Spring 2018 Stories
New dean takes the reins
Wednesday, May 30th, 2018
Few children receive birthday gifts they remember as adults, much less ones that forecast their future life’s work. But Karen Plaut remembers her 11th birthday gift like it was yesterday, and it was certainly nothing short of prophetic. “I loved science so much as a kid that I wanted a microscope for my birthday. When…
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Student Close-Up: When a Golfer Studies the Green
Friday, April 27th, 2018
A Purdue golfer studying turf management and science must have an advantage on the course, right? Senior Marta Martin isn’t so sure. “I don’t think knowing how a plant grows or how they take care of it is going to help you,” she says, explaining that she learned how to read the grain of the…
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Alumni Spotlights
Friday, April 27th, 2018
2018 Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award Recipients The Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Awards recognize mid-career alumni of the college who have made significant contributions to their profession or society and exhibit high potential for future professional growth. The Agricultural Alumni Association honored nine alumni with the 2018 award, pictured left to right. First row: David Hefty (BS…
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Helping Breweries Tap into Their Potential
Friday, April 27th, 2018
Something’s brewing in Indiana Brewers Association statistics recorded 63 breweries in the state in 2013. Three years later, that number had more than doubled. Brewing has become a multimillion-dollar industry in Indiana, and while it may never reach the scale of industries like production agriculture or advanced manufacturing, Farkas saw an opportunity to support this…
Read MoreThe Big Idea: Epigenetics
Friday, April 27th, 2018
This rendition by Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 is considered a classic. José Feliciano’s folky, acoustic version in game 5 of the 1968 World Series was considered unusual and polarizing at the time. One year later in 1969, Jimi Hendrix played the anthem in a whole new way. This jazzy (and pitchy)…
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Our Surprising Strength: Cancer Research
Friday, April 27th, 2018
Shape-shifting RNA For many years, most scientists have been focused on the role DNA plays in cancer cell formation. But there is growing emphasis on RNA, a chemical messenger that takes instructions from DNA to encode proteins. The shape of DNA can determine how and when genes are turned on or off in the cell….
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As our climate shifts, so do trees
Friday, April 27th, 2018
When we think of migratory species, trees are probably not the first things we picture. Perhaps that’s why the work of Songlin Fei has captured the imagination of the scientific community. Fei, associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and researcher with Purdue’s Climate Change Research Center, led a study that shows…
Read MoreWe want to feed the world. But how?
Friday, April 27th, 2018
You may have read the prediction that by 2050, we’ll have 10 billion people to feed across the globe while facing increasing environmental change. It’s a daunting task but a solid wager that we have the tools and ability to address this challenge. To do so, we need a clear understanding of the threats and…
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$5 million Gates Foundation grant targets weed-resistant crops in Africa
Friday, April 27th, 2018
Striga, a parasitic weed threatening African crops, robs maize, sorghum, rice, pearl millet and sugarcane of necessary nutrients. Its impact on production of these essential crops affects more than 100 million people across the continent. Over the last four years, Gebisa Ejeta has found the molecular mechanisms responsible for imparting striga resistance to sorghum, identified…
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Then and Now
Friday, April 27th, 2018
Names are essential to our understanding of who we are, so it makes sense that the Department of Youth Development and Agricultural Education recently adopted a new name to better express its mission: Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication. The name reflects changes in the way the department empowers, educates and enhances future agricultural educators and…
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