CoT Alumni Relations Under New Leadership

by Erin Pennington, director of alumni and donor relations for the College of Technology

This winter has been an exciting time to join the College of Technology staff. While I’ve never worked in a collegiate setting before, I thought to myself “How different can it really be?” when I began a new career here on January 8. I came to realize quickly that the differences between the private sector and Purdue University are vast, and that my decision to jump with both feet into a brand new industry was indeed a wise one.

Since joining the 4th floor Advancement Office team, I’ve observed, with some wonderment, how the college operates. Nearly every day I witness individuals and departments working in coordination with one another; offering guidance and insight, and pulling together with a common goal of advancing the success and the standing of Purdue’s technology programs. Though I haven’t had an opportunity to meet as many faculty as I would like, I look forward to doing so, and learning more about the goals of our eight departments.

Beginning April 9, the college will celebrate its first ever Technology Week, and capture the attention of the entire university. Planning a week’s worth of events is rarely an easy task, especially when it’s your inaugural go-round! I feel fortunate to work with a team of professionals, dedicated to making Tech Week a smashing success. If I didn’t know before, the trick to putting a “tent around the circus” is working through the details. By working as a team, the strengths of each meeting planner, academic, and communication professional have emerged, creating a series of events we think you’ll be proud of.

As we set our sights on commencement, state fair, and even Tech Week ’08, I welcome your feedback and ideas for engaging alumni and showcasing the departments. Increasing opportunities for student involvement is one idea being examined for next year’s technology celebration. Though I don’t yet hold all the answers, I’m glad to work as your partner on alumni initiatives, special events and projects, and assist in any way I can.

In the News

Workshop in Columbus to Focus on Computer-Related Crime

A free workshop on April 20 at the Purdue University College of Technology at Columbus will teach business executives, information technology professionals and law enforcement officials how to work together to prevent computer-related crimes in the workplace and what to do if their system has been attacked.

The workshop, titled Cooperative Computer Incident Response: Implementing Cross-Community Teams for Computer Security, will be from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Summerville Room of the Columbus Learning Center, 4555 Central Ave., Columbus. More Info.

Purdue Class Teaches Students the Science of Guitar-Making

Brandon Deshon has played the guitar since seventh grade and was always curious what went into the making of one.This semester, the Purdue University student got a chance to learn in a class that teaches him and others to build their own classical guitars from scratch.

The class attends a lecture once a week, where students learn about acoustics and the theories behind instrument making. On another two days, they venture into a workshop in the basement of the Michael Golden Laboratories, attached to Knoy Hall, to build the guitars.

"I'll answer any questions," said Mark French, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology. "And, of course, if they are doing anything dangerous, I tell them to stop." More Info.

In New Hospital Design, Hospitality Is a Priority

The word "hospital" denotes medical care, but it's also the root word of "hospitality," a term more common in the hotel industry. Area hospitals are combining those concepts by designing their new structures and interior spaces to be more hospitable -- to patients, families and staff -- and also, hopefully, to promote quicker healing.

Today, patients, as well as doctors and nurses, are more informed and interested in how a holistic environment promotes healing said Gregory Lasker, assistant professor of building construction management at Purdue University.

"In this day and age, there's nothing about the planning, design and construction process that is an accident," Lasker said. More Info.

California Engineer's Invention Could Roll Out Concrete Homes Next Year

Building a home in one day is a feat accomplished rarely without dozens of plucky Habitat for Humanity volunteers or an entire "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" cast. But a California academic named Behrokh Khoshnevis is sure he can do it.

Khoshnevis — an inventor, engineering professor and director of the Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies at the University of Southern California — says the idea is a simple one: "If you look around, everything else we use is made automatically, like the pen you're holding, the shoes, the cars. The reason we don't have [automated homebuilding] is simply that we haven't had the large-scale technology."

Some engineers and scholars are optimistic at the prospect of introducing more robotics to the construction industry.

"I think he can do it and I think he will do it. What I'm particularly excited about it is that this technology can be used for lots of different materials and lots of types of buildings," says Brian A. Alenskis, an associate professor of mechanical engineering technology at Purdue University. "It can make things more efficient on other scales." More Info.

Got a Meeting? Get an Agenda

Taggart Smith, a professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision at Purdue University's College of Technology, was interviewed by IT Business Edge about making business meetings more productive. More Info.

CGT Graduate Student Places First in Poster Competition

Enkhtuvshin Dorjgotov, a doctoral student in computer graphics technology, won first place in the engineering science category for the graduate student poster competition sponsored by Sigma Xi. The
poster is titled “An Immersive Granular Material Visualization System with Haptic Feedback.”

The goal of the research was to develop a portable and immersive virtual reality system that provides haptic interactions between abuser and the granular material in a variety of virtual reality configurations. He said the research was novel because it integrated haptics — which is the science of applying touch sensation
and control to interaction with computer applications — with complex physics and proved that granular media, such as sand, can be manipulated in near real-time through these means.

“Our research at the Envision Center showed that haptic feedback can be incorporated into complex granular media simulation,” Dorjgotov said. “This allows the user more realistic movements of granular media, such as sand, in large, immersive virtual environments so the user can see and haptically feel the movements of granular media in real time.”

He said the research could have far-reaching implications for physicists and other scientists who are studying earthquakes, landslides, movements of soil and sand in mines, and other such applications.

“The user can actually feel and touch the sand and evaluate the reaction of the granular media,” he said. “Accurate simulation models could make it much easier for scientists in the future to study and perhaps predict a wide range of phenomena.”

Dorjgotov, who works with the Envision Center, collaborated on the research with Benes Bedrich, Krishna Madhavan, Laura Arns and Gary Bertoline. Dorjgotov received $200 and is invited to attend the Sigma
Xi banquet on April 18.