Past News
Two-stage ditches reduce nitrogen pollution while draining farm fields
March 30, 2020
Sara McMillan at Purdue University and Jennifer Tank at University of Notre Dame are monitoring nitrogen and phosphorus loads coming from two-stage ditches in farmland waterways to document how effective restored floodplains are at holding nutrients in place. “By restoring mini-floodplains on each side of these formerly channelized ditches, you add the potential for enhanced biology and hydrology to cleanse the water through nutrient and sediment removal,” said Tank, whose primary work is in ecology and environmental biology.
Two-stage ditches reduce nitrogen pollution while draining farm fields
Lobbying effort for ag research funding
March 29, 2020
WASHINGTON — Illinois and Indiana university representatives and a Certified Crop Adviser were recently on Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to continue agricultural research funding. Todd Steinacher, AgriGold regional agronomist, was part of a four-member team in his role as a Certified Crop Adviser board member. Other team members were Sylvie Brouder, Purdue University agronomy professor and American Society of Agronomy president; Jeff Volenec, Purdue agronomy professor and American Society of Agronomy president-elect; and Neha Chatterjee, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign biogeochemistry doctorate student.
Don’t fear eating your fruits and veggies as virus concerns grip nation
March 17, 2020
Modern supermarkets with their many open displays of fruits and vegetables are truly a marvel and a reminder that our nation enjoys the safest and most abundant food supply in the world. However, in the face of the current nationwide COVID-19 outbreak, many questions about the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables have arisen. According to Amanda Deering, an Extension specialist in Purdue’s Department of Food Science, current research indicates that the virus is not foodborne or food-transmitted.
Don’t fear eating your fruits and veggies as virus concerns grip nation
Purdue Political Science Graduate Student Named a Recipient of a Chateaubriand Fellowship
March 16, 2020
Purdue Political Science graduate student Janel Jett will spend most of spring semester in Paris, France, as a recipient of a Chateaubriand Fellowship, a grant provided to Ph.D. students at American universities by the Embassy of France in the United States. During her time in France, Jett will collaborate with social psychologists at Paris Descartes University on a series of survey experiments examining temporal frames and how construal of climate change initiatives as restorative versus progressive impacts policy support.
Purdue Political Science Graduate Student Named a Recipient of a Chateaubriand Fellowship
Faculty NSF-Funded Project produces More Accurate Climate Model
March 9, 2020
By 2030, global warming alone could push Chicago to generate 12% more electricity per person each month of the summer. If the city generated any less electricity, it would be risking a power shortage that may require drastic measures to avoid rolling blackouts, according to projections from a model designed by Purdue University researchers.
Faculty NSF-Funded Project produces More Accurate Climate Model
The Silent Work of Forests
March 2, 2020
In a mature forest, woody vines, flowering shrubs, ferns and other plants all blend together in a medley of greens and browns on a floor shaded by a thick overstory. To the casual hiker, a cluster of saplings standing a few feet tall isn’t much to stop and look at. Gordon McNickle, however, sees something that most people don’t. Those saplings, just a few leaves shooting off from thin green stems, have been locked in a waiting game for years. If the opportunity arises, they’ll set off on an arms race that will end with only one survivor.
A Purdue professor just met with Pope Francis to discuss hydrogen energy. Here’s how it went.
February 25, 2020
Pope Francis is known for having strong opinions and leading one of the most progressive papacies of all time — and, as a Purdue University professor recently found out, he also laughs at his own jokes. It's the kind of quality one can really only find out about if they're lucky enough to wrangle a private meeting with him. Which, years after initial efforts to make it happen, engineering technology professor John Sheffield just did.
A Purdue professor just met with Pope Francis to discuss hydrogen energy. Here’s how it went.
Study: Your home’s water quality could vary by the room – and the season
February 19, 2020
Is the water in your home actually safe, given that water utility companies in the U.S. aren’t required by law to monitor the water that specifically enters a building at its service line? A study has found that the water quality of a home can differ in each room and change between seasons, challenging the assumption that the water in a public water system is the same as the water that passes through a building’s plumbing at any time of the year.
Study: Your home’s water quality could vary by the room – and the season
Purdue receives recognition by Chronicle of Higher Education for Fulbright Scholars
February 11, 2020
David Purpura, a Purdue University associate professor of human development and family studies, is working with colleagues in Belgium to better understand how language affects math development. He soon will do the same in South Africa. Linda Nie spent six months at two internationally recognized research facilities in other countries. Neither of the two could have done this work without the Fulbright Global Scholar awards. The same goes for six others on Purdue’s faculty, who received Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards.
Purdue receives recognition by Chronicle of Higher Education for Fulbright Scholars
What's under the shell of this popular snack?
February 10, 2020
No country grows or consumes more popcorn than the United States and only one state, Nebraska, produces more popcorn than Indiana. Consequently, it’s surprising that in 2019, only 75,000 of Indiana’s 5 million corn acres contained popcorn. The hard outer hull of popcorn, called the pericarp, explains why 1.5 percent of the state’s corn pops while none of the rest can. Bruce Hamaker, distinguished professor of food science and Roy L. Whistler Chair, found that the best popping kernels have a stronger pericarp, maximizing moisture retention.