WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University students living on campus donated 3,984 pounds of food to give a boost to mail carriers in Tippecanoe County during the 16th annual National Association of Letter Carriers food drive.

In its first year of participating, Purdue University Residences pushed the local total up to 74,000 pounds, two tons more than last year. That increase helped the local carriers defeat Monroe County carriers, assisted by Indiana University students, by several thousand pounds. Tippecanoe County carriers retain the small wooden bucket that goes to the winner of each year’s friendly competition, a prize similar to the Old Oaken Bucket given annually to the winner of the Purdue-Indiana football game.

University Residences’ students contributed 3,984 pounds, which goes to Food Finders Food Bank in Lafayette, Ind. The food bank’s resource director said she is “completely thrilled” by the generosity of Purdue students.

“We are so pleased that Purdue residence halls chose to participate,” said Kim Motuliak. “The staff and students were so cooperative and wonderful to work with.”

Fifteen residence halls collected food in barrels placed at each hall’s front desk prior to students going home for the summer. Motuliak said many students donated food that likely would have been thrown away.

“But it was obvious that some of the students even went out and purchased food specifically for this campaign,” she said. “That was very sweet of them.”

Purdue University Residences was invited to participate by Food Finders Food Bank volunteer Jennifer Barth, a freshman from Houston, who lives in Purdue’s Shreve Hall. Barth, who volunteered at food banks throughout high school, continued to serve as Food Finders Food Bank’s liaison with Purdue housing officials throughout the campaign.

“Young people can make a big difference in their community,” Barth said. “I’m glad I was able to help my fellow students make an immediate impact for those in need.”

The food bank will distribute items to food pantries, homeless shelters, senior centers and other such facilities in a 16-county region that stretches between the perimeter of the Indianapolis and Chicago metropolitan areas. Allyson Hodge, Purdue University Residences director of community relations, said she is proud of Barth’s accomplishment.

“It’s exactly that kind of leadership we work to instill in our nearly 12,000 residents through an array of charitable activities throughout the school year,” Hodge said. “Through projects like ‘Battle of the Barrels,’ our residents get to learn one of the most important lessons of college: how to become a better global citizen.”

Purdue University, particularly Housing and Food Services, contributes regularly to the food bank. Since December, Food Stores University Residences alone have contributed more than 15 tons.

Food Finders Food Bank is already planning to partner with University Residences residents again next year for the letter carriers’ food drive.

“Their first-year contribution of nearly 4,000 pounds has already proven incredibly valuable,” Motuliak said. “As students become more accustomed to participating, I expect their contributions to grow by leaps and bounds.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — WorkLife Programs will serve as a campus liaison between supervisors and employees when Purdue launches its lactation support program on July 1.

The program is being established to comply with Senate Bill 0219, which requires employers to “make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the work area, where an employee can express the employee’s breast milk in privacy.”

Purdue is not required to provide additional paid break time to employees. In most situations, an employee can express her milk during normal meal and break times. However, additional time may be needed, and supervisors are encouraged to grant reasonable flex scheduling to accommodate the need.

WorkLife Programs will assist in identifying appropriate locations, scheduling and resources. Expenses incurred to address the bill are to be funded by the respective department.

In addition to working as a liaison, WorkLife Programs offers a number of resources for both the supporting department and the employee. Resources are available through the WorkLife Programs Web site at www.purdue.edu/worklife or by contacting WorkLife Programs at 49-45461 or worklife@purdue.edu.

“Lactation support helps to lower health care costs, turnover rates and absenteeism while increasing employee productivity and morale,” says Amber Simons, worklife/wellness specialist with WorkLife Programs. “We encourage employees to share this information to make others aware of the University’s spirit of support.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The power to influence what shows up on supermarket shelves is within the Purdue community’s grasp at the Sensory Evaluation Laboratory. Part of the Department of Food Science, the Sensory Evaluation Laboratory sets up tests for food companies to find out what the average consumer thinks about a product.

Several product testers try brownies in the Purdue Department of Food Science Sensory Evaluation Laboratory and record their responses by following instructions on computer screens.

“We used to call it taste testing, but when you taste you use more than taste buds,” says Steve Smith, manager of the Pilot Lab. “You use all the senses. Your sense of smell is a very important part of taste. If the food doesn’t look good, you’re probably not going to eat it. You even use your ears. If you bite down on lettuce, you want it to have that nice crunch to it.”

Some tests compare one product against another, some look at the addition of a new ingredient and others analyze whether a new product will be viable in the marketplace. The lab has worked with companies such as Nestlé, Campbell’s and Mrs. Fields to test everything from soups to ice cream to trail mix.

One of the most frequent clients is Kroger, which sponsored the lab. The lab opened in the Food Science Building in 1998.

“These companies come to our lab because when they do sensory evaluation work in-house, it becomes a little bit inbred,” Smith says. “They become overly sensitive to really small variations. But the real question they’re trying to answer is, will the average consumer be able to tell the difference.”

Tests generally call for 100 participants and are open to Purdue employees and students. Smith sends an e-mail alert about each test, and he currently has about 500 people on the notification list.

“Sometimes we have to go around and recruit people in the hallways,” Smith says. “We like to get a wider range of people so we don’t have the same group all the time.”

The lab is divided into two areas: the preparation room and the panelist room. In the former, students run the test and prep the food samples as well as prepare a report to send to the food company on the same day.

Smith sums up the design of the panelist room with one word: bland. But that’s simply part of the room’s function — to eliminate all distractions so the focus stays on the food.

“The design really utilizes some psychological things,” he says. “Each participant has a private tasting area so that the person won’t be affected by others in the group. It’s a quiet space, and it also needs to have the proper lighting. There aren’t any paintings or bright colors to draw your attention.”

Ventilation is controlled to keep odors from the food preparation room from transferring to the panelists, who receive their samples through small doors that go up and down at the front of each booth.

During a recent test of a new chicken quesadilla Hot Pocket sandwich, participants received two samples to compare. They were asked for their opinions on the flavor and texture of the cheese, sauce and chicken as well as which sample they preferred. Participants also were asked questions about themselves and their purchasing habits.

The panelists received a treat for completing the evaluation. On that day, the reward was candy, but fruit and yogurt are also given out frequently.

Barbara Davies, secretary in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, tried out the Hot Pockets.

“I thought they were good,” she says. “Hot Pockets always seem to be a popular item at the lab.”

Davies has participated in the tests for almost three years and enjoys rounding up new participants.

“I thought it sounded interesting, and I love the idea of giving them my input,” she says. “Being a participant helps the lab, and it’s fun to do. I’ve tried things over there I wouldn’t have tried on my own. All around it’s a good experience.”

How to participate
To receive e-mail notification about tests going on at the Sensory Evaluation Laboratory, contact Steve Smith at smithrs@purdue.edu

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue students who want to learn more about campus organizations or activities will be able to easily find what they’re looking for, thanks to a Web site aimed at helping students get involved.

The Web site provides information about different student organizations and activities, centers and departments, and answers to frequently asked questions, said Pablo Malavenda, associate dean of students. The site, which is maintained by the Office of the Dean of Students, is available at http://www.purdue.edu/getinvolved/

“Many incoming students visiting Purdue as part of Day on Campus have shown interest in getting involved in campus activities and organizations,” Malavenda said. “The Web site serves as a sort of clearinghouse for incoming or current students who want to join a club or group or just find something to do during the weekend.”

Students also can find out how to form their own student organizations, and plan and publicize events. In addition, the Web site includes links to Purdue Musical Organizations, Purdue Bands, campus cultural centers and links to campus calendars.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As rain-soaked soils begin to dry in Indiana, farmers with soybean acreage left to plant should now be planting mid-season soybean varieties, said a Purdue University expert.

“In general, total rainfall across the southern third of the state is running as much as 10 to 15 inches above normal for the year with extensive flooding,” said Purdue agronomist Ellsworth Christmas. “Soybean planting has obviously been delayed and has now been delayed long enough for farmers to consider changing maturity groups.”

But because mid-season soybean varieties tend to yield lower than full-season varieties, Christmas suggests planting a few extra.

“Seeding rates should be increased by 15 to 20 percent to promote shading, taller plants, and increased pod height and number of nodes per acre,” he said. “This will help offset the reduced yields caused by delayed planting.”

Planting later than normal does mean that farmers will be harvesting crops a little bit later, but Christmas said harvest shouldn’t be delayed the same amount of time as planting.

“Unlike corn, which requires a certain number of growing degree days to mature, soybeans are more sensitive to day length,” he said. “As the day length shortens later in the growing season, soybean maturity speeds up. In general, for each three days planting is delayed, harvest is delayed only one day.”

While there is still time for farmers to get their soybeans into the ground, Christmas warned that there does come a point when late becomes too late.

“A commonly used rule of thumb to stop planting soybeans is 90 days prior to the first 32 degree frost for a given area within the state,” Christmas said. “This means that the cutoff date for the Bluffton area in northeastern Indiana is June 30, while in the Lafayette area it is July 5. Soybean planting should cease in most of the southern half of Indiana by July 10, except for the southwest corner, where planting can occur up until July 15.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas L. Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, will speak at Purdue University on Sept. 19 about his upcoming book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America.”

Thomas Friedman

Friedman, whose talk will begin at 7 p.m. in the Elliot Hall of Music, has reported on the current Middle East conflicts, the end of the Cold War, U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy, international economics, and the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat. The College of Engineering – including its Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Global Engineering Program, and School of Mechanical Engineering – has partnered with the Center for the Environment, Energy Center, Office of the Provost and Purdue Climate Change Research Center in sponsoring his speech and related activities that week.

The speech is free and open to the public, but tickets are required in order to reserve a seat. Tickets can be picked up at the Elliott Hall of Music after Aug. 25.

“Tom Friedman has won three Pulitzer Prizes for his work with the New York Times and is one of our country’s foremost journalists on energy and how that has affected our foreign policy,” said event organizer E. Dan Hirleman, the William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering. “He is one of the world’s preeminent commentators on international affairs.”

In 2005 Friedman’s book “The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century” was an international bestseller and given the first Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, and Friedman was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S.News & World Report.

His book “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” was one of the best-selling books in 1999 and winner of the 2000 Overseas Press Club Award for the best nonfiction book on foreign policy. It’s now available in 20 languages. Friedman’s 2002 book “Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11″ consists of columns Friedman wrote about Sept. 11, as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections during his reporting on the post-September world as he traveled in 2005 from Afghanistan to Israel, Europe, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Friedman is author of “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” which won both the National Book Award and the Overseas Press Club Award in 1989 and was on the New York Times’ bestseller list for nearly a year. It is now used as a basic textbook on the Middle East in many high schools and universities and has been published in 27 languages.

Friedman graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a bachelor’s degree in Mediterranean studies and received a master’s degree in modern Middle East studies from Oxford University. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University and has been awarded honorary degrees from several U.S. universities. He lives in Bethesda, Md., with his wife Ann and their two daughters.

The College of Engineering serves more than 8,500 undergraduate and graduate students with a wide range of academic programs and interdisciplinary projects, including many related to environment, energy and global issues. The Center for the Environment, Energy Center and Purdue Climate Change Research Center coordinate campuswide activities involving the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Science, Technology and the Krannert School of Management.