Top 5 stories from Purdue University

‘Purdue News Now’

Trevor Peters has all the latest Boilermaker news in this week’s edition of “Purdue News Now.”

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Plus, check out five good stories below you may have missed.

Purdue acquires building at 518-520 Indiana Ave.

In an effort to meet the demands of a growing enrollment in Indianapolis, Purdue University has acquired the property at 518-520 Indiana Ave., formerly the home of Schultz & Pogue LLP and BrewLogix. The two-story facility, located at the intersection of West Street and Indiana Avenue, will allow Purdue to address merging near-term student support and other space needs in Indianapolis. Since formally launching its first urban expansion last July, Purdue has been focused on increasing its footprint in Indianapolis while working and engaging with neighborhood partners. The exterior facades and integrity of the property, situated in the heart of the Indiana Avenue Historic District and facing the iconic Madam Walker Legacy Center, will remain intact.

Media contact: Derek Schultz, schul221@purdue.edu

Perseverance rover marks four years on Mars with 500,000th laser shot

Humanity’s quest to understand Mars has reached new heights, driven by the groundbreaking SuperCam instrument aboard the Perseverance rover. This state-of-the-art tool, developed under the leadership of Purdue professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences Roger Wiens, has redefined our ability to explore and analyze the red planet’s rugged terrain. Wiens, who proposed the instrument to NASA and now co-leads its scientific team, provides an in-depth look at SuperCam’s technological expertise, collaborative development and the discoveries it has facilitated, offering a glimpse into Mars’ ancient past and its potential for harboring life.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu

Futures thinking and passion for education guide Purdue Global leader’s goals

Maricel Lawrence grew up knowing she would be an educator. Lawrence began working at Purdue University in 2015 with the predecessor department to Purdue University Online. Part of her role as online program launch director was coordinating with academic department heads and faculty members to produce online core courses and develop new online degrees. Her expanded role has her working with partners such as Guild, a comprehensive education and skilling solution for employers to build talent, and community colleges in making sure support mechanisms are in place at Purdue Global to improve retention and accessibility.

Media contact: Derek Schultz, schul221@purdue.edu

AP video — Protecting yourself from deepfakes

Shu Hu, a Purdue University assistant professor of computer and information technology in Indianapolis, discusses methods for deepfake detection and the implications for the public. Hu says audio manipulation in deepfakes creates the need to accelerate the development of multimode deepfake detectors, especially since he expects deepfakes to become increasingly common.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

Purdue students pitch bold solutions to global problems, receive cash prizes

Purdue Innovates Incubator awarded $5,500 to five teams of Purdue University students during the finals of the Moonshot Pitch Challenge, a semiannual, ideation-focused competition. Winning teams ideated solutions challenging stigma associated with substance abuse disorder, validating feeding tube placement, alleviating menopausal hot flashes, providing options for growing plants in small spaces and creating a campuswide bike-sharing device and platform.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu 

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About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.