Purdue trustees ratify faculty positions, award posthumous degree; approve contract amendments for Painter

The newly ratified positions are:

* Zhuming Bi, who was named the Harris Chair of Wireless Communication and Applied Research at Purdue Fort Wayne.

* Young-Jun Son, who was appointed the James J. Solberg Head of Industrial Engineering at Purdue West Lafayette.

Bi is a professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at Purdue Fort Wayne. He is a world-class researcher in digital manufacturing, particularly in the fields of mechatronics, robotics and manufacturing automation. Bi is a pioneer in establishing the theoretical foundation of using modular and reconfigurable systems to deal with uncertainties and changes in complex dynamic systems. Colleagues and peers have since widely used the modularity technique and corresponding evaluation approach he proposed for hardware and software designs of reconfigurable machines. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region 4 Outstanding Professional Award in 2018, and both the PFW Outstanding Researcher Award and PFW Featured Faculty Award for the Excellence in Research Endeavors in 2016. Bi has published four books, over 150 manuscripts in leading journals and presented more than 55 papers at international conferences. Bi has worked at PFW since 2009 and has research experience with several world-class research institutes, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Son came to Purdue on June 1 from the University of Arizona, where he served as department head of Systems and Industrial Engineering since 2014, and as a faculty member since 2000. Under his leadership, the SIE department at UArizona showed marked improvements in research expenditures, new degree programs, establishment of awards and scholarships for alumni and students, student and faculty diversity, and partnerships for online and global learning. Son is internationally known as a leading scholar in the industrial engineering research community, where he focuses on modeling and control of complex manufacturing and service enterprises. Through his career, Son has made fundamental research and practice contributions in the areas of simulation, shop floor control, supply chain analysis and planning, and human-decision modeling. His simulation-based control work has been funded by a wide variety of notable governmental and industry sources. Son has authored/co-authored more than 110 refereed journal papers and more than 100 conference papers. He is a fellow and board member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), and currently serves as senior vice president of continuing education for IISE.

In other action, trustees awarded a posthumous Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering degree to Timothy W. St. John from Purdue West Lafayette. Deceased students who have earned at least 85% of their credit-hour requirements and satisfied most of the requirements for a major may be nominated for a posthumous degree.

Trustees also agreed to amended contract terms for men’s basketball head coach Matt Painter, including:

* An increase in total base compensation from $3.2 million to $3.55 million in fiscal year 2022 with $100,000 increases to base compensation scheduled for each of the next two fiscal years.

* Continued $25,000 increase to base compensation each additional year of the rolling five-year term of the agreement.

* The addition of a one-time retention bonus of $450,000 if Painter is still employed as Purdue’s men’s basketball head coach on Sept. 1, 2024.

In 17 seasons at the helm, Painter has led Purdue to 13 NCAA Tournament berths, including six trips to the Sweet 16 and the 2019 Elite Eight; three Big Ten Conference regular-season championships; a Big Ten Tournament title; and a 384-192 record (.667 winning percentage).

Additionally, trustees clarified the role of the Undergraduate Educational Affairs Council.

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