Every time I come into the lab, I know that I’m going to be learning something new, and every day is a step forward towards understanding these novel drug delivery systems.-Sophia Dasaro, PhD student, agricultural and biological engineering

Purdue University’s Institute for Digital and Advanced Agricultural Systems (IDAAS) is at the forefront of integrating data-driven technologies into agriculture, serving as a platform for groundbreaking innovation. By connecting the brightest minds in academia and industry, IDAAS underscores Purdue’s commitment to shaping the future of agricultural systems.

Kayla Hinton has found a new “fit” with the Clorox Company as a supply chain leadership development program associate. She loved many things about her internship with Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and she was curious about other careers within the industry.

Hoagland said there are two kinds of tomato production in Indiana. Ketchup and canning companies like Red Gold form the industrial side, which relies on tomato crops grown in large fields. Fresh-market tomatoes, often grown on a small scale to sell unprocessed, may generate less revenue, but they are a fast-growing, popular option for both consumers and growers.

AgroRenew is simultaneously investing in the education of current Purdue students as well. Amanda Wolf was originally inspired by her eighth grade science teacher to follow the potential of her strong problem-solving skills through agriculture. Now a junior majoring in biological engineering and minoring in biotechnology, Wolf put that passion and talent to use on the AgroRenew team this summer.

From eating a poisonous fly agaric—the iconic red-with-white spots toadstool—as a child and getting his stomach pumped to later making clay versions of the same mushroom on a “Smurfs”-themed Mardi Gras float, Marshall Porterfield has gone from picking mushrooms off his pizza to growing them in the lab.

The Industrial Microbial Biotechnology study abroad program was created to offer students more insight into the many ways that microbes are used in industry. Germany is a choice location based on its history in food fermentation and expertise in anaerobic digestion of agricultural residues.

The purpose of the annual report is to maintain public focus on the issue of agricultural confined space injuries and fatalities, aid in the development of evidence-based training, and offer resources and direction to policymakers and engineering organizations in developing improved workplace regulations and design standards. New findings reported no fewer than 55 cases involving agricultural confined spaces, with 29 fatal and 26 nonfatal cases. This represents a 33.7% decrease over the 83 cases documented in 2022.

As a boy, Porterfield was influenced by viewing the Apollo rocket launches, an opportunity that came with being part of a military family stationed at a naval base nearby NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Science fiction and television also sparked his fascination with space. The original Star Trek series hooked him as a young child, and later, during his undergraduate studies, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation depicting hydroponics in space inspired Porterfield to his calling.

As a trained agricultural engineer, Hoerr says her creative problem solving was cultivated at Purdue and has served her well in her quest to be a part of the solution. "I'm a woman of many passions, but the linkage to food and hunger goes back to my idealistic views of the world from when I was a freshman at Purdue,” Hoerr said. “One of the main reasons I chose agricultural engineering is because I wanted to feed the world.”