As part of this effort, Global Engineering Programs recently was awarded $50,000 by USA Study Abroad, a branch of the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department. The project is titled "Diversifying and Scaling Purdue Engineering Study Abroad in East Asia." Through it, Global Engineering Programs will focus on Japan, Hong Kong and China.

"Participating in this grant was a natural extension to our recent efforts in creating semester exchange programs in the East Asia region," says Patrick ("Doc B") Brunese, PhD. "Our recently created programs with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have been quite successful to date, and it is important that we continue to strengthen our connections with those and other locations within the region to ensure our students receive a high-quality education and experience."

Eight Purdue colleagues worked to earn the federal award: Andrew Brightman, assistant head, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering; Patrick Brunese, senior academic administrator, School of Industrial Engineering; Darryl Dickerson, associate director, MEP; Jeffery Gray, associate professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Beth Holloway, WIEP; Wei Hong, director of the Chinese Language Program and the Confucius Institute; James D. Jones, associate head, School of Mechanical Engineering; and Lt. Col. James Scrogin, branch commander for Army ROTC.

Global Engineering is the center of the college's efforts in international education, research and engagement. It offers a number of opportunities through the East Asia Program, the Exxon Mobil Foundation-supported Engineering in Latin America Program and a minor in global engineering.