News - Ray W. Herrick Laboratories - Purdue University

As a Purdue mechanical engineering undergraduate, W. Grant Dierking thought a master’s degree would be the ticket to advance his studies on the control and optimization of energy systems. But he admittedly wasn’t considering a PhD. That is, until he was encouraged to apply for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) through the National Science Foundation.

Most agricultural tractors use petroleum-based diesel fuel — even though a significant amount of the corn they are harvesting goes toward making ethanol. Could tractors start using ethanol as fuel? That’s the project being tackled by Purdue University, John Deere, Cummins, and a consortium of biofuel producers.

Six students from Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering have been selected for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

Brian H. Magnuson, a Ph.D. student in Associate Professor Brandon E. Boor's research group in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University, has received a 2026–2027 Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

The College of Engineering recognized faculty, lecturers and other staff for outstanding dedication to teaching students in a Purdue Exponent ad on March 2.

Dr. Nusrat Jung, Assistant Professor in Purdue University’s Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, has been elected Treasurer-Elect of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ), the world’s leading scientific society dedicated to indoor environmental quality research.

Congratulations to Dr. Dongjun Mah, LSCCE and Herrick Labs graduate, who will start as tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas in July 2026.

Roadside mowing is inherently dangerous, time-consuming and costly.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) spends approximately $18 million annually maintaining more than 40,000 acres of roadside vegetation. Contractors must often operate just feet from high-speed traffic, sometimes crossing into travel lanes and navigating around obstacles hidden in tall grass.

William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of Mechanical Engineering, and Reilly Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Eckhard Groll, received a Focus Award for outstanding contribution to the furthering of Purdue University’s commitment to disability accessibility.

During the recent ASHRAE conference in Las Vegas, Thanos Tzempelikos, Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering and Herrick Labs Faculty, was named ASHRAE Fellow and received the award. Tzempelikos was recognized for his research contributions to daylighting control, integration of thermal and lighting systems operation, and indoor environmental quality and comfort.