Faculty accolades

Kirk Alter has been appointed to the Purdue Climate Change Research Center Executive Committee. He is the first COT faculty to be appointed. He completed training and was certified as an international presenter by The Climate Project and the Alliance for Climate Protection. He also was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of Tipmont REMC, a Touchstone Energy company and a local provider of electricity.

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR), an annual rating conducted by Purdue University and Wichita State University professors, was used as part of an industry analysis in the Sept. 15 edition of USA Today. It was mentioned again Sept. 17 as part of a story about proposed merger of United and Continental airlines. Brent Bowen, professor and head of the department of aviation technology, leads Purdue's involvement in the AQR.

Melissa Dark, associate dean for research and strategic planning, served as editor for the newly released book, “Information Assurance and Security Ethics in Complex Systems: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.” The book, released by IGI Global, an information science and technology publisher, aims to teach issues of privacy, access, safety, liability and reliability of complex systems to students and professionals in the field of information assurance and security. Read more.

Rick Mislan, associate professor of computer and information technology, was featured in a June 29 article in Newsweek titled “Is Someone Spying On Your Cell-Phone Calls?.” He also wrote an article for the July 2010 issue of IEEE Spectrum titled “Cellphone Crime Solvers.”

Mark Shaurette, assistant professor of building construction management, has co-authored a book intended for college students and professionals in the demolition process. The book, "Demolition: Practices, Technology, and Management," was co-authored by Shaurette and Richard Diven, a nearly 40-year veteran in the demolition business. According to the National Demolition Association, the book will serve as a resource for basic demolition knowledge, best practices and standards, and it is the first textbook of its kind in the United States and possibly the world.

Matthew Stephens, professor of organizational leadership and supervision, had his textbook “Productivity and Reliability-Based Maintenance Management” published by Purdue University Press.

Mihaela Vorvoreanu worked on an industry report on global Web 2.0 use by organizations. The report was commissioned by McAfee, and Vorvoreanu’s involvement was facilitated by Purdue’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. The report is available online.

Abe Walton, assistant professor of industrial technology in Anderson, will be a presenter at the Business Innovation Conference in Wheaton, Ill., Oct. 4-6. The annual event brings academia, government and business together to explore and learn the science of innovation and accelerate performance through innovation. Walton plans to discuss idea markets and innovation archetypes.

Three professors from Purdue’s College of Technology will provide editorial leadership for "The Journal of Technology Studies (JOTS)". JOTS is the flagship, peer-reviewed journal of Epsilon Pi Tau (EPT), the international honor society for technology professions. The EPT board of directors appointed Marvin Sarapin, department head and professor of computer graphics technology; Gary Bertoline, associate dean for graduate programs; and Judith Birchman, associate professor of computer graphics technology, to coordinate the publication. Read more.

Three professors finished a textbook that has been integrated into the nationally recognized "Leadership in Organizations" text by Gary Yukl. The new text retains its title and acknowledges the contributions by Darrel Sandall, assistant professor of organizational leadership and supervision in Anderson; Abe Walton, assistant professor of industrial technology in Anderson; and Aldis Knight, limited term lecturer of organizational leadership and supervision.