WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Five students received the top prizes in Purdue’s seventh annual Digital Cinema Contest Premiere Night and Awards Ceremony on Thursday (April 23) at the Lafayette Theater.
Awards were given for best documentary, alternative, animated and narrative film, along with a viewer’s choice. Best actor, actress, cinematography, sound design, special features and director also were recognized.

First-year engineering student, Robert Shoemaker, took home an individual award for best sound design for 'Decay Constant'

One entry, junior Harry Nelson’s (film and video studies major) vampire-themed short film, won two awards. The film took the viewer’s choice award, and Bradford Oman, a senior in film and video studies, was chosen best actor for his role in it. The other major film awards included best narrative, “Hustler & the Blind Man” directed by Daniel Skubal, a 2008 film and video studies alumnus; best alternative, “When I Die (trailer)” directed by Jason Zink, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts; best animation, “Rags & Roger” directed by Chris Borer Jr., a junior in computer graphics technology; and best documentary, “Lying Still” by Danielle Johnson, a sophomore in English education.

Individual awards included best actress for Johnson in “Lying Still”; best director for Samantha Braden, junior in the College of Liberal Arts, for “The Bet”; best cinematography for the team of Chris Purdy, sophomore in film and video studies, and Matthew Mann, 2008 film and video studies alumnus, for “Wall Flower”; best sound design for Robert Shoemaker, first-year engineering, in “Decay Constant”; and best special features for Skubal in “Hustler & the Blind Man.”

Prizes for the top winners included cash and gift certificates for local restaurants and retailers.

Most of the films also were posted to YouTube with the tag “dcc09.” YouTube views, ratings and comments were used to select the Viewer’s Choice recipient. Contest organizer Kevin O’Shea cautions that videos have not been rated and advises viewer discretion. The films may contain adult language and violence.

The awards ceremony also featured a world premiere of Digital Cinema Contest alumnus Tyler Kupferer’s short film “Duck <3 Teslacoil." Kupferer is currently studying for his master's degree in film and television at Savannah College of Art and Design. More information about his video project can be found at http://base14.com/blog/

The contest, in its seventh year, is presented annually by the Digital Learning Collaboratory in the John W. Hicks Undergraduate Library at Purdue. The collaboratory is a joint initiative of Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP) and Purdue University Libraries.

The DLC offers access to film editing software packages and instruction, video and computer equipment. For more information on the DLC, please visit http://www.dlc.purdue.edu.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Perseverance paid off for senior Travis Iles as he raced to the winner’s circle in Saturday’s (April 25) 52nd running of the Purdue University Grand Prix.

Iles, an industrial management major from Mt. Vernon, Ill., moved into third by the 14th lap, worked his way into the lead by lap 40 and held on for the remainder of the 160-lap race. This is Iles’ fourth Grand Prix and his first win.

Senior Travis Iles celebrates his first Grand Prix win.

“It feels fantastic,” he said after the race. “It’s like a big weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. This is something I’ve been wanting really bad since I was probably 6 years old.”

Iles attributed his victory to hard work and conservative driving on the track.

“My dad used to tell me when I was younger, ‘Don’t be dumb, be smart.’ So I took a Sharpie and wrote on my roll cage, ‘Be smart.’ I kept looking at that and remembered that.

“There’s no chance to recover in something like this. You’ve just got to stay out of trouble, and that’s what I tried to do.”

Sean Noonan, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering from Perrineville, N.J., came in second.

“It’s bittersweet,” Noonan said about his second-place finish. “In my mind, I think I could have had that win. But he was obviously the better driver today.”

Noonan, like Iles, was driving in his fourth Purdue Grand Prix.

“I’ve been driving go karts since I was 12 years old, so after a while it becomes kind of second nature,” he said. Jake Murphy, a senior majoring in interdisciplinary engineering, and Ben McMurray, a senior majoring in fisheries and aquatic science from Trafalgar, Ind., finished third and fourth, respectively.

Runner-up, Senior Sean Noonan, navigates traffic during the race.

Official results of the 2009 Grand Prix will be released Monday (April 27) following a standard review by the race’s scoring board.

Dustin Keller, a former Boilermaker football player who now plays for the New York Jets, was the grand marshal of the 2009 Grand Prix, which is organized each year by the Purdue Grand Prix Foundation. The foundation is a student-run, non-profit organization that conducts the kart race and related events each year to raise money for student scholarships.

The highlight of this year’s race was the brand new track at the corner of McCormick and Cherry Lane. The new track is a 4 feet wider than the previous track, which was used more than four decades.

Grand Prix Ambassadors presided over race-related events. They were Rebecca Pankop of Albion, Ind., who’s graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and Max Vande Vaarst of Wayne, N.J., a sophomore majoring in English education and history.

Ambassadors serve as spokespeople for the foundation, encouraging race support and business sponsorship and perform other duties. The ambassadors each received a $1,000 scholarship from the Purdue Grand Prix Foundation. Fifteen other students received scholarships ranging from $250-$750.

The foundation receives money from Toyota Motor Corp., Coca-Cola, Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, WAZY 96.5, WLFF 95.3, WSHP 95.7, Purdue Memorial Union, Bosch, Lockheed Martin, Bowen Engineering and Army ROTC.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — West Lafayette Police Department is seeking a man who reportedly cut a woman on the leg at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday (April 25) on South Salisbury Street in West Lafayette. The suspect was described as a black male who was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact the West Lafayette Police Department’s via the non-emergency number, 765-775-5200.

VALPARAISO, Ind. -– Stephanie Dunten of Lafayette was among the student poster presenters at Valparaiso University’s seventh annual Great Lakes Meteorology Conference on March 28.

The conference, organized by meteorology students in VU’s Northwest Indiana National Weather Association (NWA) chapter, included a variety of presentations on meteorological topics with a focus on weather affecting the Great Lakes region.

Stephanie Dunten of Lafayette stands beside the poster she presented at Valparaiso University's 7th Annual Great Lakes Meteorology Conference on March 28, 2009.

Dunten, daughter of David and Jeannie Dunten, is a senior meteorology major. She presented a poster describing her research of a tornado that swept through Nappanee in October 2007.

She studied the weather conditions during the tornado storm outbreak. During her research, she compared data from the National Weather Service’s radar station in North Webster to that collected by Valparaiso University’s Doppler radar to determine if different characteristics of the storm structure were observed.

Several other presenters spoke on a variety of topics, including building construction and storm damage, high winds in the Ohio Valley caused by remnants of Hurricane Ike last September, climate change and cold air masses over the North American Sub-Arctic region, micro-scale weather processes that influence the intensity of lake effect snowstorms and the prediction of tornadoes. In addition, interactive exercises on lake effect snow and severe weather were led by Valpo meteorology students and faculty.

The conference annually draws approximately 100 professional meteorologists and meteorology students from throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond. For more information about Valpo’s Department of Geography and Meteorology and NWA chapter, visit valpo.edu/geomet.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. -– Clarian Arnett Health and the Tippecanoe Mall have partnered in efforts to coordinate an education and information event for moms and moms-to-be.

“We understand the importance of family and that’s why we decided to host an event dedicated to growing families,” said Carrie Loudon, Event Coordinator. The Birth and Beyond event will be held this Saturday, April 25th from 11:00a–3:00p at the Tippecanoe Mall Community Court (near Kohl’s).

There will be around 20 different booths with information about several Clarian Arnett specialties in addition to community services and resources beneficial to moms. Kids can enjoy face painting, story time, crafts, animals from the Columbian Park Zoo and more!

The participating vendors include:

• Dream Dinners
• Columbian Park Zoo
• Personal Touch Portrait Studios
• American Red Cross
• Mom’s Club
• Yoga for You
• Tippecanoe County Child Care
• Riley Children’s Hospital
• Tippecanoe County Public Library
• JCPenny
• Old Navy
• Tippecanoe County Health Clinic

Clarian Arnett participating departments include:

• Childbirth Education
• Labor & Delivery
• Mother/Baby
• NICU
• Pediatrics
• OB/GYN
• Nutrition
• CPR
• Plastic Surgery

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The historic Lafayette Farmers Market opens its 2009 season on Saturday, May 2. The Market operates in Downtown Lafayette on Fifth Street between Main and Columbia, and will also operate a new location in West Lafayette on the campus of Purdue University.

Fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, kettle corn, free range farm fresh eggs, flowers, honey, maple syrup, jams and jellies, dried herbs, baked goods, soy candles, Traders Point certified organic whole milk, Fair Oaks cheeses, perennial flowering transplants, arts/crafts, roasted coffee beans are all examples of items available at selected times during the 2009 Market.

The Farmers Market season is May 1 through October 31, and is open in its Downtown Lafayette location on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7:30a–12:30pm. The new West Lafayette vending location will be open Thursdays from 3:00p–6:30p from June 4 through August 13 in the Dauch Alumni Center Parking Lot at 403 W. Wood Street on Purdue University campus. From August 20 through October 29, the Market will move back downtown on Thursday evenings from 4:00-7:00 pm.

In addition, the Sagamore West Farmers Market will be in operation on Wednesdays from May 6 through October 28. Information regarding this market can be obtained at www.westlafayette.in.gov/departments/parksandrec/.

Fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, kettle corn, free range farm fresh eggs, flowers, honey, maple syrup, jams and jellies, dried herbs, baked goods, soy candles, Traders Point certified organic whole milk, Fair Oaks cheeses, perennial flowering transplants, arts/crafts, roasted coffee beans are all examples of items available at selected times during the 2009 Market.

The number of growers and the amount of produce on a given day is dictated by the natural progression of the growing season. An early arrival will assures the best selection.

For more information or to become a vendor at the Lafayette Farmers Market, contact Jane Ness at Greater Lafayette Commerce, 765/742-4044