Purdue, Mexican Institute
Partner for Wide Spectrum
of Collaborations
Purdue University has formed a partnership
with the Institute of Innovation and Technology Transfer (I2T2 ) of Nuevo Léon in Monterrey,
Mexico, aimed at developing joint research
and educational programs and business developments.
“Through the signing of a memorandum of
understanding, Purdue wishes to cement our
commitment to the growth of the developing
partnership with organizations, companies,
universities and agencies in the state of Nuevo
Léon,” says Dan Hirleman, Purdue’s chief
corporate and global partnerships officer.
I2T2 (pronounced I squared, T squared) is a
government entity of the state of Nuevo Léon,
a border state in Northeastern Mexico, that
acts on behalf of the academic and research
institutions and technology clusters, in promoting strategic plans for the technological and
economic development of Nuevo Léon.
The agreement seeks to facilitate student
and faculty exchanges and joint research
projects, with a focus on nanotechnology,
biotechnology, automotive and aeronautics technologies, agriculture, food security,
energy, sustainable housing, medical devices,
and energy-efficient home appliances. Officials
from I2T2 are particularly interested in potential collaborations with researchers and entrepreneurs at the Purdue Research Park and
Discovery Park, working through the Burton
D. Morgan Center. Six doctoral students from
Mexico were admitted to Purdue in fall 2014
on scholarships made possible by I2T2 in the
initial phase of the partnership.
Research and Partnerships Announcements
New Process for Hosting International
Visitors and Guests
Due to Federal Export Control Regulations and Purdue’s expanded relationship
with the Department of Defense and its subagencies, International Students and
Scholars (ISS) and the Export Control Team within the Executive Vice President for the Office of Research and Partnerships (EVPERP) recently centralized
procedures for issuance of invitations to international visitors. These measures
will also enhance security of export-controlled information and items.
A standard system was developed to screen all international visitors who
require formal invitation from Purdue to obtain a visa. The screening is a crosscheck against U.S. government lists and does not substitute for any other background check or visa review. This process does not affect 1) enrolled students or
2) employees of Purdue, but applies to all other international visitors.
Following basic information submission into the system by an ISS departmen-
tal liaison, automated emails are sent to both the Purdue host and the visitor.
This eliminates the need for multiple emails and phone calls, and provides a
more secure way of providing personal information. Both responses from the
host and visitor are required before the process can go forward. Because of
increased security requirements, international visitors who are either on or affiliated with an entity on a U.S. government restricted party list will not be authorized to visit. It is important for faculty and other university officials who may be
interested in inviting international visitors to campus to know of this limitation.
Implementation was handled in phases as the ISS liaisons were trained. March
1, 2015 was the date for full implementation. Questions related to the process can
be directed to Mary Duarte Millsaps, operations manager and interim export
control officer in the EVPRP, millsaps@purdue.edu or (765) 494-0702.
Executive Vice President for the Office of Research and Partnerships Issues Annual Report
Scientists use their senses to observe and discover the universe, and the senses are also at the heart of
many scientific investigations. The 2014 annual report, Sensorium, examines the five traditional senses
from the perspective of researchers at Purdue University.
To help offset a decline in vegetable consumption, Distinguished Professor of Horticulture Natalia
Dudareva is seeking to engineer better-smelling and -tasting tomatoes. Connie Weaver, distinguished professor and head of nutrition science, is studying how blueberries may mitigate bone loss
in middle-aged and older women. Yuk Fai Leung, professor of biological sciences, is exploring the
plants used in ancient Chinese medicine in his quest for modern retinal degeneration treatments.
Purdue ecologist Bryan Pijanowski, who gained international attention for an Earth Day effort
last April to capture soundscapes from citizen scientists, now is leading a research center to help
preserve the sounds of Earth. And Juan Wachs, industrial engineering assistant professor, and Voicu
Popescu, computer science associate professor, are developing a telementoring system for rural
surgeons using robotics and augmented reality.
Throughout the report are excerpts of poetry written by Marianne Boruch, professor of English,
2013 Kingsley Tufts award winner and Purdue’s most recent Research and Scholarship Distinction awardee.
