Appointments, honors and activities
October 11, 2013
• Campus activities:
- The School of Nursing unveiled a new painting for Johnson Hall that will hang in the building's east stairwell to commemorate the school's 50th anniversary and pay tribute to the school's founder, Helen R. Johnson. The painting, by muralist Kathleen L. McCann, was celebrated on Sept. 27 during a Homecoming reception for Nursing alumni, students and friends. The painting features Helen R. Johnson, as well as nurses in various areas of the field caring for patients. The painting is a gift from McCann and her husband Jack Warner, a 1953 Purdue alumnus from science, who are both friends of the Purdue School of Nursing and who live in Barrington, Ill. The School of Nursing is housed in the College of Health and Human Sciences. The framing and frame were donated by Karla and Randy Ross of Randy Ross Custom Framing in Lafayette.
- Global ReOrient: Chinese Pentecostal/Charismatic Movements in the Global East symposium is Oct. 30-31. This Center on Religion and Chinese Society event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. RSVP by email to CRCS@purdue.edu. Both days are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Stewart Center, Room 214. A program is available at http://www.purdue.edu/crcs. The symposium also is sponsored by International Programs, Asian Studies, American Studies and Religious Studies.
• Faculty and staff honors:
- The Indiana Pharmacists Alliance selected Gloria Sachdev as the recipient of the 2013 Excellence in Innovation Award for outstanding advancement of pharmacy practice. The alliance recognized Sachdev, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice, for her promotion of new models of health care delivery and education that capitalize on pharmacists as vital members of the health care team. The alliance also sited her work in Cummins, Indiana to create collaborative practice agreements between pharmacies and local physicians, and partnerships with hospitals to provide transitions of care services. The National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations coordinates the award, which is sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc, and presented annually by participating state pharmacist associations.
- Teasa Thompson received a Cancer Control Champion award from the Indiana Cancer Consortium at the 2013 annual meeting. Thompson is the program manager of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research's Affecting Cancer Together barbershop initiative and is Indiana's prostate cancer health education specialist. The awards are given to members of the consortium who exhibit leadership in implementing the Indiana Cancer control plan through participation in its action teams, committees and through local cancer control coalitions. Thompson was recognized for her launch of the Affecting Cancer Together program and leadership role in the Indiana Black Barbershop Health Initiative. The mission of Purdue's Affecting Cancer Together program, or ACT, is primary prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases in Indiana through awareness and education, providing a bridge to health resources and services and developing health leaders, lay health educators and health motivators in the community. More information about the program is available at http://www.cancerresearch.purdue.edu/about/act
- Won Sik Yang, a Purdue University professor of nuclear engineering, has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society. Yang specializes in areas including nuclear reactor physics, computational methods for reactor analysis and "fast reactors," a technology under development that promises to be more efficient, safer and less expensive to operate than conventional power plants. He is credited with development of the world's premier reactor physics software package for fast reactor analysis. Before joining Purdue, he was the Senior/Principal Nuclear Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. He will be presented with the honor on Nov. 11 during the society's 2013 winter meeting in Washington, D.C.
- Purdue's Office of Marketing and Media has earned a Silver Award from the W3 Awards for its work on the University's "Think Summer" website. The W3 Awards honor outstanding websites, web marketing, web video, and mobile applications created by agencies, designers, and creators worldwide. The W3 is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts. Marketing and Media staff involved in the "Think Summer" project are David Allen, Araz Brifcani, Pat Brown, Kim Delker, Johnna Dexter-Weins, Will Gwin, Nick Rambo and Yoko White. To see the website, go to http://www.purdue.edu/thinksummer/
• Notables:
- Two Purdue pharmacy students raised more than $3,400 to help veterans. Inspired by Eric Greitens book "The Heart and the Fist," third-year pharmacy students Michael Frazier and Aubrie Wnek participated in the Ironman triathlon in Louisville, Ky. to raise funds for the author's "The Mission Continues" program. The program helps post-911 veterans transition to civilian life through fellowships that allow them to give back through community service. Frazier, from New Albany, Ind., finished the 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles bike ride and 26.2 mile marathon 75th out of 106 for men in his age group and Wnek, of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., finished 14th out of 23 for women in her age group.
• Alumni honors:
- Five professionals received Outstanding Food Science Awards on Oct. 10 from Purdue University's Department of Food Science. The award, created in 2000, recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to the food science profession and Purdue's Department of Food Science. Criteria for the recognition are based upon evidence of excellence in industry, academic, government or other endeavors related to food science. Each of the recipients, all Purdue graduates, are: Nancie Corum-Oxley of Lawton, Mich., the award-winning head winemaker at St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw, Mich., and the first professional commercial female winemaker in that state: Claudia Fajardo-Lira of Culver City, Calif., professor of food science in the Department of Family Consumer Sciences at California State University Northridge; Diane Hnat of Danbury, Conn., senior technical marketing manager at DSM Nutritional Products, formerly Roche Vitamins Inc.; Mohamed Obanni of Davis, Calif., senior director of technical services, aseptic and refrigerated business at The Hain Celestial Group; and Dianne Ripberger of Plano, Texas, research and development director of quality innovation, information systems, and ingredient quality assurance at Frito Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo.