College Celebrates Student Achievement September 10

by Jacqueline Brown, academic excellence coordinator

The College of Technology will celebrate its fourth annual Scholarship Reception Monday, September 10 at the Purdue Memorial Union, East & West Faculty Lounge. … And the college continues to have a lot to celebrate.

This year, the college awarded $239,000 in scholarship money to both undergraduate and graduate students at the West Lafayette campus. A record breaking amount ($34,000) was awarded to master’s and PhD students.

Several donors and company representatives will attend this year’s event. Our special alumni guest is Rue Patel, plant manager for General Mills. A 1988 Industrial Technology graduate, he is a strong supporter of the college and continues to give back as a benefactor.

Also, a new college-wide scholarship will be announced. The Robert A. Hoffer Memorial Scholarship, made possible through a $500,000 endowment by the Hoffer Foundation, will be awarded annually to a sophomore, junior, or senior in the college who has financial need.

The endowment was established in honor of Bob Hoffer, the founder of Illinois-based Hoffer Plastics Corporation. Hoffer was a 1941 graduate of Purdue’s College of Science and an avid supporter of the College of Technology for more than 20 years. His dedication to the college and to industry made him the recipient of an honorary doctorate by the College of Technology in 1986. It is through the tremendous generosity of the Hoffer family that scholarships can provide educational opportunities for students pursuing technology careers. Bob’s son Bill Hoffer BSIM ’71 will make remarks on behalf of the Hoffer family at the scholarship reception.

In the News

Computer and information technology program accredited by ABET

The College of Technology's computer and information technology (CIT) program has received its first accreditation from ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

Lonnie Bentley, professor and department head of CIT, said this is the first accreditation for the department's program because there were no accreditation criteria specific to information technology programs before this year.

"We're not computer science, we're not computer engineers. We're an applied program, so we're different," Bentley said. "Before this year, the program couldn't receive IT program accreditation because there wasn't an avenue for it. We're very pleased that we were able to take an active part in refining the evaluation process for this new category and that we have received the stamp of approval from this widely recognized group."

The IT program standards and criteria were initially developed by a small team of IT educators working through ACM's Special Interest Group for Information Technology Educators (SIGITE). Several CIT faculty actively participated in this national organization to define the criteria for evaluating and accrediting information technology programs. This group's work was presented to ABET and formed the foundation for the standards they are using to evaluate all IT programs nationally. Purdue is one of the first universities to receive the accreditation for information technology programs evaluated against information technology specific criteria.

Bentley and Harriger said that the accreditation is important because it can help attract new students to the program and is proof to students and employers that graduates of the program have a consistent educational experience that contains the appropriate rigor and national standard of quality.

The Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET accredited the program based on criteria that includes student progress; program educational objectives; program outcomes; continuous improvement of the program; curriculum requirements; faculty qualifications, size and workload; institutional facilities; the institution's support for the program; and program criteria.

For an information technology program to receive accreditation, students in the program by the time they graduate must be able to use and apply current technical concepts and practices in the core information technologies; identify and analyze user needs and take them into account in the selection, creation, evaluation and administration of computer-based systems; integrate IT-based solutions into the user environment;understand best practices and standards and their application; and assist in the creation of an effective project plan.

The evaluation involves an on-campus visit, during which the team from ABET reviews course materials, student projects and sample assignments, tours university and program facilities, and also interviews students, faculty and administrators. It takes at least two years for the entire process from the time the program begins collecting data that will ultimately become part of its self-study report to ABET to the time ABET sends its official decision to Purdue. CIT's accreditation is retroactive to October 2005, which means that all CIT graduates as of fall 2005 can say that they graduated from an accredited IT program.

National group for biometrics standards to meet at Purdue

About 40 biometrics experts from around the country will visit Purdue University in September for a meeting of the technical committee that sets industry standards.

The InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) M1 technical committee meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-6 p.m. Sept. 24-27 in rooms 307 and 311 of Stewart Center. The Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory at Purdue is the event's host.

Stephen Elliott, associate professor of industrial technology and director of the laboratory, said the standards meeting will include technical experts from biometrics companies, government agencies, academics who study biometrics and industry vendors. More Info.

Dean to speak to southern Indiana, northern Kentucky business leaders

The senior vice president of the Purdue Research Foundation and the dean of the Purdue College of Technology will speak to southern Indiana and northern Kentucky business leaders about the growing investment of the new accelerator park and Purdue's expanded educational programs in New Albany, Ind.

Joseph B. Hornett, Purdue Research Foundation senior vice president, treasurer and COO, and Dennis R. Depew, dean of the Purdue College of Technology, will speak at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6 at Kye's at Watertower Square in Jeffersonville, Ind.

The talks are presented in partnership with the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue College of Technology, One Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville Inc. More Info.

EET student recipient of Honeywell Innovators Scholarship

Jennifer Phelps of Indianapolis, a senior in electrical engineering technology, was one of eight students in the United States and 18 in the world to receive the Honeywell Innovators Scholarship.

Phelps received a $10,000 monetary award to offset tuition costs or other education expenses upon completion of a Honeywell internship.

For the internship, students are assigned to a project team under the direction of a Honeywell supervisor and participate in projects of significance that are aligned with Honeywell's business targets.

Phelps completed her paid internship at Honeywell's aerospace facility in Plymouth, Minn., where she worked from May to August on gyroscopes and was involved in the design of shadow masks, which are used in the production of cathode ray tube televisions and computer displays that produce color images.

She plans to graduate in May, then pursue a master's degree and work in research and development of microdevices.

This was the first year that Honeywell offered the Innovators Scholarship.

Phelps said she took a lot away from her summer at Honeywell.

"Being out in the corporate world is a lot different than being on campus," she said. "I learned about what it's like to work in a business environment, and I also had an opportunity to work in a lot of labs that I ordinarily wouldn't have access to."

The Innovators Scholarship Program is designed to support undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled in a degree program in the sciences, technology or engineering who will enter their final year of study during the second half of the calendar year.

To be eligible for the scholarship program, students must demonstrate a superior academic ability (defined as being in the top 25 percent of their major's class), as well as leadership and community service qualities outside the classroom.

For more information about the scholarship program and how to apply, visit the Honeywell Web site. Applications for the 2007 program will be accepted beginning Sept. 1.

Purdue site of Deming Institute fall conference Oct. 13-14

Experts, students and business people from across the nation will gather at Purdue University to explore the philosophy of the man credited with improving manufacturing processes and quality control in the United States and Japan.

The W. Edwards Deming Institute Fall Conference will be Oct. 13-14 at Purdue's Stewart Center. The theme of this year's conference is "Exploring Together a Holistic Bridge to the Future." More Info.

Webinar for online videos planned Sept. 11-13

The College of Technology is sponsoring a Webinar for staff involved with communications for the college titled "Lights, Camera, Action - How to Add Online Videos to Your Marketing Mix." It will be held 1-2 p.m. each day from Sept. 11-13. On Tuesday, it will be in Hovde Hall, Room 119, and on Wednesday and Thursday, it will be in Knoy Hall, Room 202.

Due to space constraints, if there is a representative from a department who would be interested in attending, contact Mary King, director of communications, at 496-3513. More Info.

What your cell knows about you

From crucial tracking evidence in the SCoTt Peterson murder trial to exculpatory call records in the Duke alleged rape case, cell phones have emerged as an important resource for both criminal investigators and defense lawyers. Now a small group of international forensic code breakers is working to go beyond the obvious and familiar — the call logs and address books — and tap deeper into our phones, into a hidden gold mine of personal information. Their work is prompting kudos from crime busters while raising concern among civil libertarians.

"Cell phones are ubiquitous in today's world and nearly all crimes have a digital component to them," says Rick Mislan, an assistant professor of computer and information technology at Purdue University. Mislan, a former U.S. Army electronic warfare officer, is one of a handful of experts working on forensic methods to access the inner secrets in cell phones. More Info.

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