Welcome and Welcome Back

by Dean Dennis Depew

Once again, welcome back to campus and the beginning of another academic year in the College of Technology.

This fall, we welcome 12 new faculty and 8 new staff members to the college. As in each of the past five years, our faculty numbers have increased to 223 total this fall; a nearly 20 percent increase since 2003. Bringing new faculty and staff to the college also brings new ideas and opportunities for learning, discovery, and engagement.

I also would like to take this opportunity to welcome those who have been here for many years making great contributions to the college and your departments. You are at the core of our history and tradition as well as an important part of our future.

In addition, we begin the new academic year welcoming a new president to campus. As President Córdova begins to develop her strategic plans for the University, we too, will begin developing plans for the college. In fact, we began the planning process last year and many of you were involved in developing the current "draft" strategic plan, which has been submitted to the President's office for review and feedback.

I believe our plans should and will continue to focus on student learning and developing outstanding curricula, discovery and collaborative research, and engagement. Of course, all of these activities should have strong links back to scholarship. I also believe faculty, staff, and student body diversity will continue to play a very prominent role in future goals for the college.

Another important priority this year will be international programs and study abroad for our students and faculty. Department heads have been asked to submit their plans and goals by October 1.

Obviously, fund raising will continue to be a priority, and I will be leading that effort with great pride and enthusiasm.

I will close with wishing a very successful and fun semester for each of you and thanking you for the excellent way in which you serve our students.

All the best,

Dean Dennis Depew

In the News

OLS faculty, graduate students visit, present in China

A group of faculty and graduate students from the Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision participated in the International Conference on Comprehensive Product Realization in Beijing, China, in June.

With support from Purdue's Study Abroad office and the OLS department, the group was able to foster relationships between OLS Beihang University faculty and students while pursuing scholarly activities.

Cynthia Tomovic, professor of OLS, challenged four teams of students to develop and submit abstracts on organizational and/or human resource development issues relating to product lifecycle management (PLM) to the International Conference on Comprehensive Product Realization in Beijing. The conference was organized by Beihang and Purdue universities and was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, IBM Corp., the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education. Several papers on product lifecycle management were presented at the conference.

The following papers based on coursework in OLS 578 were presented and accepted for publication in the proceedings:

• "Measuring the Impact of Product Lifecycle Management: An Assessment Model and Metrics Framework," by Cynthia Tomovic, Abram Walton, Michael Grieves, Brandon Bednar and Ben Birtles.
•"Product Lifecycle Management in Support of Green Manufacturing: Addressing the Challenges of Global Climate Change," by Ligia-Varinia Barreto, Hannah Anderson, Alyssa Anglin and Tomovic.
• "Entry-level Engineering Professionals and Product Lifecycle Management: A Competency Model," by Sharron Fr
The Impact of Product Lifecycle Management on Virtual Team Creation: A Concept Change Model for Heightened Productivity," by Tanner Georgiades, Magdalena Lech, John Sukup III and Tomovic
• "Application of PLM in Higher Educational Procurement," by Michael Wisma and Tomovic.

In addition, funds were shared with Lisa Ncube, assistant professor in OLS, who presented "Toward a Meaningful Management of Organizational Knowledge: The Development of a Knowledge Management Model and Framework for PLM," by Ncube, and "Product Lifecycle Performance Modeling, Analysis and Optimization: A Metrics Model for Retailing as Part of Product Lifecycle Management" by Patricio Torres and Ncube.

Grant helps Lafayette organization develop technology

Rest Assured LLC, a Lafayette-based joint venture between ResCare Inc. and the Wabash Center in collaboration with the College of Technology, has received a grant from the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to further develop and market its Web-based alternative to residential convalescent care.

Rest Assured's $519,897 grant will allow the company to complete the final stages of testing and commercialization of its Rest AssuredT System, a software application that links patient-monitoring systems with a staffed central Indiana response center. CoT faculty responsible for the project include Lonnie Bentley, professor and department head for CIT and Jeff Brewer, assistant professor for CIT.

Cameras and wireless technology are used to monitor patients with disabilities and special needs from a remote location. Cameras placed in common room areas allow trained caregivers to monitor and assist people with disabilities. If caregivers need to talk to the patients, all they need to do is press a button on the computer and that will turn on speakers and microphones inside the homes. Sensors are also placed around the homes to monitor things the cameras can't see.

"Leaving a stovetop burner on for example. We can detect those and know to deal with it by contacting the individual or sending an individual there to the location to secure it," said Lonnie Bentley, head of the Department of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue. More Info

Purdue to accept some Ivy Tech credits

Ivy Tech State College students will be able to transfer credits to Purdue University's College of Technology starting this fall.

The agreement between the schools announced Tuesday will make it easier for Ivy Tech students to pursue a Purdue bachelor's degree at any of Purdue's 11 locations across the state.

"This agreement will result in much more flexibility and options for students," said Mary Sadowski, associate dean for undergraduate programs and learning in Purdue's College of Technology. More Info.

Project Lead the Way gets financial boost

More middle schools and high schools in north-central Indiana now have an opportunity to adopt Project Lead the Way, a national program that certifies educators to teach pre-engineering and engineering technology subjects. Up to $1.57 million has been designated to expand the program in the area.

The investment, made by the Indiana WIRED (Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development) initiative, supports the expansion of two areas of Project Lead the Way: providing funding for 74 additional schools to train teachers and purchase software and equipment to be able to offer the curriculum, and providing funding for a computer-integrated manufacturing course. More Info

Anderson University Flagship Center dedicated

A dedication ceremony for the Anderson University Flagship Center was held on Aug. 16 in Anderson. The three-story, 53,000-square-foot, $7 million facility will house programs from Anderson and Purdue universities. The new building is part of the Flagship Enterprise Center.

The center, located at 2705 Enterprise Drive at Interstate 69 and Pendleton Avenue, will provide classroom space for programs for both Anderson University and Purdue College of Technology that were previously located at Anderson University. The facility is part of the Flagship Enterprise Center. More Info

Purdue's College of Technology extends tuition reciprocity to Trimble County, Ky.

Purdue University's College of Technology at New Albany, along with Indiana University Southeast and Ivy Tech Southern Indiana in Sellersburg, have reached an agreement that will allow students living in Trimble County, Ky., to pay in-state tuition at each of those institutions.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved the agreement that will become effective for the fall 2007 semester.

"This is wonderful news for citizens of Trimble County," said Andy Schaffer, director of Purdue's College of Technology at New Albany. "They now will be able to get the same quality Purdue education offered at the main campus in West Lafayette without going far from home." More Info.

Cheerleaders use physics to master moves

Seven young girls sat inside a Purdue University meeting room on a sunny afternoon, fixing their eyes on an airplane diagram that aviation technology graduate student Tim Harbeck had drawn on the white board.

It was the first of several exercises the girls experienced during Cheering in the Classroom, a camp started this year to introduce girls to science principles and show them how to apply their knowledge to cheerleading moves.

Christi Jacobs, a second-year Purdue graduate student in technology education and a former Purdue cheerleader, started the camp. She said her goal was to get more women into technology fields by introducing concepts through subjects that engage them. More Info

This summer, responsibility and hard work pay off

Imagine being a high school student with a summer job but instead of serving fries or mowing grass you're writing a mission statement, figuring out a profit margin or, better yet, deciding how many people to employ.

That's what 115 students from the Whitewater Valley did this summer as their hard work paid off on Aug. 2 at the Regional Business Plan Competition in Richmond.

The College of Technology at Richmond and Indiana University East Center for Entrepreneurship in Richmond worked collectively to create the competition. More Info

Students, staff await Purdue campus in New Albany

Purdue is building on one of the best corners in New Albany. But the project is not what you might figure. It won't be Purdue University Southeast, like nearby Indiana University Southeast.

Instead, the Purdue Technology Center of Southeast Indiana will become a resource both unique and vital, boosting the area's economy by offering renowned high-tech expertise to businesses. New firms can get off the ground there.