ABE is partnering with the USDA to deliver two symposia on the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The first, scheduled for January 13, 2015, from 9 am - 12 pm, will be held at the Jennings County Library in North Vernon, IN. The second, scheduled for January 22,  2015, from 9 am - 12 pm, will be held at the Martin County Fairgrounds Resource Center in Loogootee, IN.

ABE welcomes 7 new grad students this semester:

• Joseph Revuelta, studying with Meng Deng and Teresa Carvajal, is from Mexico
• Mario Cano-vega, also studying with Men Deng and Teresa Carvajal, is also from Mexico
• Ahmed Abdelnaby, studying with Vincent Bralts, is from Egypt
• Ravindra Shrestha, studying with Klein Ileleji, is from Nepal
• John Houtman, studying with Bob Stwalley, is from the US
• Ashley Wondergem, studying with Monika Ivantysynova, is also from the US
• Daniel Bampoh, studying with Shweta Singh, is from Ghana.

Please make them feel welcome as they join the ABE family!

Leah Liston - Student of the Year

Saturday, January 3, Leah received the Student of the Year Award at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/Department of Transportation (DOT) division of the Council of University Transportation Centers Banquet. Hosted by Patricia Watts (Director of the FAA Air Transportation Centers of Excellence) and Peter Sparacino (Program Manager of the FAA Center of Excellence for General Aviation), both of the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center, she had the opportunity to meet Norman Mineta, former US Secretary of Transportation, and Greg Winfree, Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Transportation. The other student recognized for the FAA/DOT Student of the Year Award was Luke Jensen, of MIT Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.

Congratulations Leah!  

 

Maha Graduates

On December 12^th, Guido Ritelli held his preliminary examination. His presentation is entitled “Active Oscillation Reduction in Hydraulic Load Handling Machines with Energy Implications,” and focuses on decreasing the vibrations in hydraulic machinery via novel control strategies. Properly controlling a hydraulic system is vital in terms of keeping it efficient and in terms of taming vibrations that could be harmful to the operator or the machine. Congratulations Guido on passing the preliminary examination!

New Faces at Maha

The Maha team would like to welcome Hiral Haria, Leandro Henschel Danes, and Gautham Ramachandran, who joined the Maha Fluid Power Center at the start of the semester.

The most recent student organization added to Purdue University’s Agricultural and Biological Engineering department is the ABE Ambassadors, a group of students whose goal is to spread awareness and recruit for ABE. They are relatively new but already extremely busy helping the department spread the word about its many opportunities!

ABE Ambassadors regularly host information sessions for students interested in joining the program. In addition, ABE Ambassadors have developed several hands-on labs and have been conducting sessions and seminars for junior high and high school students.

The ABE Ambassadors group works closely with the First Year Engineering program, as well as the Women in Engineering Program and the Minority  Engineering Programs at Purdue. The group also works with 4H, FFA, local high school students and junior high students interested in learning about Agricultural & Biological Engineering and Agricultural Systems Management.

The Ambassadors can tailor their labs and presentations to any groups’ preferences. With labs ranging from pneumatic tennis ball launchers to DNA extraction, food packaging, and environmental run-off, the hands-on experiences touch on every part of ABE ‘s diverse programs and can be adjusted for various age groups.

The photo depicts a recent event the Ambassadors hosted, in which a group of high school students from ITW Speer Academy in Chicago, IL came to Purdue. “I just really want to reach out again and say thank you for such an amazing trip.  Our students have been buzzing about it the entire way back and have been asking me questions about engineering.  Thank you for everything today, you were all extremely accommodating and worked so hard to teach our kids today.” – Jordan Kruger, Director of STEM Education, ITW Speer Academy.

The ABE Ambassadors look forward to 2015, where they have many more sessions lined up. As new labs are developed and new members are recruited, the program hopes to grow and improve.