Somali Chaterji - University Faculty Scholar

Lana Malek, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department
Malek is from Hoce (HOH-cheh), Slovenia, and is majoring in biological engineering. In 2023, she moved to the United States to attend Purdue University on a varsity golf scholarship. As a student-athlete, Malek has learned to balance the demands of Division I athletics with a rigorous engineering education.

Purdue University’s College of Engineering recognized faculty, lecturers and staff members for their outstanding dedication to teaching in an Aug. 24 Purdue Exponent advertisement.

The recognition was based on results from the Center for Instructional Excellence teacher evaluation surveys. Instructors were evaluated using six questions measuring teaching effectiveness on a five-point scale. Only undergraduate and graduate engineering courses with at least 10 students and a response rate of 50% or higher were considered.

Purdue University researchers have developed prototypes of three new molecular diagnostics instruments designed to rapidly and affordably deliver results in a user-friendly manner.

The new instruments — created by Mohit Verma, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and his team — can be used for human and animal diagnostics as well as environmental and food safety monitoring. They are designed to be low-cost and point-of-need, meaning they can be used at home or in the field.

On Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, a fire started in a chemical company on the outskirts of Newburgh, a city just east of Evansville with a picturesque historic downtown, a shopping center and suburban neighborhoods. It took hours for firefighters and first responders to put the fire out, even using specialized chemical extinguishers. Ash fell on the city for days after, covering lawns and cars, keeping everyone inside.

Extended space travel and stays on the moon will require humans to produce food, materials and medicine in space. Marshall Porterfield, professor of biological engineering and space biophysics at Purdue University, believes fungi could be grown in space to recycle the waste of astronauts into valuable resources.

“Teaming With Insects: Entomology for Grades 3-12” is written for youth who enjoy learning about and studying science and nature. Insects have been around for millions of years and have evolved and adapted to many different habitats. Adaptations involving their anatomy, physiology and behavior are what make insects so diverse and interesting. More than 1 million species of insects are known to scientists, and there may be up to 40 million more yet to be discovered. Most people consider insects pests, and some insects do damage homes, plants, crops and stored foods. Others harm humans and animals by biting, stinging and spreading diseases. The vast majority of insects, however, are beneficial to our ecosystem, and a few, such as honeybees and silkworms, provide direct economic benefits to humans.

During harvest time, tractors pull grain trailers beside combines to catch the golden streams of dried corn and soybeans pushed overhead by an auger unloader. While scenic, the work is not always easy nor the technology perfect.

The modern day auger was designed in the 1940s and hasn’t changed much since. It works by spinning a screw-like helix inside, pushing the grain upwards. It hangs stationary off the left side of the combine, meaning that grain can only be unloaded from that one side. The tractor and grain trailer can’t drive through a standing crop, so they have to wait for the combine to turn around.

Five agricultural systems management seniors in Purdue’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) rose to the challenge to develop a new unloader for their capstone project, with the goal to save farmers time and money.

Robert Stwalley III, clinical associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and Roger Tormoehlen, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and their published book “Advanced Design Topics for the Engineering of Agricultural and Mechanical Equipment.”

Hydroponics – growing crops in nutrient-enriched water instead of soil – is a growing area of agriculture that presents special challenges for growers. Bacteria and biofilms (aggregations of microorganisms) in the systems can sicken and kill plants, reducing yield and costing farmers millions of dollars.

Purdue College of Agriculture engineer Caitlin Proctor, who recently received a major grant from the USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), is studying potential solutions to these problems.