MONDAY MEMO, November 5, 2007
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1. Announcements
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1.1: FLU SHOTS: Monday, November 12, 8:30-4:30PM, STEW 214. No appointments necessary, but bring your PUID. Starting November 13, walk-in flu shots will be given (based on vaccine availability) Monday through Friday, 8:30-4:30PM in the urgent care area of PUSH, located on North University Drive. Questions? Call 45461; e-mail worklife@purdue.edu.
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2. Seminars/Workshops
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2.1: Bioethics Seminar Series, Monday, November 5th, 5:00PM, MRGN 121: “Ethics and Politics of Climate Change,” Dr. Leigh Raymond; additional info located at <http://www.purdue.edu/bioethics <http://www.purdue.edu/bioethics> >.
2.2: Indiana Venture Center, Tuesday, November 6, 8:30AM to 4:30PM, IVY Tech in Lafayette: Dr. Don Kuratko, Executive Director, Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Kelly School of Business, Indiana University, and his associate Dr. Jeff Hornsby, Distinguished Professor of Management, Miller College of Business, Ball State University, will be holding an entrepreneurial workshop to develop new ideas. The workshop will help entrepreneurs and inventors focus on which innovative ideas have commercial opportunity. Participants will develop a business plan to explore ways to take ideas to market. FREE and open to the first 30 applicants; lunch and a continental breakfast are included. Go to www.indianaventurecenter.org <http://www.indianaventurecenter.org> and register on-line, or contact Pat Bacon, 317.684.6823 or pbacon@indianaventurecenter.org.
2.3: 2007 Discovery Lecture Series: Global Business Development in Life Sciences, Thursday, November 8, 9:00AM, Ross-Ade Pavilion.
9:00 Session I — Kauffman Campuses Initiative, Best Practices Workshop: “Skills for Business Development,” by Ted Ashburn, Senior Director of Corporate Development, Genzyme Corporation; “Skills for Successful Entrepreneurs,” by Michael Kurek, Partner, Biotechnology Business Consultants, LLC
11:30 Luncheon — BioCrossroads Keynote, Starting Regionally, Thinking Globally, Business Development, and the Life Sciences: “Welcome and Opening,” by Alan Rebar, Sr. Assoc. Vice President for Research, Executive Director, Discovery Park, Purdue University; “Keynote: Biotech 2007: A Global Transformation,” by G. Steven Burrill, CEO, Burrill and Company, moderated by William Miller, Provost Emeritus, Stanford University; “Technology Commercialization and Purdue University,” by France A. Córdova
2:30 Panel Session — Translating Indiana Ideas into Global Successes, moderated by David Johnson, President and CEO, BioCrossroads: “Importance of Intellectual Property,” by Ted Ashburn; and “Considering Global Competition When Developing IP in a Startup Environment,” by Roger Newton, Co-Founder, Esperion Therapeutics, a Division of Pfizer Global Research & Development
This event is free and supported by the generosity of the Lilly Endowment and the Kauffman Foundation. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Questions may be directed to: Lori LeRoy, Public Relations and Marketing Director, Biocrossroads, at lleroy@biocrossroads.com; or Candiss B. Vibbert, Associate Director for Discovery Park Engagement, at vibbert@purdue.edu
Please register today: www.purdue.edu/dp/dls/register.html
2.4: Thursday, November 8, REFRESHMENTS 4:00PM, ME 254, Seminar 4:30PM, ME 256: “Spark Assisted HCCI Combustion Modes and the Potential for Control,” by Robert M. Wagner, R&D Staff Member, Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research, National Transportation Research Center.
ABSTRACT: Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) in internal combustion engines is of considerable interest because of potential reductions in flame temperature and nitrogen oxide emissions. Unfortunately, HCCI combustion is inherently unstable due to an extreme sensitivity to initial charge conditions in the cylinder and exhibits high pressure rise rates, which limits operation at high load conditions. A proposed method to ensure coverage of the entire speed-load range is to operate in HCCI mode when load demand is low and switch to SI mode when load demand is high. In our research, the transition, and hence HCCI, is achieved with high levels of exhaust gas retained in the cylinder through manipulation of the intake and exhaust valve events. Unfortunately, this results in a strong coupling between successive cycles with small variations in the thermal and chemical composition of the retained exhaust gas leading to large variations in the combustion process. Recent results from our research have shown that the SI-HCCI mode transition is very unstable with high torque variations, high unburned hydrocarbon emissions, and potential engine stall. A detailed analysis of this transition region has identified patterns in successive combustion events which makes the onset of unstable conditions highly predictable and potentially avoidable with proper control adjustments. Our analysis has also identified a hybrid (or mixed-mode) combustion mode which is a combination of SI and HCCI combustion within a single cycle. This mode is thought to have the emissions benefits of HCCI without the penalty of higher pressure rise rates, providing an alternate operating mode when pure HCCI operation is not possible, such as at high load or when in-cylinder charge preparation is not sufficient to produce HCCI combustion. The hybrid combustion mode also has dynamic characteristics which appear to be conducive to control. We are currently developing low-order engine models to capture the phenomena observed in our experiments and for use in the development and evaluation of control methodologies.
BIO: Robert M. Wagner is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1999. Wagner is principal investigator of several programs related to achieving high efficiency clean combustion in light-duty and heavy-duty internal combustion engines. These activities involve the integration of many advanced technologies including the characterization and control of unstable combustion systems (e.g., lean SI, spark assisted HCCI), advanced combustion sensors, and post-combustion emissions controls. Wagner is the author or co-author of over 50 technical papers in the areas of combustion and controls.
2.5: Ecological Sciences and Engineering Symposium, “Keep the World Green: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability”: Thursday, November 5, 9:00AM-5:00PM, Stewart Center 206, 218, 302, 306. This symposium brings together students and faculty from science, engineering, agriculture, and liberal arts to elucidate environmental sustainability and to showcase Purdue graduate student research on environmental topics. A special poster session on sustainable design will also be showcased. Web site: http://www.purdue.edu/dp/ese/symposium/ <http://www.purdue.edu/dp/ese/symposium/> .
2.6: The Oncological Sciences Center invites you to the Cancer Culture and Community Inaugural Colloquium exploring cancer as reflected through literature. Featured guests include best-selling author Terry Tempest Williams, poet Sue Ellen Thompson, and author S.L. Wisenberg. Each will offer their own perspectives on cancer in many events on November 15-16. Contact Kris Swank (kswank@purdue.edu) for more information or for publicity materials to distribute. Thursday, November 15, 7:30PM, Fowler Hall, Terry Tempest Williams, “The Power of Story: Finding Refuge in Change"; Friday, November 16, 10:30-1:30PM, Hicks Undergraduate Library, Sue Ellen Thompson, “The Poetry of Cancer”; Friday, November 16, 10:30-12:30PM, West Lafayette Public Library, S.L. Wisenberg, “Capture Your Stories of Cancer”
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3. Funding Opportunities
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3.1: NSF Fellowship Callout for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) PhD Students: November 12, 4:00-5:00PM, BRNG 1245; January 9, 2008, 4:30-5:30PM, BRG 1245.
The Discovery Learning Center (DLC) in Discovery Park offers a unique opportunity for doctoral students in the STEM disciplines to apply for a one-year fellowship funded by the National Science Foundation and Purdue University. Fellows serve as “visiting scientists” in a program designed to instill the excitement of learning science into middle-school classrooms. Teamed with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science and math teachers, a diverse group of fellows will develop and teach interdisciplinary, inquiry-based lessons geared toward the science of everyday life. NSF requires applicants to be US citizens. Benefits of participation include a $30,000 stipend with tuition and most fees paid, an excellent training in communications and community outreach, and the opportunity to make a difference for science education. To apply, visit http://www.purdue.edu/dp/gk12. Application deadline is January 22, 2008. For more information, please contact Amy Childress (childres@purdue.edu).
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4. Birck Visitors
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4.1: Monday, November 5, 9:30AM to 1:30 (12:30 tour): 21st Century Research and Technology Microscale Cooling Project kick-off meeting.
4.2: Monday, November 5, 3:00PM: Fall Preview Day (self-guided tours for parents and prospective Purdue undergrads).
4.3: Thursday, November 8, 4:00PM: Kauffman Campuses Workshop/Biocrossroads/Discovery Lecture Series participants’ tour.
4.4: Thursday, November 8, 5:30: Science Laureate Journalists.
4.5: Friday, November 9, 9:20AM: Industrial Advisory Committee guests, Herrick Laboratories.
4.6: Friday, November 9, 12:30PM: Decatur Discovery Academy.
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5. Birck in the News
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5.1: Dimitrios Peroulis: “Purdue creating wireless sensors to monitor bearings in jet engines,” “Researchers at Purdue University, working with the U.S. Air Force, have developed tiny wireless sensors resilient enough to survive the harsh conditions inside jet engines to detect when critical bearings are close to failing and prevent breakdowns.
The devices are an example of an emerging technology known as "micro electromechanical systems," or MEMS, which are machines that combine electronic and mechanical components on a microscopic scale. Additional information: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007b/071030SadeghiMems.html
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6. Discovery Park
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6.1: Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE). Monday, November 5, 7:30AM, MANN 203: special report that will focus on discussion with the external advisory committee and the new strategic plan moving forward with RCHE. Coffee and rolls served.
Deborah S. Starewich
Administrative Assistant to Timothy D. Sands, Director
Birck Nanotechnology Center
Purdue University
765-494-3509
dstarewi@ecn.purdue.edu
http://www.nano.purdue.edu/