research

A Purdue researcher says technology may be the key to making the vineyard industry more ecologically -- and economically -- friendly.

Electrical and computer engineering professor David Ebert and his research team are working on software that calculates the best decisions for farmers based on information such as weather patterns, soil mapping and business trends.

Ebert says the focus is on wineries because winemaking is a more complex process than traditional farming.

Purdue University made national headlines this spring when the school’s researchers were the first to map the entire molecular structure of the Zika Virus. But National Institutes of Health leaders visited campus Thursday to say such triumphs may come less frequently unless Congress acts soon to secure funding.

March’s Zika breakthrough came with the help of money from grants funded by the NIH, the agency responsible for federal biomedical and health-related research.

IUPUI will take a first-of-its-kind look at whether living wills adequately reflect patients' wishes.

IU nursing professor Susan Hickman is leading a four-year study of the advance directives completed by nursing home patients or their health care representatives. She says it's unclear how often those directives are updated.

Hickman says ideally, advance directives should be reviewed regularly.

General Electric has announced plans to invest $10 million with Purdue, in hopes researchers on the West Lafayette campus can help improve the company’s advanced manufacturing technology.

GE Director of Global Research Mark Little envisions a day where each part made in a GE factory includes sensors which communicate how well the part works. But that day is far in the future, he says.

Termites have long been seen as unique in the animal kingdom – Think about it: how many other species can you name that digest wood? But until a few years ago, it wasn’t affordable to sequence a termite’s entire genome.

Now that the price has come down, Purdue entomology professor Mike Scharf and about 60 colleagues worldwide have developed a gene map and are looking for weak spots in the bugs’ genetic code.

“We can target those particular things in a more efficient way to eventually get better termiticides,” Scharf says.

Though it’s unclear whether Purdue will get any federal funding from the deal, President Mitch Daniels inked an agreement with the U.S. Navy Thursday to jointly research energy projects.

Daniels was joined in West Lafayette by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who touted his branch of the military as a historical leader in energy initiatives – pointing out Navy ships have transitioned from wind to coal to oil to nuclear power in 238 years on the seas.