Site Archive
“In every generation, there are new discoveries that shift the trajectory of the industry,” said Ayodeji “Ayo” Aderibigbe, a doctoral student in the Department of Animal Sciences. “That motivates me to work hard and be among a group of people who are dedicated to improving global food security. I want to be a problem solver, not just a solution announcer.”
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As a professor of agricultural economics at a major research institution, Nicole Olynk Widmar relies on Purdue’s high-speed internet. But once she leaves campus and arrives home about 15 minutes later, Widmar counts herself lucky to even connect to the internet. Zoom can, at times, be a pipe dream.
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Are you looking for Halloween activities for children? Here’s a festive page with a corn maze, “carving” pumpkins and connect-the-dots. (Bonus: you can teach your little one a fun fact about bats!)
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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented large hurdles to overcome, particularly for Purdue’s new incoming students. Allie Kingery, the department’s undergraduate academic adviser, approached the food science club officers with the idea of making a Philip E. Nelson Hall Scavenger Hunt video for the department’s freshmen seminar class. Purdue’s Food Science Club jumped at the opportunity to help. The club members remembered having the scavenger hunt in the beginning weeks of their freshmen year and how fun it was to explore the building.
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Whether she was growing up in rural England, attending high school and college in Michigan and graduate school in North Carolina, or now living and working in West Lafayette, Linda Prokopy has always been keenly aware of the landscapes that surround her.
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As a machine systems engineering specialist, Andrea Vacca, professor of agricultural and biological engineering (ABE) and mechanical engineering, understands what makes a machine tick, including the apparatus of interdisciplinary research as well.
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“There’s an element of gambling to lumber,” said Mark Smith. “Lumber is a commodity market so it’s up and down all the time.”
Purdue alumni Mark and Jenny Smith faced the fluctuations for 31 years as suppliers of lumber and plywood, but never experienced shifts as abrupt as those in 2020. Within a span of months, the owners of Great Lakes Forest Products, Inc. saw their expanding business reduced to a bare-bones crew before unexpectedly needing to hire a record number of employees.
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Songlin Fei, winner of the 2020 Agricultural Research Award, has made his mark on the world’s forests through advanced remote sensing technologies.
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Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, has announced that Linda Prokopy, professor of forestry and natural resources, will be the new department head for horticulture and landscape architecture (HLA). Prokopy, a member of the College of Agriculture faculty for 17 years, was selected after a national search.
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Jones’ family began dairy farming in Star City, Ind., in 1942. Four generations later, the family is still milking cows along with growing corn, soybeans and alfalfa, mainly used to feed back into the dairy herd. They were the first dairy farm in Indiana and the tenth in the nation to adopt robotic milking practices. Jones’ parents, Sammy and Pam, manage the day-to-day operations with her brother, Josh, who is a Purdue Agriculture and Biological Engineering graduate. Amy helps on the farm each month along with her sister, Christy, a Purdue Animal Sciences alumna, and her brother, a Purdue Liberal Arts alumnus.
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The COVID-19 pandemic guaranteed this year to be like no other. The pandemic affects people of all ages, but it has been especially challenging for children as schools went virtual and youth organizations were forced to cancel activities and trips. Knowing it is critical for youth to engage in hands-on learning experiences to build life skills, Indiana 4-H was determined to continue reaching youth statewide.
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Eager to learn more about her field, Michaela Covington enrolled in Purdue’s Master of Science Biotechnology Innovation & Regulatory Science (BIRS) program six months after graduating from college, becoming the youngest person in the summer 2020 graduating class.
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“Receiving a scholarship has allowed me to invest my time on campus, serving Purdue students and getting involved with organizations,” said Molly Grotjan during the virtual College of Agriculture Scholarship Dinner. “I’m grateful to those that continue to invest in the students and our college to ensure we can contribute to something greater than ourselves. Because of them, we can continue to make an impact on campus, serve others and learn the heart of being a Boilermaker.”
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Eager to learn more about her field, Michaela Covington enrolled in Purdue’s Master of Science Biotechnology Innovation & Regulatory Science (BIRS) program six months after graduating from college, becoming the youngest person in the summer 2020 graduating class.
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The Center for Advanced Forestry Systems (CAFS), a National Science Foundation-funded Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, of which Purdue’s Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center is a founding member, develops partnerships with forest-related companies to help solve pressing needs in their industry.
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Leaves are changing, the air is cooler and Hoosiers are still looking for fun and safe things to do while we follow pandemic health and safety standards. From picking apples and pumpkins to firing apple cannons and getting lost in a corn maze, Indiana’s orchards provide fun activities for all ages to enjoy, even if they do look slightly different than past years.
In addition to changes due to COVID-19 precautions, farm visitors will notice that there are fewer apples to pick this year. A late frost blanketed the state this past April and had a devastating effect on the apple crop.
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Today Fox describes his current job responsibilities as “anything that needs done.” He consults with ASEC faculty and staff on technology-related issues, leads computer-related developments and activities in the department, and coordinates efforts with other university computing departments. “It’s a wide variety, basically whatever might pop up,” he says. “That’s developed over the years. There’s a lot of meeting with faculty and staff, making personal connections and earning their trust.”
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Agriculture was supposed to be a quick detour for Tiffanna Ross. Just one semester while she waited for space to open in the University of Guyana’s undergraduate biology program.
“But I developed a liking for agriculture and it worked out for the best,” said Ross, now a doctoral student in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue.
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“Several years ago, I organized a soybean field day at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education (ACRE),” recalled Marshall Martin, professor of agricultural economics, the senior associate director of agricultural research and graduate education and assistant dean in the College of Agriculture.
“There were funny-looking plants growing in one of the soybean plots that I didn’t recognize. It looked like some kind of weed or vine on the ground— something that you’d plant as a ground cover around the front of your house. The plants had small pods with only one or two flat, black seeds each. They were soybeans.”
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The U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges recently announced that Purdue’s Department of Agricultural Biological Engineering (ABE) is the top-ranked undergraduate department in its discipline for the 10th year in a row. Purdue’s graduate ABE program was ranked first by U.S. News and World Report in 2019 for the ninth time in 10 years.
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