The Center will be the home of the high-bay space for ABE as well as the Central Machine Shop. It will include classroom, conference, and office space as well. Groundbreaking for the building will likely be sometime in July, with completion scheduled for December. There will be a grand opening celebration in January, 2012.

Dr. Jiqin Ni (pronounced Jee-chin Nee) has accepted the new ABE extension and research position in livestock and rural waste systems engineering.  Jiqin has been a research associate professor focusing on odor at livestock facilities, and is well-known for his innovations in monitoring.  In his new position, he will develop programs to address issues related to livestock waste management more broadly, including treatment methods such as anaerobic digestion and best management practices for reducing environmental impacts. He officially starts the new position May 1. Please welcome him into the Purdue Extension family (Jiqin@purdue.edu)

Dennis Flanagan is a grandfather again! His third grandson (fifth grandchild) was born Monday, May 2, in Carmel. Nathan Samuel Harney was born at 6:59 pm and weighed in at 8 lbs, 2 oz. He's going to play basketball - 21.5" long! Congratulations Dennis and Diana!

For the second consecutive year, Laurent Ahiablame's project titled "A feasibility study for the development of community level water supply systems in Lomé Togo: A pilot project for water management in Yokoe residential quarter" has been funded by Hydrologists Helping Others (H2O). Sponsored by Dr. Bernie Engel, this project seeks to conduct a feasibility study for the implementation of community level safe drinking water distribution systems, financed and managed by communities. Laurent will be traveling to Togo this coming summer with Jacob Niemeier (ABE student), Genevieve Viduya (Public Health student), Monette Viduya (IE student), and Taisha Venort (EEE).

Louis V. Nelson, III, was the PhD Award recipient at the Black Graduate Association Awards banquet. JD McClurkin was recognized for winning the MANRRS National Conference Theme competition with the title "Planting the Seeds for Global Success." She also received the Dr. Luther S. Williams Leadership Award. Our students continue to lead the way!

Rebecca Logsdon has been elected President of the Purdue Graduate Student Government. Congratulations, Rebecca! Rebecca was featured in "Five Students Who..." for her role in PGSG as well as her responsibilities as the Graduate Student Liaison to the West Lafayette City Council.

Lindsay Birt was featured in "Five Students Who..." in the Policy Maker category in May. We are proud of our grad students!

Publications

Seeniraj, G. and Ivantysynova, M. 2011. A Multi-Parameter Multi-Objective Approach to Reduce Pump Noise Generation. International Journal of Fluid Power, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 7-17.

Theses Defenses:

Michael Cross. “Optimal Control: An Effective Method for Designing Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles”

 Brent Warr. “Methodology for Desinging a Hydraulic Hybrid Transmission from Real World Drive Data”

Other News

Congratulations to Josh Zimmerman!  He was awarded the Best Poster Award at this year’s Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power annual meeting which was held in conjunction with the International Fluid Power Expo in Las Vegas, NV from March 22-23. More information can be found at the news archive.

 Five senior design teams supervised by Dr. Ivantysynova made their final product presentations on April 27.  The teams were competing to move on to the next round of the design competition.  Congratulations to the team of Sebastien Thiem, David Shaw, Thomas Shyy, Adam Watson, Matrin Buchler, Harry Hamann, and Johannes Stocker who moved on to the next round of the competition.  The team developed a hydraulic hybrid transmission demonstrator.  The demonstrator will be used as an interactive way to teach people about how a series hydraulic hybrid transmission works.

ABE Graduate Student Association (ABEGSA)

The ABEGSA elected new officers at their last meeting. Serving for the next academic year will be:

President: Jen Kahn
Vice President: Jennifer Roath
Treasurer: Katey Bartlett
Secretary: Matt Stensberg
Social Coordinators: Shawn Ehlers and Daniel Galle
Professional Development Coordinators: Isaac Emery and Dhananjay Pai
PGSG Senator: Sarah Rutkowski
Webmaster: Kyle Vester

Purdue Diesel Club

Purdue Diesel Club's first Dyno Day was held on Saturday April 9, 2011 at Delphi Automotive Diagnostic in Delphi, IN.  With the help and support of industry companies such as National Assoc. of Diesel Motorsports, Fleece Performance Engineering, Pure Diesel Power, Swamp's Diesel Performance & Technology, and Purdue University's Agriculture & Biological Engineering Dept., we were able to meet and exceed our expectations of the event.  We had 35 paying trucks come across the rollers, including several exhibition and promotional trucks, and estimated over 150 people attended.  Fortunately the day went without a hitch and lasted from 9AM-6PM, and generated nearly $2,000 for the club.

 With a solid success under our belt, we have already made efforts to begin the planning process and have identified key strategic partners that will be invaluable for expanding and improving the Dyno Day event.  We look forward to another successful year in the club, and are excited about the opportunities for growth and continuous development. Pictures from the event (Joe Harmeyer)

Tian Lan, Evaluating Energy Efficient Strategies and Product Quality for Distillers' Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) in Dry-Grind Ethanol Plans - April 19 (MS)

Isaac P. Serbin, Harvest Logistics and Economics of Sweet Sorghum Crop for Fuel Ethanol, Grain Feed, and Bioproducts Under Midwest Conditions - April 20 (MS) (Postponed - TBA)

Jing Tan, Assessing Stream Temperature Variations and its Relationship with Urbanization in the Pacific Northwest - May 4 (MS)

Sean Kearney (BE), our Outstanding Sophomore this year, has been named this year's Pfendler Scholar. This program was created in honor of David C. Pfendler, a counselor and advisor to generations of College of Agriculture students. Available to rising Juniors and Seniors, the program requires that the student carry at least a 3.50 (A=4.0) GPA; demonstrate sincere interest in the food, agriculture and natural resources industries; and demonstrate leadership, sound character and good citizenship. The  award includes full tuition and fees for up to four semesters. The Pfendler Scholar may receive this award a second year pending maintenance of a 3.50 GPA and other conditions. Congratulations, Sean!