submit items for consideration for the March 19 edition is Tuesday, March 13.
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Faculty Honors
Mark French, assistant professor of MET, along with undergraduate student Kendall Brubaker, presented a paper titled "Build Variation in a Group of Acoustic Guitars" at the 25th International Modal Analysis Conference, held Feb.. 19-22 in Orlando, Fla.
The Purdue Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Gary Bertoline, professor of CGT, to distinguished professor of computer graphics technology at its Feb. 16 meeting.
Stephen Elliott, associate professor of IT, presented findings from a first-of-its-kind study examining the use of phone-based voice biometrics for remote authentication at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco on February 6. Elliott, who also is director of the Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory at Purdue, made the presentation with Andy Rolfe, vice president of development and operations at Authentify Inc. The Purdue Biometrics Laboratory conducted the study, which measured the reliability of phone-based biometrics used in remote authentication applications, from the fourth quarter of 2004 to the second quarter of 2006.
Stephen Elliott has been named a University Faculty Scholar for the College of Technology. Elliott's research interests are in biometrics, signature verification, mobile computing, electronic and mobile commerce logistics and supply-chain management. Select associate and full professors who have been tenured within the last five years are awarded this distinction in recognition of their scholarship. Faculty scholars, nominated by committees from their academic areas and approved by the provost, receive additional funding to support their research. The program was created in 1998.
Matt Young, a research assistant in industrial technology, and Stephen Elliott represented the United States at the ISO Biometric Standards meeting in New Zealand in January. Young was appointed to a special group on ACBio; a co-editor of ISO/IEC 19784-1, Biometric Application Programming Interface (BioAPI) — Security Amendment; a co-editor of ISO/IEC 24708-1, BioAPI Interworking Protocol (BIP) — Security Amendment; and co-editor of ISO/IEC 19785-4, Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework (CBEFF) — Part 4: Security Block Format Specifications. He joins IT graduate students Shimon Modi and Eric Kukula as U.S. national body representatives to the committee.
Don Buskirk, associate professor of IT, has received the Outstanding Service Award from National Association of Industrial and Technical Teacher Educators. Buskirk received this award in recognition of outstanding service contributions to the association and to industrial and technical teacher education.
Calvin Kunkle, who served as associate professor of MET for the Kokomo location over a 22-year period, has been named professor emeritus. Kunkle has been with Purdue for 16 years full time and six years part time. His expertise is in mechanical engineering technology and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. He has 28 years of industrial experience in the design and fabrication of metal products, primarily associated with the fire apparatus industry. He also holds patents and has authored articles related to fire department apparatus, and until recently served by national appointment on the National Fire Protection Association's primary committee on fire apparatus. Kunkle retired from Purdue in July 2006 and resides in Tipton, In. with his wife, Marge.
Magazine Online
The latest edition of the College of Technology' magazine, Innovation, should reach your mailbox within the next week. In the meantime and in between times, you can read the magazine online by visiting the CoT Web site.
Knoy Hall Flag in Repair
Buildings and grounds has taken the American flag off the roof of Knoy Hall because the pulley system was in need of repair, and it was noticed that the flag was not hanging properly. Parts have been ordered, and the repair will be completed as soon as possible, according to Martha May, senior director of buildings and grounds.
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In the News
CGT Team Places First in Burton Morgan Undergraduate Competition
A team that develops advanced manufacturing technologies for biomedical, aeronautical and military markets and a startup company that created an online calendar for arts and music took the top prizes Feb.. 22 in Purdue University's 20th annual Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition.
M4 Sciences Corp. won the top $30,000 prize in the Gold (graduate) Division of the business plan presentation contest, which took place at Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.
onCurrent.com won the $15,000 prize in the Black (undergraduate) Division for a startup company that created an online calendar that helps promote arts and music and allows users to supply the information. Immanuel Mullen and Christopher Thomas, both computer graphics technology students, made the winning presentation. They plan to strengthen networking communities across the United States. More Info.
SME Team Takes Second in Rube Goldberg
The Purdue University Society of Professional Engineers put the squeeze on the competition Feb.. 24 and took top honors during the 24th annual Rube Goldberg Regional Machine Contest by finding a new — and more inefficient — way to make orange juice.
It is the third year in a row that the professional engineers' team has won Purdue's regional competition and the second consecutive year the team claimed the People's Choice Award, voted on by the more than 1,500 people who attended the event. The team's machine used 134 steps to squeeze the juice from an orange and then pour the juice into a glass.
The team was led by Drew Wischer, a senior in aviation flight technology.
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers team took second place. Students on the team were MET students William Wade, Mike Gundrum, Blake Zook, Eric Burns and James Wieger, and Manufacturing Engineering Technology students Mike Fiwek, Kyle Denhart and Chris Martin.
Their team used a Florida theme in their machine. A racetrack, grandstand, factory, swinging pail and even a red-and-white checked tablecloth and two donuts were used in their contraption. More Info.
LPD and Purdue: Partners in Fighting Online Crimes
When a suspect is arrested for soliciting a child online, the investigation does not end there.
Computers are seized and searched for evidence to link him or her to the crime — visits to Web sites, logs of explicit chats or maps to a meeting place.
That's when a new partnership between the Lafayette Police Department and Purdue comes in.
"Everything is digital nowadays," said Marc Rogers, an associate professor of computer technology and chairman of Purdue University's cyberforensics program.
"... Documents or physical evidence now is being surpassed by digital or electronic evidence." Lafayette Journal Courier
Dean Visits Anderson Community
The dean of Purdue University’s College of Technology visited Anderson on Tuesday to discuss educational partnerships and how Purdue could partner with the city to create future opportunities.
Dennis Depew gave his afternoon presentation to the Rotary Club at Anderson Country Club on Feb.. 27.
He emphasized the importance of the successful partnership Purdue University has with Anderson University dating back to 1985, along with the bright future plans that include the opening of the College of Technology’s new home. Anderson Herald Bulletin
Guitar-making Class Strikes a Chord with Students
A class offered this semester through Purdue's College of Technology allows students to combine skills in engineering, woodworking and manufacturing processes to build their own customized acoustic guitar.
"I've found this class is a great way to relate to students," said Mark French, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology. "They connect with it almost instinctively because it allows them to apply what they learn about physics and acoustics toward the design of a product they are interested in and familiar with. It really cuts through."
The class, called Instrument Manufacturing and Testing, combines a once-a-week lecture with two days in the Mechanical Engineering Technology Acoustics Lab (known as METAL), located in the basement of the Michael Golden Laboratories. More Info.
Purdue Offers Guitar-making Class July 16 to 20
Music aficionados can learn from the pros how to craft, engineer and customize their own solid-body electric guitar on July 16-20 as part of a weeklong summer workshop being offered at Purdue University.
The class will meet daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Knoy Hall, Room 106, and Michael Golden Labs, rooms 1208 and B217.
The $1,295 fee includes all materials and supplies. Workshop participants will learn the practical and technical aspects of making guitars. The class is not for credit, and no previous experience with guitar making is necessary.
Instructors will include Tim Shaw, a senior designer from Fender Guitars; Don MacCrostie, head of product design for Stewart-MacDonald; and Brian Swerdfeger, a product developer from Taylor Guitars. Swerdfeger also runs guitar clinics around the country for Taylor.
Several Purdue faculty will help teach the class: Mark French; Brad Harriger, professor of Manufacturing Engineering Technology ; and Richard Couch, director of engagement at Purdue's Center for Advanced Manufacturing. More Info.
Purdue Greensburg Students Lead Food Collection
When Human Services Inc. called out to the residents of Greensburg with a need for food in its pantry, donations flocked to the shelves.
However, the associates at GECOM have taken it a step further. For that reason, the Greensburg Daily News has awarded GECOM with our Volunteers of the Week honor.
Trisha Mayberry, a student at the Greensburg Community Learning Center and an associate at GECOM, wanted to start a canned-food drive for a class project.
"Everyone in my Purdue class has to do a different service project as a requirement," Mayberry said. "The 24-hour food drive didn't go as good as well as the group had hoped, so I wanted to do another one since I knew they are always in need." Greensburg Daily Times
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