WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University students from all majors are invited to an informational meeting on Sept. 15 to learn more about participating in the Student Soybean and Corn Product Innovation Competitions.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry, Room 200.

The two contests – which are separate, but run simultaneously – give students an opportunity to conceptualize a novel product idea; complete patent searches and literature reviews on current products; do market research reports; develop a budget; and create, package and market the product. The winning team from each competition will be awarded a $20,000 cash prize.

“These competitions give students real-world innovation experience and teach them how to take a product from concept to completion – all skills that will benefit them as they go out into the workplace,” said Katharine Woodhead, competition project coordinator. “Many of the most successful teams have been the ones made up of students from different majors and backgrounds because their multitudes of experience aid in the different aspects of the competition.”

Each team needs two faculty advisers – one technical and one non-technical – so professors and lecturers also are invited to the informational meeting.

“We need professors to step up to the challenge of advising teams,” Woodhead said. “It’s an extremely rewarding experience to help the students succeed in these competitions.”

In addition to the $20,000 cash prize for the winning team in each competition, teams may have an opportunity to network with large companies, some of which may be interested in commercializing the products. If a company is interested in commercializing a team’s product, Purdue will help with the patent process. If the company does buy the product rights, the students can receive a portion of the product’s sales royalties.

The Soybean Innovation Competition is sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance. The Corn Product Innovation Competition is sponsored by the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. All supplies and lab fees are covered, so students’ only cost is energy and creativity.

For more information, visit the Student Soybean and Corn Product Innovation Competitions group on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mla4yy, or contact Woodhead at 765-496-3837, kwoodhea@purdue.edu

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue Student Union Board is hosting a design contest for the 2009 Homecoming T-shirt.

The contest is open only to Purdue students, and the winner will receive $200 in free textbooks from Follett’s bookstores.

Students can find the competition’s rules from the Student Union Board office in Room 268 of the Purdue Memorial Union, or online at http://www.union.purdue.edu/HTML/PSUB

The contest gives students the chance to get involved with Homecoming as well as showcase their artistic abilities.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Office of Information Technology at Purdue is inviting the university community to get creative during Green Week activities, set for Sept. 15-19.

During the “Show You’re Green” contest, students, faculty and staff can create a podcast of 60 seconds or less to share their eco-friendly ideas and best suggestions for going green as individuals, as a campus and as a community. Two workstations at information technology’s Shopping Offline store, located in Stewart Center, Room G65, will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15-18 to create and submit podcasts.

“The Office of Information Technology at Purdue is always on the lookout for ways to conserve power and reduce waste,” said Gerry McCartney, Purdue’s chief information officer and vice president for information technology. “Through this podcast competition, we’re challenging students to come up with their own green ideas for the campus and community.”

The submitted podcasts will be viewable on the Internet moments after they are created from a link on Purdue’s Green Week Web site at http://www.purdue.edu/green.

The first 300 students to create podcasts will receive a free reusable shopping bag from Apple. Students who submit podcasts will compete for a prize package of eco-friendly products, which will be awarded for the best entries for individual, campus and community ideas. Podcasts will be evaluated on the uniqueness, feasibility and scalability of the green suggestions. The prize package includes an EcoSmart laptop bag from Targus and Dell, along with a 1G iPod shuffle, an emergency cell phone charger from AT&T, a surge protector from CDW-G, and other gifts.

The Information Technology at Purdue student advisory council will judge submissions, and winners will be announced on Sept. 24.

Apple Computer, AT&T, CDW-G, Dell Computer and Targus are joining the Office of Information Technology at Purdue in sponsoring the event.