Features
Kat Braz
The Purdue Herbaria

An insider’s look at a university collection so valuable, the professor who built it once stole it back.

The earliest herbarium—a collection of plant samples preserved for scientific study—dates to 16th-century Italy, when the Bologna physician and botanist Luca Ghini (1490–1556) sought to make plant material available to his students in winter when the plants were dead or dormant.

The specimens were flattened between two pieces of paper to remove moisture. Once dried, they were mounted on paper sheets with notations on the plant’s name, where the plant was gathered, and any distinctive features. The pages were bound into volumes to enable transport from one location to another, thus making plant material from faraway places available indefinitely.

The Purdue Herbaria
Features
Kat Braz
A Window into Westwood Manor

The Stewarts at Westwood

Robert Bruce Stewart (HDR M’68), known as R.B., joined the Purdue University staff as controller in 1925. At that time, Purdue enrolled 3,000 students, the physical plant was worth $3 million, and the endowment totaled $340,000.

Stewart, who went on to become the university’s first vice president and treasurer, is credited by many with influencing the character and growth of Purdue University. He spent 36 years building the university both fiscally and physically.

A Window into Westwood Manor
Profiles
Kat Braz
A Story in Stones

Geochemist Marissa Tremblay ’12 analyzes Antarctic rocks to unravel Earth’s climate chronology and predict the planet’s future environment

A geologic field excursion to Death Valley during spring break her first year at Barnard set Marissa Tremblay ’12 on course to becoming a scientist. She entered college intending to pursue a law degree, but stepping foot on that vast, desolate desert landscape marked with sand dunes ignited a curiosity to uncover the stories in stones.

A Story in Stones
Features
Kat Braz
Call of the Wild

50 Years of Wolf Park

Founded by Purdue ethologist Erich Klinghammer in 1972, Wolf Park began as an experiment to study wolf behavior. The pioneering research conducted there over the past 50 years contributed to a better understanding of the apex predator and facilitated its reintroduction into the wild.

Call of the Wild
Profiles
Kat Braz
Come From Away

Twenty Years After 9/11 Longhorn Reflects on the Unexpected Detour—and the Subsequent Broadway Show—that Altered His Life’s Trajectory

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Kevin Tuerff and his then-partner, also named Kevin, were on an Air France flight bound for New York City. The couple had just wrapped up a European vacation and they were eager to get home. A sudden drop in elevation over the Atlantic Ocean was the first sign that something was amiss. Then came an announcement from the cockpit.

Come From Away

Research

In Pursuit of a Non-Opioid Analgesic

In Pursuit of a Non-Opioid Analgesic

Val Watts doggedly hunts an undruggable enzyme as target for chronic pain treatment

Val Watts enjoys a tricky puzzle. The associate dean for research and professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology built his career attempting to find solutions to problems others have deemed unsolvable. 

His latest white whale is a doozy. Watts wants to develop pain medications as strong and effective as opioids, without their addictive properties. To do so, he’s collaborating with other College of Pharmacy researchers to target the adenylyl cyclase enzyme, a signal pathway shared by opioid receptors and dopamine receptors.

Demystifying the Aging Process

Demystifying the Aging Process

Identification of nuclear protein’s critical role in cell degradation could lead to prevention or even reversal of age-related diseases

Tantalizing legends of a fountain of youth spurred explorers to navigate the globe for millennia in search of the restorative waters that promised to wind back the hands of time and halt the process of aging. Recent research conducted in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Bindley Bioscience Center reveals the real secret lies not in myth, but in science.

As we age, our cells undergo senescence, a process where they cease dividing and enter a state of permanent growth arrest without dying off. Senescence is actually a good thing, because if cells continue to divide uncontrollably, they become tumorigenic or cancer-initiating cells. It’s when too many senescent cells build up that they cause problems.

A Milestone in Machine Learning

A Milestone in Machine Learning

Savoie research team builds largest dataset of reaction mechanisms in existence

Theoreticians have worked in tandem with experimentalists since the dawn of the scientific age. The advent of machine learning facilitated computational work on a larger scale and a faster timetable. While data about the properties of specific molecules has been available for years, predications of how those molecules would react in different environments and under various conditions remained elusive.

After developing the automated computational method YARP — Yet Another Reaction Program — two years ago, a research team led by Brett Savoie, the Charles Davidson Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, applied YARP’s technology to build the largest dataset of reaction mechanisms in existence.

Cracking the Code on a Universal Flu Vaccine

Cracking the Code on a Universal Flu Vaccine

Promising initial research could lead to more effective seasonal flu shots and ward against future pandemics

Dry cough. Runny nose. Sore throat. Muscle aches. These symptoms are all familiar to anyone who’s contracted the common flu, a respiratory illness that affects one billion people each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend most people receive yearly flu shots because the seasonal influenza virus mutates constantly, creating new strains that circulate from person-to-person leading to seasonal flu epidemics. These yearly vaccines are formulated to protect against the specific virus strains expected to spread and cause illness during that flu season, typically October through May.

A Boon to Man's Best Friend

A Boon to Man's Best Friend

New genetic testing available through ADDL will help dog breeders eliminate specific diseases

Research findings by genetic scientists in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine have the power to eradicate specific genetic diseases within certain dog breeds. Testing for the genetic mutations will be offered by the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) at Purdue. As the first such tests offered to the general public for three new canine genetic diseases, these screenings will enable breeders to identify which dogs are carriers for a disease and could possibly pass it on to offspring. By ensuring two carriers are not bred together, the disease can be halted before it spreads throughout the breed.

A Story in Stones

A Story in Stones

Geochemist Marissa Tremblay ’12 analyzes Antarctic rocks to unravel Earth’s climate chronology and predict the planet’s future environment

A geologic field excursion to Death Valley during spring break her first year at Barnard set Marissa Tremblay ’12 on course to becoming a scientist. She entered college intending to pursue a law degree, but stepping foot on that vast, desolate desert landscape marked with sand dunes ignited a curiosity to uncover the stories in stones.

Boosting Brown Fat to Combat Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

Treatment in development by Adipo Therapeutics holds promise for millions who struggle with weight loss and blood glucose control

Eat less. Exercise more. It sounds so simple. But if it were that simple, America wouldn’t be facing the dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

Adipo Therapeutics, a Purdue Research Foundation-backed startup, is developing a unique treatment approach that turns bad fat into good fat. This disruptive nanotherapeutic delivery could provide a safe and effective way to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

A Holistic Approach

A Holistic Approach

Enhancing Well-being and Boosting Productivity in Dairy Cows

Indiana is home to more than 800 dairy farms, generating an average of nearly $700 million in direct farm income annually, according to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. The average dairy cow produces around 2,320 gallons of milk per year, but metabolic disorders can affect that output as well as animal well-being.