Announcements

College of Education Gets Record
Government STEM Research Funding

Federal funding for STEM research is making history for the College of Education at Purdue University.

The College of Education will receive $5.37 million for its work as part of a consortium that received funding for a 10-year cooperative agreement. The award is the largest single external funding contract received by the college.

Carla C. Johnson, associate dean for research, engagement and global part-
nerships, will work as the principal investigator for the grant, leading evalu-
ations of the U.S. Army’s Educational Outreach Program
(AEOP) and evaluations of their lasting impact on partici-
pating students.

AEOP is the largest global portfolio of STEM education programs. Its primary focus is to recruit and prepare elementary-college students for careers in STEM fields.

Students are encouraged to participate in real-work STEM experiences and Army-sponsored mentors.

“There are a large number of apprenticeships for college
students and high school students to work in STEM research
labs across the country on Army bases and at institutions of
higher education. We will be providing constructive feed-
back from our research that will work to improve these and other programs in
the portfolio,” Johnson says.

“Through our research activities, Purdue not only will determine annual
progress, but also will provide substantive feedback focused on continuous
program improvement and innovation.”
Battelle Memorial Institute leads the consortium, receiving $185.4 million in
funding from the Department of Defense for the agreement. 

Purdue Study: Climate
Change Consensus Extends
Beyond Climate Scientists

A Purdue University-led survey of nearly 700 scientists from non-climate disciplines shows that more than 90 percent believe that average global temperatures are higher than pre-1800s levels and that human activity has significantly contributed to the rise.

The study is the first to show that consensus on human-caused climate change extends beyond climate scientists to the broader scientific community, says Linda Prokopy, a professor of natural resource social science.

“Our survey indicates that an overwhelming majority of scientists across disciplines believe in anthropogenic climate change, are highly certain of these beliefs and find climate science to be credible,” Prokopy says. “Our results also suggest that scientists who are climate change skeptics are well in the minority.” Prokopy and fellow researchers conducted a 2014 survey of scientists from more than 10 non-climate disciplines at Big Ten universities to determine the relative prevalence of belief in, and skepticism of, climate change in the scientific community.

Of 698 respondents, about 94 percent said they believe average global temperatures have “generally risen” compared with pre-1800 levels, and 92 percent said they believe “human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures.” 

NSF Awards $23 Million to Purdue’s Center
For Science of Information

Purdue University has been awarded $23 million over the next five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Center for Science of Information.

The NSF awarded Purdue $25 million in 2010 to establish the center, which is the first and only National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center in Indiana. The new grant extends the total span of funding to 10 years, the maximum funding period for such centers.

The center’s focus is on the extension of classical information theory, which led to basic technologies underlying digital communications – paving the way for the Internet, mobile devices and the Internet of Things – to meet the new challenges posed by the rapid expansion in the amount and complexity of available data.

The center includes 11 other member institutions and brings together expertise in information theory, computer science, chemistry, economics, statistics, life sciences, mathematics and physics. Its research has led to more than 200 journal publications, patents and partnerships with researchers across campus.