Latest news with #PurdueUniversity
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Purdue University immediately closes DEI office amid state, federal pressure
Purdue University announced Friday it is "sunsetting" DEI activities and initiatives, effective immediately."An increasing number of actions and policy measures at both the federal and state level have made it clear that doing so is a necessary part of our future as a public university and a state educational institution," the university said in a statement. The move comes after similar announcements from other Big 10 schools, including the University of Michigan and Ohio State. University Of Michigan Announces It's Shuttering Its Dei Offices Due To Trump's Executive Orders The Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging will close as will related activities in colleges and departments, according to school officials. Staff colleagues working in DEI departments will have the opportunity to interview for vacancies in other departments. The Ohio State University 'Sunsets' Offices Amid Ongoing Review Of Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Work Read On The Fox News App The university will also update leading programs in its colleges into the Boilermaker Opportunity Program Plus in the Office of the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management to "serve all academic programs and to best support all current and future students," according to the statement. Cultural centers will continue to serve as open resources for the Purdue community, providing support for all students as part of the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Life. Dei Office Closures At Universities Pile Up After Another State Orders End To 'Woke Virus' "As we refocus our efforts on the success of all students in keeping with our land-grant mission and values, our team will be with you every step of the way through these updates," Purdue University Provost & Miller Family professor Patrick J. Wolfe wrote in the statement. Purdue University did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for article source: Purdue University immediately closes DEI office amid state, federal pressure
Chicago Tribune
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Purdue shutters DEI office, programming
A week after Indiana University shuttered its diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming, Purdue University has followed suit. Purdue University Provost Patrick J. Wolfe announced Friday that school is sunsetting all DEI activities and initiatives in response to executive orders and policies passed at the federal and state level. Purdue will close its Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging and related activities in colleges and departments. Staff members working in these areas will have the opportunity to interview for current vacancies in other areas. Purdue's Minority Engineering Program and the Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program, which assist minority students entering the engineering and business fiels, will be rolled into the Boilermaker Opportunity Program Plus (BOP+) in the Office of the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. Indiana University and its regional campuses shut down diversity, equity and inclusion offices on May 26. Within his first two days in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order called for dismantling federal DEI programs. Another order ended affirmative action in federal contracting and directed layoffs for federal diversity, equity and inclusion staffers. Trump labeled them as 'illegal and immoral discrimination programs.' GOP states, including Indiana, have followed with similar bans on DEI programs. Gov. Mike Braun issued an executive order banning DEI initiatives in state government offices on his second day in office. In addition, he signed Senate Bill 289, which prohibits mandatory DEI training in K-12 schools and limits DEI programs in state universities. The law also allows individuals to sue public schools for DEI policies and programs. Earlier this month, Attorney General Todd Rokita sent a letter to the University of Notre Dame claiming its DEI policies may violate state and federal law. Ball State University and Ivy Tech Community College have already eliminated DEI programs in response to GOP edicts.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Blazing New Trails To The Endless Frontier: Transforming America's University Research
By Mung Chiang, President of Purdue University (This was an opening keynote at the SEMI EXPO Heartland on April 1 in Indianapolis, with additional examples of events since.) For fourscore years or so, the research enterprise that fueled the American innovation engine was built on the Bell Labs and National Science Foundation models. In the latter, a social contract was implicitly agreed upon between the American people and their elected officials and the country's top universities after the adoption of 'Science: The Endless Frontier,' written by Vannevar Bush for President Harry Truman in the concluding months of World War II. In this contract, much research would be carried out at universities, including private ones, and, through both federal/local tax benefits and government budgetary allocations, public resources would be used as the primary funding source for research at these universities. They would then carry out both the 'knowledge dissemination' and the 'knowledge creation' mission. The NSF was subsequently created in 1950, and the Sputnik moment accelerated the U.S. government's investment across many funding agencies. The peace dividend of the 1990s was shared with these agencies, especially the National Institutes of Health. Both models were based on essentially a monopoly enjoyed by the funding source. Both were choices made, indeed well made, but these were not and are not the only choices. Now at the midpoint between the end of World War II and the end of the 21st century, we are at an inflexion point. The American public wants to explore a new social contract where federal tax dollars assume a smaller portion of the financing equation for research carried out in universities. Purdue University Daily twists and turns aside, is this mostly a transient process, or will it be long lasting? Academia might not be going back to the same good ride of the past 75 years. A new equilibrium for university research could emerge. This premise bounds the scope of the rest of this discussion, knowing that the arguments for resuming the last three-quarters of a century into the future centuries have also been articulated in passionate public advocacy. If fundamental changes are coming ashore anyway, what can we do to maximize the vitality of university research in the new situation? In particular, how should universities work with private capital, both profit-seeking and philanthropic ones, in future decades? Now, private capital for university research is not new, but boosting its scale and scope requires a new culture and innovative mechanisms. There were legitimate reasons why the primary source of funding has comfortably been the government rather than companies and gifts. But today's necessity might incentivize a revisit and reimagination. New arrangements and processes are required for all parties, because industry and academia are naturally misaligned and misfit in many dimensions: All industries would be incentivized if Congress would create a tax benefit for corporations' funding of university research. With skin in the game, some might become a partner with, or even a distributor for, federal research funding. We also recognize that the university-industry relationship is a hexagon: research, recruiting, online learning, IP licensing, philanthropy and economic development. If we do well in one with a company, we should try to elevate the other five too and synergize across all six. Purdue has started experimenting with '360 partnership task forces' with Eli Lilly and Company and SK hynix, with growth toward some of the other 400 companies we partner with. Purdue has always been one of the most industry-coupled universities in the country, and it's getting even better each day as we build out America's Hard Tech Corridor in the heartland. Our semiconductor degrees program has an industry leadership advisory board. Our enterprise publicity campaign is carried out jointly with corporate partners. Our Daniels School of Business now requires AI literacy as a graduation requirement. Training workshops for faculty and staff new to the world of industry partnership started in the spring 2025 semester. Collaborations among previous silos are building new muscles across the offices of Industry Partnerships, Sponsored Program Services, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization, Technology Commercialization, and fund-raising development. Just in the past few months, we have had numerous successes across various sectors. The following examples pilot key elements of an emerging playbook, one that favors scale, speed and agility. A watershed moment was the announcement on May 9, 2025, in Indianapolis of the largest university-industry research program: $250 million over the next seven years of funding from Eli Lilly and Company to Purdue University in medicine discovery, foundry and manufacturing. Other recent examples abound too: But a tough concern remains: how to support fundamental research (and those disciplines removed from industry)? That is the spring source of a waterfall that cascades into new economic equations and, eventually, quarterly profits. Several ideas are worth exploring, though none are satisfactory yet: Now let's briefly turn to philanthropy. A capital campaign covers all dimensions of the university, and research and innovation are often not the natural top priority. While this tendency can be improved through staff training and donor cultivation, especially in areas like the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research or the life sciences, additional models warrant exploration. One emerging model is for the benefactors to provide a gift that creates an affiliated research institute, where the affiliation is strong and clear (e.g., faculty joint appointment, patent agreement, etc.). Donors might feel more in control via the resulting governance structure and mission specification. Universities can still benefit from research support and a translational pathway. Clearly, a whole set of parameters needs to be worked out: gift tax, intellectual property, conflicts of interest, and financial terms. With a $20 million gift from Professor Phil Low, a long-time leader in drug discovery and cancer treatment, Purdue announced April 29 the launch of the Low Institute for Therapeutics, creating new models in this direction. Let's not forget: The total wealth in America is not shrinking. Appreciation for research results still lingers in society. But universities need to get creative in architecting new pathways. Devils live in the details, but so did they when NSF was launched in the 1950s. Details can be created for a new mindset, as first movers enjoy timely advantages. Paraphrasing Vannevar Bush in 1945: The frontiers are still endless; we might just have to blaze some new trails to continue the worthy pursuit.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Gary Families Can Now Test Home Air, Soil and Water for Toxins
Gary and other Lake County residents are being asked to help gauge dangerous pollutants after an initial study found contamination at alarming levels. 'By participating, you could learn more about pollution in your home, whether you have been exposed, and how that might affect the health of your family and the community,' said Ellen Wells, director of the occupational and environmental health sciences program at Purdue University and lead researcher of the study. In the first phase of the study, researchers and volunteers collected hundreds of dust and air samples. They found road-dust levels in Gary and northern Lake County to be far above those in other Indiana cities. Lead in Gary soil measured twice the EPA's safety limit for polluted areas, and elevated levels of iron and manganese contamination were discovered as well. Now, researchers are recruiting hundreds more volunteers from across the county — including Gary, Hammond, East Chicago and Whiting — to help quantify how pollution and other environmental contaminants affect residents' health. Tim DaSilva, a community ambassador for the study from East Chicago and research assistant with Purdue University Northwest, says it's important to get the 'Black perspective' on studies like this, especially in areas like East Chicago, Hammond, Whiting and Gary, because when people aren't informed on these issues, they aren't given the proper compensation from the environmental hardship they endure. 'Historically, many minorities, not just Black people, but Black people included, have been gate kept from the environmental sector, even though it's their communities that are most affected, because a lot of times low-income areas are built on heavily polluted soil or areas that have very, very bad air pollution,' DaSilva said. He pointed to examples like the West Calumet housing complex in East Chicago, a public housing complex predominantly occupied by minorities, which was built atop an old lead refinery. A 1998 government report found that 30% of children at the complex had high levels of lead in their blood, but residents weren't officially notified by the Department of Housing and Urban Development of the contamination until 2016. In 2019, the last of the complex was torn down after strong community protest. The study aims to collect data from residents of northern Lake County, focusing on environmental contaminants and their impact on neurological health. Upon completion, the study's findings could inform regulatory levels and community actions to improve environmental conditions. Chemicals tested include air particles (soot), gas and fumes, heavy metals (including lead), and PFAS chemicals — man-made chemicals used in industrial sites, cookware, and clothing. Exposure to lead can lead to severe brain damage, including developmental delays and behavioral problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Air particles, like particulate matter, are tiny pieces of soot caused by pollution and fumes that can settle deep into the lungs and cause respiratory issues, asthma, and premature death. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — known as 'forever chemicals' for their inability to be destroyed — have been linked to a number of health issues, including cancer, liver damage, infertility, endocrine disruption and developmental problems in children. Participants will be given an environmental sampling kit, which can be used to collect water, dust, soil, and air in and around their home. Participants will also be given two silicone wristbands, one to test for pollutants in the air to wear during daily activities, and the other to leave in their home to test home pollution for a week. After about one to two weeks, participants will be brought to Purdue University Northwest to submit their environmental samples, undergo a standard assessment, fill out a questionnaire, and collect biological samples (hair, nails, a drop of blood and saliva). No DNA measurements will be performed on any samples. After analysis, any samples used will be destroyed. Wells said their testing methodology considers both environmental contaminants and socioeconomic factors that influence people's health to help determine specific environmental risks to health outcomes. 'There are a lot of things that can influence health conditions,' she said. 'In public health, the concept is that for any given health condition, it's usually the result of multiple risk factors. When we're running the statistical analysis, we can control for those other factors so that we get a better idea of what is the independent relationship of an environmental risk factor on the health outcome, while we're controlling for what we know about other factors that can influence health.' Community ambassadors are set to expand recruitment efforts this summer. Anyone interested in participating can email LakeCountyEnv@ or call (765) 496-4823. The post Gary Families Can Now Test Home Air, Soil and Water for Toxins appeared first on Capital B Gary.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Incredible ‘blink and you'll miss it' clip shows robot solving Rubik's Cube in 100 MILLISECONDS breaking world record
A TEAM of students and their ultra-speedy robot have broken the world record for the fastest time to solve a Rubik's Cube. The incredible clip shows the pronged robots completing the puzzle in a mind-blowing 103 milliseconds. 2 Undergraduate engineering students from Purdue University in the US, Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta, worked on the project Credit: Purdue University 2 The lightning speeds mean the infamous Rubik's Cube can be solved faster than the blink of an eye Credit: Purdue University Undergraduate engineering students from Purdue University in the US, Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta, worked on the project. Their achievement has been recognised by the Guinness World Records site. The previous record of 305milliseconds was set by a team at Mitsubishi earlier this year. It was less than a decade ago when the record time by a robot dropped below a second for the first time. The lightning speeds mean the infamous Rubik's Cube can be solved faster than the blink of an eye. "We solve in 103 milliseconds," Patrohay said in a statement. "A human blink takes about 200 to 300 milliseconds. So, before you even realize it's moving, we've solved it." Patrohay said he was inspired by the super-fast minds of humans, who completed the 1970s puzzle long before robots did. "I always say that my inspiration was a previous world record holder," added Patrohay. "Back in high school, I saw a video of MIT students solving the cube in 380 milliseconds. "I thought, 'that's a really cool project. I'd love to try and beat it someday'. Now here I am at Purdue – proving we can go even faster." Everyone sees the office- but you need 20-20 vision to spot 5 hidden utensils The team redesigned the cube to make sure it wouldn't break apart when moved at such speed. Purdubik's Cube - the name of the team's robot - used a machine vision system and special algorithms to see where the coloured blocks were and rotate them into the right slot. The robot made its first public appearance at a student design competition in December. But since then, the team behind it have made it faster and faster. Nak-seung Patrick Hyun, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, mentored the students. "This achievement isn't just about breaking a record, it pushes the boundaries of what synthetic systems can do," said Hyun. The current record held by a human is 3.05 seconds by seven-year-old Xuanyi Geng from China.
