MET Faculty Member Reports on ASHRAE Fellowship
 William "Bill" Hutzel, associate professor of MET, received an ASHRAE fellowship appointment in Washington, D.C. this year. He started this past August and is providing engineering and technical advice to policy makers in Congress, federal agencies and the White House. ASHRAE is the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
He recently reported back to his MET colleagues on his encounters thus far in Washington, D.C.
"My family and I have been in Washington, DC since mid-August and everything has worked out well. We are living in Mclean, VA; about 8 miles west of DC. My five kids are enjoying school and everything the area has to offer.
The fellowship started with a fascinating two-week orientation run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS produces the well-known Journal of Science. The orientation discussed the political process in Washington, but also explained things like lobbying, the role of media, etc. The photo shows the 34 Congressional Fellows who are participating in the AAAS program. They are an outstanding group of chemists, biologists, medical doctors, psychologists, etc. Only four or five are engineers.
I interviewed with five offices in the Senate andfive offices in the House, but ultimately accepted a staff position in the office of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont. Senator Sanders serves on the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. This committee is responsible for the Department of Energy and all things energy related. The huge energy bill that passed the Senate in June is now headed towards a House/Senate conference committee originated in ENR. Senator Sanders has successfully introduced energy efficiency legislation that is part of the energy bill.
Senator Sanders also serves on the Committee on Environment and Public Works. The main issue for 2008 is climate change. There are at least five competing bills in the Senate that seek to reduce emissions of green house gases. Senator Sanders has submitted the most aggressive climate change bill so far and has received substantial support from other Senators. We'll see where that legislation goes over the next year.
I took the job with Sanders because he needs practical technical advice on a wide range of energy initiatives. For starters, he wants information on the feasibility of residential solar assisted water heaters. Fortunately for me, we've evaluated electric water heaters in the Applied Energy Laboratory at Purdue. I've also seen the solar assisted version while working with a partner institution in Lucerne, Switzerland. Senator Sanders is also interested in legislation that originated in the House to re-train the U.S. work force for "green" jobs of the future."
Regards,
Bill Hutzel, P.E.
Faculty Endeavors
Purdue faculty and graduate students from Purdue-West Lafayette, Purdue-Calumet and IUPUI presented at the Tri-VISN Flow Improvement Inpatient Initiative (FIX) Surgical Flow Conference in Chicago on Sept. 12. Purdue faculty, led by Prof. Heather Woodward Hagg from Industrial Technology, facilitated 20 surgical flow teams from Veterans Affairs hospitals throughout the United States in applications of value-stream mapping and value-stream analysis to improve surgical flow. Profs. Susan Scachitti and Lash Mapa from Purdue-Calumet, and Prof. Matthew Stephens from Industrial Technology and graduate student SCoTt Russell from IUPUI provided direct facilitation to the surgical flow teams. Hagg is a researcher at the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering and a health services researcher at the VA Center for Implementing Evidence Based Practice. She leads a statewide collaborative of Purdue's engineering and technology faculty and Indiana hospitals and health-care providers. The focus of this program is to translate systems engineering methodologies, such as lean and six sigma, into relevant and accessible tools that can be readily applied by health-care professionals to create sustained improvement in the quality of health-care delivery across Indiana.
Cathy Tilton, vice president of standards and technology at Reston, Va.-based Daon Inc., received the "Outstanding Mentorship Award" in Undergraduate and Graduate Education in the Field of Biometrics from Purdue's Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory. Tilton received the award Sept. 27 during the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) M1 technical committee meeting at Purdue. Stephen Elliott, director of the laboratory based in the Department of Industrial Technology, said Tilton received the award – the first given by the lab - for her mentorship of undergraduates and graduates at Purdue since 2001. Elliott said Tilton has invested time and effort in mentoring students from the biometrics lab, provided them with opportunities for internships and has spoken to classes and student groups, such as Women in Technology. In addition, she has also served on a master's degree committee for the department. Elliott said he hopes to give the mentorship award annually.
CoT News Submissions
Report your CoT news through the online reporting form. The next e-newsletter is scheduled for distribution on Monday, October 29.
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Alumni News
R.E. Dimond and Associates, an Indianapolis mechanical and electrical consulting engineering firm, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. The company's president, Dan Dimond, received a bachelor's degree from the College of Technology in 1982. He became president of the firm in 1995. Recent R.E. Dimond projects include a new air-conditioning system for the Indiana Statehouse, a new HVAC system for Broad Ripple High School and modernized HVAC, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems for Indiana State University's College of Education.
John A. Hockey, BCM alumnus, is running in this year's election for
County Commissioner—District 5 in Martin County, Florida.
Sponsored Research Update
For an updated look at sponsored research activities within the College of Technology, visit the applied research section of the CoT Web site.
Welcome to the College
Denise Hodson has joined the Lafayette location as student services coordinator. Denise received her associate's degree in OLS from the Lafayette location and will complete her bachelor's degree there in December 2007. She most recently served Purdue as a business manager in the College of Engineering.
Janice Beard starts today (October 15) in the college as administrative assistant to the Dean. She most recently served as administrative assistant for the Office of the Vice President for Human Relations at Purdue.
Michelle Funk is new to Purdue and recently accepted a position within the college as department secretary for CGT.
PLTW on Inside Indiana Business
Michael O'Hair, associate dean for engagement, recently appeared on Gary Dick's Inside Indiana Business show along with Teresa Voors, the new commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, to discuss the growth of Project Lead the Way in Indiana and the implications for tomorrow's workforce in the state of Indiana. View it online.
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In the News
Assistant director chosen for Purdue College of Technology at Columbus/Greensburg
 The College of Technology has selected Jack Head as assistant director of the college's locations in Columbus and Greensburg.
Head has been an adjunct instructor for the College of Technology since 2000, teaching courses in organizational leadership and supervision. His responsibilities as assistant location director include marketing the Purdue College of Technology to area schools and businesses. More Info.
High-tech crime fighting hits the road
The state's latest crime-fighting technology isn't hidden away in a top-secret warehouse or a high-tech lab. Instead, it's rumbling across the state in a converted mobile home.
The Indiana State Police gave a tour recently of the mobile laboratory, which allows police to analyze computer hard drives, cell phones, digital cameras and other electronics at a crime scene right after officers serve a search warrant.
It was developed by police in conjunction with Marcus Rogers, Rick Mislan and James Goldman of Purdue, the National White Collar Crime Center and the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Indiana. The lab has been used in about 50 cases during the past two years, State Police Detective Tim Keller said. More Info.
$1.19 million grant will try to draw women into computer science fields
 Prof. Alka Harriger, assistant head of the Department of Computer and Information Technology, received a $1.19 million grant from the National Science Foundation to work with high school teachers and counselors to increase the number of female students interested in computer-related fields.
Harriger will lead all SPIRIT activities. Kyle Lutes, an associate professor in the department, and Buster Dunsmore, an associate professor of computer science, are working with Harriger on the project.
Other team members on the SPIRIT project are Toni Munguia, diversity director in the College of Technology; Suchita Dadhich, in charge of strategic innovation and organizational capability at IBM Rational; Jessica Berger, a teacher at Delphi High School; Barb Moskal, associate professor and director of the Center for Assessment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at Colorado School of Mines; and Mikel Berger, a software consultant. More Info.
Anonymity disappears under rise of tracking programs
Students might think they are anonymous on the Internet, but one Purdue professor said there is less anonymity on the Web than in real life.
"We're less anonymous now than we've ever been in our lives," said Marcus Rogers, professor of computer and information technology.
"(People) still like to think that this is the wild, wild West," he said. "That old Internet is gone." More Info.
Local Purdue programs approved
Melissa Wiles has been pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer graphics technology, so she's glad that Purdue University in New Albany has won state approval for a four-year program in that field.
"I believe that's going to be tremendously beneficial to me," Wiles said.
Until now, the Purdue College of Technology, located on the campus of Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, offered only an associate degree in the subjects Wiles wants to study.
Now, if all goes as she hopes, Wiles will be able to finish work on her bachelor's degree next May. "I think that will make doors open for me," she said.
Andy Schaffer, director of Purdue in New Albany, made the same point.
"For occupations in the technology fields of computer graphics, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, a bachelor's degree has become the requirement for initial placement," he said. More Info.
Indiana companies to find homegrown talent at high-tech fair
More than 800 Purdue University students soon to hit the job market are expected to meet with representatives from Indiana companies for an Oct. 31 job fair.
Indiana employers can register online for the 10th annual High Tech Job Fair. The event, offered by Purdue's Technical Assistance Program, will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union ballrooms.
Students with prospective degrees in technology, science, engineering, management and agriculture will be matched with Indiana companies that have high-tech job openings. More Info.
Dirty truth about biometrics
If the fingerprint-smudged glass plates on biometric devices skeeve you out, Purdue University researchers have some good news for you: the devices aren’t any germier than typical doorknobs.
Christine Blomeke, a researcher and doctoral student in Purdue's Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory, says the lab performed a study on this issue in light of concerns by those involved in fingerprint and hand-geometry studies at the lab. The study involved testing for two kinds of bacteria, staphylococcus aureus and E.coli.
"When you look at these devices, finger moisture, dirt and oils cause the surface to appear to be dirty," Blomeke said. "In a study we did on this last year, more than a quarter of the participants indicated that they thought the devices were somewhat unsanitary. More Info.
Purdue's on-scene forensics model helps Indiana State Police win international award
A model developed by Purdue University cyberforensics experts that allows investigators to examine digital evidence at crime scenes has helped the Indiana State Police win an award for solving computer-related crimes.
The Indiana State Police will receive the 2007 International Association of Chiefs of Police-iXP Excellence in Technology Award during the organization's annual meeting Oct. 14 in New Orleans.
The award, open to all law enforcement agencies around the world, recognizes achievement and innovation in information technology. News Release Inside Indiana Business story
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