Looking to the Future and Anticipating Change
 by Dean Dennis Depew
I hope each of you enjoyed a restful holiday break with family and friends. As we launch the spring semester, I would like to begin by thanking each of you for your dedication and commitment to the success of the College of Technology and Purdue’s land grant mission.
We begin the spring semester with increased conversations about a new
strategic plan. I hope each of you will take advantage of the opportunity
to participate in the planning process at both the college and university
level. The faculty leadership in the College of Technology has identified
six signature areas for our next strategic plan. They include:
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Cyberinfrastructure
• Energy and Sustainability
• Technology and Life Sciences
• Security and Forensics
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
We believe focusing on these and potentially
other new signature areas will provide a positive focus on
important elements of our strategic plan.
President Córdova has already identified several priorities for the University's next strategic plan. One important priority will be student access - success - and diversity. Funding for this new initiative will come from a fund raising campaign to support student scholarships and other important student related programs.
Increasing sponsored research will also be another Presidential priority. The President has announced a goal of doubling the amount of sponsored research within five years. The College of Technology has already demonstrated the ability to contribute to this goal. Sponsored research in the college has increased more than three hundred percent in the past five years from $350,166 to $2,926,829.
And as you’ve probably already heard, President Córdova has established eight Working Groups that involve a cross-section of faculty and staff to assist with the gathering of information for development of Purdue’s 2007-13 Strategic Plan. A diagram (FrameworkPU.pdf) depicts the workgroup names, what topics they are addressing, and what information they are gathering to compile their “white papers” for the Steering Committee. The timeline for completion of major steps in the strategic plan is as follows:
| • “White papers” submitted by the Working Groups |
February 22 |
| • Strategic plan draft by the Steering Committee |
April 11 |
| • Final draft approved by President |
May 16 |
| • Presentation to Board of Trustees for review and approval |
June 19-20, 2008 |
I am pleased to report that the construction contract of the new Niswonger Aviation Technology Building was approved by the Board of Trustees in December. Many thanks to Dr. Tom Carney and the Aviation Technology faculty for their work in moving this project forward. Construction should begin this spring with an anticipated occupancy date of fall 2009. We now need to turn our attention to a much needed addition near Knoy Hall.
Finally, April 7 to 11 has been designated as “Technology Week,” and we are planning a number of great events, including our annual Distinguished Technology Alumni event. Please plan to help with the celebrations and festivities. For more information, visit www.purdue.edu/techweek
Faculty and Student Endeavors
MET Professor Bruce Harding was recently elected to a three-year term on the American National Standard's Institute's board of directors. Harding is one of only two academics on the 48-person board and serves as a vice chair of the institute's committee on education and has been head of the U.S. delegations to the International Organization for Standardization. He also chairs that organization's technical committee on technical product documentation standards for product lifecycle management.
Taggart Smith, professor of OLS, gave a guest lecture Dec. 5 to the Women in Science programs group, which is made up of graduate students in science disciplines at Purdue. Her presentation was titled "The Influence of Gender on Negotiations." In addition to the talk, she also conducted a job interview/negotiation exercise with the women. The goals of the Women in Science Programs are to provide support, increase self-esteem, promote specific strategies and increase retention of a diverse population of students in the College of Science.
LaVerne Abe Harris, associate professor of CGT, recently utilized existing videoconferencing technology to facilitate the master's degree defenses of six of her former students at Arizona State University. Harris, who joined Purdue in fall 2007, had been working with six graduate students at ASU who were set to graduate in December. Harris and ASU agreed to continue working with the students through an applied project online course. When it came time for the students' master's defenses, Harris chaired the graduate committees and worked with Kerry Arnold, director of TCN, and technical experts at ASU's Tempe and Polytechnic campuses to set up videoconferencing equipment at Purdue and the two ASU campuses that would allow real-time interaction with each person without the expense and time involved in cross-country travel. Arnold said it may be one of the first use of videoconferencing equipment for this purpose. Harris said this technology, which is the same type used for videoconferences for Purdue Statewide Technology meetings, has the potential to be used in the future for other such projects that would ordinarily require travel.
CoT News Submissions
Report your CoT news through the online reporting form. The next e-newsletter is scheduled for distribution on Monday, January 28.
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Faculty, Student Endeavors (cont.)
Kevin Taylor, associate professor of EET and interim director for the Kokomo location, has been selected as chair-elect of the technology accreditation commission of ABET. Taylor's appointment is for the 2008-09 accreditation cycle, and he will take office in July.
Mark Jackson, associate professor of MET, has published the first book on the commercialization of micro and nanotechnology (MNT) products, published by Taylor and Francis/CRC Press. The book is edited by Jackson and Dave Tolfree of the United Kingdom and includes examples of successful university spinoff companies that have made significant sums of money commercializing MNT products such as nanomaterials, microdevices and coatings. The book also highlights the pitfalls and risks of creating companies from university discoveries and includes a market analysis for micro and nanotechnology products.
In addition, Jackson has been appointed as the series editor of books about micro and nanomanufacturing for Taylor and Francis/CRC Press. He is the editor in chief of three journals created in 2007 in nanotechnology: International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials, and the International Journal of Nanoparticles. He also serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering, International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials, International Journal of Manufacturing Research, International Journal of Abrasive Technology, and the International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering.
International Travel Grant
CoT faculty are invited to apply for 11 PRF International Travel grants. Travel activities must take place between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. March 14, 2008 is the PRF International Travel Grant deadline. Visit the Office of the Vice Preisdent for Research Web site for more information and an application. Questions can also be directed to
Prof. Linda Naimi, chair of the International Programs Committee, COT Faculty Senate.
Sponsored Research Update
Sponsored research activity for 2007-08 is at a record level. For details through November 30, 2007, visit the Applied Research section of the CoT Web site.
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In the News
Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology receives $25,000 check
The Indiana Michigan Power (IMP), a subsidiary of American Electric Power, recently gave the Department of Electrical and Computer and Engineering Technology $25,000 to support laboratories, equipment, student scholarships, research projects and faculty development. IMP seeks ECET graduates for employment and is an active participant in the co-op program. IMP has been a financial supporter of the department for the last several years.
Photo: On hand for the Dec. 10 presentation in Knoy Hall were (left to right) David Altizer, director of transmission services for American Electric Power; Robert Herrick, department chair, and Allen Glassburn, director of operations for Indiana Michigan Power and a 1974 alumnus of the department.
Chinese delegation tours Anderson Flagship Enterprise Center
 The delegation of eight from Anderson's sister city of Yuhang District, Hangzhou, China, visited the city Dec. 13-14, touring business and cultural sites. Included on their tour was the Flagship Enterprise Center, home of Purdue's College of Technology in Anderson, and meetings with leaders from Anderson University, Purdue, Ivy Tech and the business community. Jeff Dyer from the Anderson location, led the officials on the tour of Purdue's Anderson campus.
The Herald Bulletin
Photo: Jeff Dyer, electronics technician at the Anderson location, shares some facts about the location's lab facilities, with Songying F. Liang, deputy director for the Government office, the Yuhang district in Hangzhou, China, and Xiliang M. Hu, deputy director for the Department of Education, Yuhang District, Hangzhou. The delegation visited the area, including the College of Technology's Anderson location, on Dec. 13-14.
Purdue develops new curriculum for supercomputing
Beginning in the spring semester, seniors and some graduate students at Purdue will learn how to build their own supercomputer. This comes as part of a new specialization from Purdue’s Department of Computer and Information Technology, which aims to prepare students to meet the demand for hyper-advanced computers in business and industry. Thomas Hacker, an assistant professor in the department, is leading the effort.
Chronicle for Higher Education
HPC Wire
A twist to biometric security
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. The study was performed by Christine R. Blomeke, a researcher and doctoral student in the Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory, along with lab director Stephen J. Elliott, an associate professor of industrial technology.
Computer World
CoT faculty to present at service-learning event Jan. 14
Five new members of Purdue's Community of Service Learning Faculty Fellows will give a presentation on Monday.
The event, "Service-Learning at Purdue: Strengthening the Tradition," is 9-10:30 a.m. in Stewart Center, Room 310. Terry Burton and Rick Homkes, both faculty members in the Department of Computer and Information Technology, are two of the presenters.
Other presenters are Julie Novak, School of Nursing; Pat Rochon, Department of Communications; and Scott Schaffer, Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
They will speak about the pedagogy of service learning, their courses and how to adapt courses, and matching courses to needs in the world, nation and state. For Indiana, the focus is on rural areas and municipalities outside Tippecanoe County.
The event is sponsored by the Center for Instructional Excellence. More Info/Registration
CoT to co-sponsor Digital Information Literacy Contest
A contest in which people will put their Internet search abilities for obscure information to the test is scheduled for Jan. 23 on campus and will feature cash prizes.
The College of Technology is co-sponsoring the contest, along with West Lafayette Libraries and the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship in the College of Education. Purdue Libraries will provide food.
The Digital Information Literacy Contest, organized by senior philosophy major Daniel Poynter, is free and open to the public to compete. It will be at 6-7 p.m. in Stanley Coulter Hall.
The event is designed to get participants to be creative in sifting through the data deluge of the Internet and is the second such contest Poynter has organized.
Poynter said the contest has three main objectives: to identify people who thrive in information overload; to disseminate their insights through narrated screen-capture videos and to create a discussion about the future of the American worker and Purdue's role in the future. A discussion on the third objective will follow the contest.
Contestants will be given 30 minutes, a seat at a computer and a list of questions to answer by searching online. Among the information they will be asked to find are names, numbers and dates.
Those wanting to enter the contest can go online to http://www.digitalliteracycontest.org to sign up. Registration will continue up to the date of the event if necessary but is limited to the first 200 people to sign up. For information about the event, e-mail Poynter at daniel.pointer@gmail.com, call him at (765) 425-6033, or visit his Web site at http://danielscottpoynter.com
Federal official to give keynote at Purdue-sponsored cyberforensics conference in Chicago
A law-enforcement official serving in the White House's Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center will be the keynote speaker for the inaugural Mobile Forensics World conference May 8-10 in Chicago, sponsored by Purdue University.
Kurt F. Schmid is the senior law enforcement adviser/technology assessment branch chief for the center, which is part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He will deliver the keynote address at 9 a.m. Friday, May 9 at the O'Hare Marriott.
The conference, sponsored by Purdue's Cyber Forensics Lab, housed in the Department of Computer and Information Technology in the College of Technology, and the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (known as CERIAS), will bring together experts from around the world who specialize in digital device investigation. More Info.
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