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

Revolutionizing Patient Care

Revolutionizing Patient Care

Caesars Entertainment Equine Specialty Hospital Second Facility in the Country to Install Large Gantry CT Machine

The Caesars Entertainment Equine Specialty Hospital, a satellite facility of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, is among the first veterinary hospitals in the nation to install a specialized large gantry helical CT scanning machine. The device, manufactured by Qalibra, is adapted to the anatomy and behavior of equine patients and provides more advanced diagnostic capabilities for medical staff treating equine athletes by covering more anatomy with greater accuracy.

Next Level Surveying

Next Level Surveying

Mighty backpack captures millions of topographical data points in minutes

Surveyors have been measuring and documenting the topography of the Earth for thousands of years. Though the instruments have evolved from the early days of rope stretchers to modern total stations, it’s been challenging to collect accurate data efficiently when surveying heavily wooded areas, until now. A team of Purdue researchers is revolutionizing traditional ground surveying methods with a new technology that maps millions of elevation points in mere minutes simply by walking around the area wearing a backpack.

Race to Net-Zero

Race to Net-Zero

Could Hydrogen Hold the Solution to Sustainable Jet Fuel?

As more countries around the world commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, industry groups are following suit. Among them, the members of the International Air Transport Association who announced a commitment to take action to cut emissions among global airlines in October.

A Second Chance at Life, Career

A Second Chance at Life, Career

Nursing student’s midlife career change motivated by desire to pay it forward

Kris Kavelaris insists he’s done nothing heroic.

The MATC nursing student and 2020 inductee in the Fresenius Kabi Donation Hall of Fame — recognizing individuals nationwide who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to blood donation — credits the team of nurses who exhibited kindness, support and motivation as he spent four months recovering at Froedtert Hospital from a horrific auto accident in 1998.

They are the heroes, he says.

'Don't Give Up'

'Don't Give Up'

Alumnus who is deaf won’t let anything stand in the way of his dreams

Screech. Clank. Scrape. Grind. A car might make all sorts of noises that indicate there is something wrong with its machinery. Automotive technicians listen for those sounds to efficiently diagnose the problem.

Thump. Scratch. Drop. Reverb. A DJ incorporates all kinds of sound effects into a set. Playing music, mixing songs — a DJ’s entire focus is to create a stimulating auditory environment.

But what if you cannot hear?

Destination Mars

Destination Mars

NASA-funded project aims to develop guidance system for manned mission to the Red Planet

After the Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars in February 2021 following a landing sequence scientists refer to as “seven minutes of terror,” the NASA mission was widely celebrated. It wasn’t just that Perseverance is the largest, most advanced rover NASA has ever sent to another world. It’s that landing on Mars is extremely difficult.

The Dawn of Personal Aircraft

The Dawn of Personal Aircraft

Computational prototyping of rotor blades speeds design of more agile, efficient ‘flying cars’

Flying cars have long been popularized as the transportation mode of the future. Thanks to technology licensed in part through Purdue University, the future of flying cars may be closer than we think.

Come From Away

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.