COVID-19

As pandemic persists, student’s research holds new importance

Wednesday, September 16th, 2020

As a sixth-grader, Emma Lendy was the only girl in her class to choose the category, How Things Work, for her science project. In helping her build a telegraph, Lendy said her father, a mechanical engineer, “fostered my interest in delving into why things work, not just taking them for granted.”

Lendy’s inquisitiveness and Purdue’s reputation drew her to the university. While an undergraduate student, Lendy worked in the lab of Barbara Golden, a professor of biochemistry.

Ag labs rise to COVID challenge

Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many aspects of life on the Purdue campus to change. Faculty and graduate students are rising to the challenge, redesigning lab courses in creative and innovative ways.

Purdue Farmer-to-Farmer Program Switches to Virtual Assignments

Tuesday, September 8th, 2020

In April 2020, Purdue University’s International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA) and Purdue Cooperative Extension announced the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program to be implemented by Purdue University in Trinidad and Tobago over the next three years. A United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded program, F2F provides technical assistance from U.S. volunteers to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses, and other agriculture sector institutions in developing and transitional countries.

Purdue Extension steps in to help Hoosier fruit growers

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

From juicy red strawberries to sweet apples and melons, Indiana is home to many fruit growers. While each year presents its challenges in the field, this year Indiana faced an unfortunate late frost event, causing crop damage during a crucial point in the growing period. Outside of the fields, growers faced another challenge, creating a safe and healthy environment for employees and customers.

COVID-19 sidelines summer plans; Boilermakers adapt

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

“I told myself in high school that I wanted to make a change in the world,” said Sneha Jogi, a senior in agricultural communication. “While I can’t change the entire world, or an entire issue for that matter, I know I can make an impact on communities, families and their lives.”

Indiana 4-H’ers demonstrate resilience

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020

Each year, youth from Indiana’s 92 counties learn and fulfill the 4-H pledge, vowing their hands to larger service and their health to better living from their club to their community. They participate in club meetings, community service activities, leadership events and more while completing a project of their choice. Each project is a collection of hard work and hands-on learning experiences, resulting in new skills that prepare youth to be leaders in their communities.

Virtual field days present challenges and benefits

Friday, August 21st, 2020

Hundreds of green industry professionals gather every summer for Purdue’s Turf and Landscape Field Day. As COVID-19 spread, so did the realization that 2020’s event would look different.

You can order live poultry through the mail, but should you?

Monday, August 3rd, 2020 • University News Story

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained nearly every sector of society, including the postal service. With experts continuing to recommend social distancing, fewer people are frequenting stores and record numbers are streaming to online venues to shop. Perh…

Purdue Student Farm sees record yields, to bring produce to the public

Monday, August 3rd, 2020 • University News Story

The Purdue Student Farm has started selling to the public. This service will run into the fall until a date to be determined. Customers will be able to pick up a box of seasonal vegetables grown at the farm once a week for $25. Pickups will begin at th…

How have you stayed connected during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Tuesday, July 28th, 2020

International Programs in Agriculture at Purdue, like departments and units throughout the university, has paused normal activities such as travel and in-person meetings. In March 2020, the IPIA team migrated to virtual meetings utilizing the Zoom platform to continue to stay connected. IPIA staff have been meeting weekly since mid-March. The virtual meetings are not what you might imagine an all staff meeting would normally look like.

Florist arranges for flowers to travel when loved ones cannot

Thursday, July 23rd, 2020

For a company to stay in business for 100 years, it has certainly faced its share of hurdles. Lake Forest Flowers planted its roots northeast of Chicago in 1917 a few months before the Spanish Flu arrived. A century later, facing the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Forest Flowers continues to find ways to meet changing needs.

Indiana farmland values increase, but signs point to potential COVID-19 slump

Thursday, July 23rd, 2020 • University News Story

The 2020 Purdue Farmland Value and Cash Rents Survey suggests that farmland prices across Indiana improved since the June 2019 survey; however, many of those gains occurred between June and December 2019. Since then farmland prices have declined modest…

Alumnus adapts restaurant to protect the health of his business and patrons

Monday, July 20th, 2020

Before electricity and modern refrigeration, icehouses were built to keep ice and snow frozen, and it was sold and shipped year-round. As refrigerators grew in popularity, icehouses shifted their business model. They became the predecessor to convenience stores, selling perishable groceries and cold drinks. 7-Eleven traces its origin to one such icehouse.

Entrepreneurs find learning opportunities amid COVID-19 pandemic

Tuesday, July 14th, 2020

As March 14 drew near, Purdue alumni Woody and Kayla Nichols grew increasingly concerned about the upcoming open house at their store, Prairie View Ag Supply. More than 400 guests were expected at the annual event, but COVID-19 and uncertainty were beginning to spreading.

Supporting students from Zamorano to Purdue and home again

Monday, July 13th, 2020

Staff in IPIA and Food Sciences worked behind the scenes this spring to ensure 11 international interns’ well being and repatriation.

Ada Camila Montoya Gomez, a senior in environmental engineering at Zamorano University in Honduras, was deep into three research projects at Purdue this spring when safety concerns around the coronavirus closed the university.

Plant scientists maintain critical research to save data and irreplaceable plants

Thursday, July 9th, 2020

The College of Agriculture accounted for more than a third of Purdue researchers who asked for access and support to continue critical research when facilities closed this spring.

With about 15 wiliwili trees in the Lilly Greenhouses, and only 150 left in the wild after an insect pest decimated its population, Purdue oversees an important concentration of this deciduous tree native to Hawaii. Scott McAdam, assistant professor of botany and plant pathology, has been growing the trees for three years.

Managing Mental Health in a Summer of Change

Tuesday, July 7th, 2020

Angie Frost had been hearing from youth and adults that they needed more mental health resources. So the Healthy Living Extension Specialist for Indiana 4-H Youth Development trained a group of Teens as Teachers early this year to lead other youth in practicing social and emotional wellness. “We focused on that in February, without at all knowing what we’d be going through a month later.”

Backyard birding, Tips to attract birds to your nest

Thursday, July 2nd, 2020

“Being trapped inside during the coronavirus pandemic has been hard on my mental health, as I’m sure it has been for many of us,” shared Jessica Outcalt. “Defending my dissertation three days before the world began shutting down, finishing my degree in the middle of a global pandemic and graduating with my Ph.D. via a virtual ceremony I watched while birds sang in my backyard was a wild experience.

GTAP takes its international conference virtual

Thursday, June 25th, 2020

Purdue University, Raytheon BBN Technologies, PortaScience, Cortex Design, and LaDuca partner on COVID-19 point-of-care test kit

Thursday, June 25th, 2020 • University News Story

Purdue University, Raytheon BBN Technologies, PortaScience Inc., Cortex Design Inc., and LaDuca LLC on Wednesday (June 24) announced a partnership to produce and manufacture a COVID-19 home test. The test will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Adm…