ADM Agricultural Innovation Center at Purdue opens
January 18, 2012
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Joe Miller, from left, a 2003 graduate of Purdue's agricultural and biological engineering department, talks with current students J.T. Welte, Daniel Skelton and Ashley Johnson. All four were participating in Wednesday's (Jan. 18) dedication ceremony of the ADM Agricultural Innovation Center on the Purdue campus. (Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University opened its ADMAgricultural Innovation Center on Wednesday (Jan.18), heralding it as offeringgreater laboratory and classroom opportunities for students in the university'stop-rated Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
The $4.2 million, 27,000-square-foot center was built witha $1.5 million contribution from Archer Daniels Midland Co., a longstandingpartner with Purdue in the education of agricultural and biological engineeringand agricultural systems management students. Construction of the steel-framebuilding on the south side of campus began last spring.
"This building reflects the commitment and dedicationof Purdue and ADM to further enhance the experience of students in ournationally recognized undergraduate and graduate programs in agricultural andbiological engineering," said university President France A. Córdova. "Thisfacility will help ensure that these programs will continue to produce theinnovators that the industry needs."
U.S. News & World Report in September rated Purdue'sDepartment of Agricultural and Biological Engineering as the best such undergraduatespecialty program in the country. Earlier in the year, it also ranked the graduate program as the top ABE specialty.
The center, which replaces a small, outdated building,provides opportunities for students to use the largest tractors, combines andother agricultural machinery to better understand the operation of theequipment and its components, document performance and improve designs.Equipment considered small by today's standards did not fit in the previousshop.
The space includes classrooms for students to interact insmall groups, using computers, LCD panels and writable walls so they cancomplete assignments, develop designs and build equipment in the shop area.
There also is a conference room where students can meetwith industrial project sponsors and potential employers.
"The facility provides a broad range of experiencesand opportunities for students all in one place," said department headBernard Engel.
ADM's contribution, to be given over three years, isfunded through ADM Cares, which directs up to 1 percent of the company's pretaxprofits to initiatives and organizations that drive social, economic andenvironmental progress worldwide.
Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, robins89@purdue.edu
Sources: FranceA. Cordova, president@purdue.edu
BernardEngel, 765- 494-1162, engelb@purdue.edu
