Could autonomous robots be the field hands of the future? Automated machines will better help farms of all sizes feed a growing population in a way that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.

A couple of years ago, I was sitting next to an engineer-farmer who raises beef cattle. He mentioned the challenge of bovine respiratory disease, and how it is difficult to determine what therapy is appropriate because there is a lack of information on which pathogen is causing the disease. Oftentimes, antibiotics fail, and the treatment proceeds by trial and error.

Arden L. Bement Jr., the David A. Ross Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue, has been named the 2020 recipient of the Arthur M. Bueche Award by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

In the United States, the transportation sector accounts for 28% of energy consumption, 70% of petroleum use and 29% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is argued that as much as an 80% reduction in worldwide emissions may be needed to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of GHG over the next three decades — at the same time that our nation’s infrastructure is aging, and in need of trillions of dollars in repairs and reconstruction.

The College of Engineering will hold its Feed-A-Boiler food drive – accepting both monetary and in-kind donations -- Oct. 12-23rd. Donations through the Purdue Giving site will benefit the ACE Campus Food Pantry.

The annual awards handed out by the Purdue Engineering Alumni Association (EAA) were delivered virtually this year during a pre-recorded broadcast on Oct. 9, 2020.

Since April, electrical & computer engineering student Isha Ghodgaonkar and colleagues have analyzed 0.5 terabytes of data per week from 11,140 network cameras. The New Scientist journal recently published an article covering this research on studying worldwide social distancing.

Vikas Tomar, Purdue professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and collaborators Stacy Manni, Claron Ridge and Jesus Mares from the Air Force Research Laboratory, and Alice Savage from the Army Research Laboratory co-hosted the Polymer Composite Materials for the Energetic Materials Workshop September 17-18, 2020.

Purdue Mechanical Engineering's Neera Jain gives three important post-pandemic considerations about what the future of work will look like and the role automation will play.

Robots can be amazing tools for search-and-rescue missions and environmental studies, but eventually they must return to a base to recharge their batteries and upload their data. A Purdue mechanical engineering team has created a mobile docking system for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs), enabling them to perform longer tasks without the need for human intervention.