WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Digital media, including Google Earth, digital storytelling and blogs is the theme for this year’s James F. Ackerman Colloquium on Technology and Citizenship Education at Purdue University.

Two dozen scholars will attend the conference, Citizenship Education 2.0: Digital Media in a Networked World, on June 18-20. The conference is sponsored by the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship.

Scholars will present research on how technology, especially the Internet, has changed the way citizens interact with each other and their government and the future of education, says Phillip VanFossen, the Ackerman Professor of Social Studies Education and director of the Ackerman Center.

More information about the conference and registration is available online at http://www.edci.purdue.edu/vanfossen/colloquium/index.htm. Space is limited for the general public, but anyone interested in attending sessions should contact Kathy Reppert at 765-494-4755, kreppert@purdue.edu.

The Ackerman Center was established through a gift in 1993 from James F. Ackerman, a Purdue alumnus, and his wife, Lois.

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.

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.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The head of the Institute of Medicine will lead a lineup of experts in addressing how to identify top priorities for reforming the nation’s health-care system at Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering’s spring conference April 16 at Purdue.

Institute of Medicine president Harvey V. Fineberg will deliver the keynote lecture at 9 a.m., outlining how policy-makers, researchers and industry can come together to make this nation’s health-care system more efficient, effective and affordable.

The conference, titled Research Solutions: National Priorities & Goals, will run from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121. A poster session is planned, highlighting research by Purdue students in the health-care arena.

Regenstrief Center director Steve Witz said the Purdue conference agenda builds on a blueprint drafted by the National Priorities Partnership. That collaborative effort of 28 national organizations, led by the National Quality Forum, issued a November report focusing on the major challenges facing the U.S. health-care system and what’s being done to improve patient safety, eradicate coverage disparities, reduce the burden of disease and eliminate inefficiencies.

While Regenstrief’s conference is free and open to the public, registration is required at http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/rche/events/conferences/
2009/spring/registration.php. For the schedule, go to http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/rche/events/conferences/
2009/spring/agenda.php.

Other speakers for the daylong event are:

• Virginia A. Caine, Marion County health director.
• Michael S. Barr, vice president of practice advocacy and improvement at the American College of Physicians.
• Steven R. Mayfield, senior vice president and director of the American Hospital Association Quality Center.
• David Meyer, director of the Center for Primary Care, Prevention and Clinical Partners for the Agency for Health Research and Quality.
• Cerry Klein, National Science Foundation program director and professor and chair of the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department at University of Missouri-Columbia.

Following the presentations, a reception for speakers and conference attendees is planned in Burton Morgan Center’s Venture Cafe.

Witz said the Purdue discussion is especially timely, pointing to a recent report by Health Affairs indicating America’s total health-care bill reached $2.2 trillion in 2007, or $7,421 per person, and could hit $4 trillion a year, accounting for $1 of every $5 spent by consumers, by 2015.

At the same time, more than 47 million Americans, and recent reports show that 1.6 million Hoosiers have been without health insurance at some point in the last two years.

President Barack Obama has pledged to create a 10-year, $634 billion reserve fund intended to help pay for health coverage expansion in his budget proposal for 2009-10.

To get hospitals and outside doctors to better coordinate their care of each patient, Obama’s budget calls for hospitals to bundle all inpatient and outpatient payments. With doctors from those areas working more closely together, the effort could save Medicare $17 billion over 10 years.

Fineberg, who was provost at Harvard University from 1997-2001, has chaired and served on a number of panels dealing with health policy issues, ranging from AIDS to new medical technology and as a consultant to the World Health Organization. His research focuses on policy development and implementation, assessment of medical technology, evaluation and use of vaccines and dissemination of medical innovations.

The Regenstrief Center, which is Purdue’s only integrated universitywide research effort in health-care engineering, was launched five years ago with a $3 million grant from the Indianapolis-based Regenstrief Foundation. The foundation expanded the partnership in 2007 with grants of more than $14 million for additional research projects over the next 5½ years.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It’s time for Hoosier women to mark their calendars for the eighth annual Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference, as it returns to Plymouth Feb. 4-5.

The conference, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 4 and ends at 3 p.m. Feb. 5, will be held at Swan Lake Resort. It is designed to meet the needs of women in agriculture by addressing personal, family and farm issues that affect their lives, families and farm businesses.

“The conference is packed with great speakers who will inform participants about the importance of trade, rejuvenate spirits and emphasize skills needed for the future of agriculture,” said Jerene Gilliam, Purdue University Cooperative Extension educator and conference co-planner. “It’s full of information, from agritourism to family health. Whether you’re working on the family farm or working in the agribusiness industry, you’re sure to find value in attending.”

Early registration, due by Jan. 16, costs $75 per person for both days or $65 per person for one day. After Jan. 16, registration costs $125 per person for both days or $100 per person for one day. Registration includes meals, materials and refreshments. Registration information is available at http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/wia/conference.html or by calling (765) 973-9281.

Added this year is a track of information targeting the new generation of agriculture and new ideas, Gilliam said, adding the hope is to integrate the younger generation into agriculture and focus on niche markets that an operation may be able to take advantage of.

A few of the conference topics include:

• Creating a trail of unique tastes, Meredith Easley of Easley Winery.
• Joining together for a common good, Debbie Trocha of the Indiana Cooperative Development Center.
• Arthritis and agriculture, Paul Jones of Purdue’s Breaking New Ground.
• Telling your story — Public relations training for your operation, Liz Woodruff of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Nutrition Council.
• Engaging generations, University of Illinois Extension.
• Farm Safety 4 just kids, Tammy Eades of Archer Daniels Midland.
• Wind energy, Jimmy Bricker, Purdue Extension economic and community development educator.
• Is professional farm management right for me? Howard Halderman of Halderman Farm Management.

Swan Lake Resort is located at 5203 Plymouth-LaPorte Trail. Participants who want to stay at Swan Lake Resort can make their reservation by calling (800) 935-5616 by Jan. 20 to get the conference rate of $79 per room per night.

The Women in Ag Conference is sponsored by Purdue Extension, Indiana Farm Bureau and Farm Credit Services of Mid-America.

For questions and more information, contact Stacy Herr, conference chair, at (765) 973-9281, sherr@purdue.edu.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Sept. 5 conference at Purdue University will focus on challenges and solutions in the health care industry.

The sixth annual History, Ethics, Human Rights and Innovations in Healthcare Symposium, titled Challenges and Solutions: Building a Better Future, will take place from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse.

Purdue’s School of Nursing and the College of Science are sponsoring the conference, which will feature a variety of world-renowned speakers and a poster session.

Registration for the conference is free for Purdue faculty, staff and students and $50 for the general public. Registration includes a boxed lunch. Those interested in attending need to register by Monday (Sept. 1). Registration for the event will begin at 7:30 a.m., and a welcome and introductions will follow at 8 a.m.

Cynthia Connolly, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, will be the first speaker, with a talk titled “TB Or Not TB? Fighting the ‘White Plague’ in America’s Children.” Her book, “Saving Sickly Children: The Tuberculosis Preventorium in American Life, 1909-1970,” was published this spring. Connolly’s current research focuses on the history of nurses and AIDS.

At 10 a.m., Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and Ann Stadtler, both of Harvard Medical School, will speak about “The Touchpoints Approach: Strengthening Families, Building Communities.”

Brazelton, considered to be one of the foremost authorities on pediatrics and child development, founded the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Children’s Hospital Boston in 1993 to mobilize communities around children and families in order to bring relationships back into health care and to transform child care into family care. He is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and chapters and 40 books.

Stadtler is one of the original faculty members and curriculum developers at Brazelton Touchpoints Center and is the director of site development and training. She was a primary care nurse practitioner in private pediatric practice before joining Brazelton at Children’s Hospital Boston.

Three School of Nursing faculty, Julie Novak and professors Clara Richardson and Jenny Coddington, completed the Touchpoints training at Harvard with Brazelton and Stadtler and have created a training site at Purdue University. Participants who are interested in future local Touchpoints training will have the opportunity to sign up at the conference.

Following lunch, Scott Serota, president and chief executive officer of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, will speak on “Health Policy and the Future of Healthcare.” He earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue and was named a distinguished alumnus of the College of Science in 2006. He holds a master’s degree in health administration and planning from Washington University School of Medicine. He is a founding member of the National Business Group on Health’s Institute on Healthcare Costs and Solutions, and a board member of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare and the National Center for Healthcare Leadership.

The Purdue School of Nursing and College of Science also are accepting posters that focus on innovative programs in health care. They will be on display throughout the conference. For information about submitting a poster, contact Clara Richardson in the School of Nursing at richarcj@purdue.edu by Monday (Sept. 1).

Nurses who attend the conference will receive 4.5 contact hours from Purdue University Continuing Nursing Education, which has been approved as a provider in continuing education by the Indiana State Nurses Association.

For information or to register for the conference, contact Roxanne Martin in the School of Nursing at (765) 494-4003 or martinrj@purdue.edu