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INSIDE EAPS Annual Newsletter for the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University's College of Science

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Dr. Lucy Flesch has been announced as American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2022 Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service recipient. She is the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs of the Purdue University College of Science and also a Professor of Geophysics in the Purdue University Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). READ MORE

The Geological Society of America (GSA) has named Dr. Nathaniel Lifton a 2022 Society Fellow. Lifton is an associate professor in the Purdue University College of Science and has a joint appointment in the Departments of EAPS and Physics/Astronomy. He also serves as the Associate Head of EAPS. READ MORE

Dr. Ali Bramson, Assistant Professor for Purdue EAPS, has been awarded an Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award for her planetary research focusing on Mars. READ MORE

Dr. Marissa Tremblay, Assistant Professor of geochemistry, has developed a method for measuring the temperature history of continental surfaces using noble gases trapped in minerals. The development of this method has led to significant advances in learning more about the history of temperature and answering climate change questions. This work has garnered attention throughout the scientific community and she has been named a 2022 Sloan Research Fellow. READ MORE

Eighteen Purdue University assistant and associate professors received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards in fiscal year 2022 including Dr. Daniel T. Dawson, assistant professor of atmospheric science. READ MORE

The Indiana Space Grant Consortium (INSGC) has awarded Moshammat (Moe) Mijjum an INSGC Graduate Fellowship. READ MORE

James McFadden has been awarded a second Indiana Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellowship. He was awarded ​for his work studying lunar regolith from a core sample collected during Apollo 17. READ ABOUT THE FIRST TIME HE WAS AWARDED HERE

The Indiana Space Grant Consortium (INSGC) has awarded Ilana Bromberg an INSGC Graduate Fellowship. READ MORE

REAL TIME DATA BROUGHT TO YOU BY PURDUE EAPS

XTRRA Radar

A low power X-band radar, installed on the roof of Wang Hall, provides a detailed and local view of winds and precipitation in the lower atmosphere. The Purdue campus is about 60 miles from the nearest National Weather Service radar, and due to the curvature of the earth, that radar’s lowest beam is more than one kilometer above our heads. This radar provides a tool for targeting that observation gap. XTRRA was conceptualized by a team of atmospheric scientists at Purdue, and the primary investigator of the project is Dr. Robin Tanamachi. XTRRA now boasts a four year archive of near-continuous observations. View XTRRA here.

Purdue-managed Seismic Stations

The Purdue University Seismic Center maintains multiple broadband seismometers and this data is available to the public near real-time as it updates every five minutes. These instruments were adopted from the USArray Experiment, and have been integrated into the Central and Eastern US Network, a regional long-term seismic monitoring network. See feeds from these instruments here.

STorMLab TriPIPS

The STorMLab TriPIPS collects real-time weather data every one to ten seconds and the site image is updated every minute. It collects data for wind, temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and the sizes and numbers of raindrops. See TriPIPS data here.

K-12 OUTREACH

College of Science Outreach helping sixth graders live-stream (literally) along the mighty Wabash

Every year, sixth graders from the Greater Lafayette area get hands on experience with scientific research along the mighty Wabash River. Students are encouraged to go with the flow as they raft down a 4.5 mile stretch of the river from Tapawingo Park to historic Fort Ouiatenon. This program, called Wonders on the Wabash, was created by the Tippecanoe County Partnership for Water Quality and is aided by K-12 outreach coordinators from the Purdue College of Science. This year’s event will happen over the next two weeks. READ MORE

SUPERHEROES OF SCIENCE

Superheroes of Science began as an audio podcast that interviewed science experts. Today it has expanded into a YouTube platform with a wide array of science content for educators and science enthusiasts around the globe. If you enjoy listening to podcasts and learning about STEM topics from experts in the field, Purdue Superheroes of Science is the podcast for you! Today the YouTube channel has had over 150K views and 1.5k subscribers. Perusing the channel, one will find the video versions of our podcast interviewing STEM experts, videos of science demonstrations, virtual science labs, as well as a variety of student learning programs such as Kids' STEM Degree.

Our K-12 Outreach program also collaborates with community partners to offer numerous programs for teachers and students.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: MATTHEW HUBER

Talking climate change, arctic crocodiles, tropical heat death, and climate whack-a-mole with Matthew Huber

It's still summer: the parks are filled with children, the skies are filled with lightning bugs; and the news cycle is filled with talk of oppressive heat. With the recent heat waves across many parts of the Earth, routine discussions center around climate impacts leading to increased heat stress, heat events, and mortality from heat. Dr. Matthew Huber, professor in Purdue EAPS, is an expert on these topics and is often cited in publications ranging from The New York Times, Mother Jones, Reuters, Fox News, and many more. The New York Times recently labeled him “among the world’s leading authorities on heat stress and heat mortality.”

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ZACH UMPEROVITCH

EAPS alumnus is co-host and judge on “Richard Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions,” an overseas gameshow about Rube Goldberg Machines

The cascading dominoes fall, causing a bowling ball to drop, which raises a flag that drops the red velvet sheet and reveals Zach Umperovitch, Purdue EAPS alumnus, who is officially the world’s leading authority on Rube Goldberg Machines. Rube Goldberg machines are unnecessarily complicated machines created to perform a specific absurdly simple task. His expertise in chain reactions, which he honed meticulously as a student in the Rube Goldberg contests at Purdue University, has landed him an exciting co-host and judge position on “Richard Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions,” a European gameshow airing its first season starting this past spring.

Follow Zach's social feeds and websites to learn about the show!

MORE NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT

Hey Boilermaker, Homecoming 2022 is September 24, 2022. Check out the events and festival!

For the 2022 homecoming, our department will take part in the College of Science tent. Our student groups will be running interactive stations highlighting EAPS content. We welcome you to stop by! Check out our displays and chat with our students or our Outreach Coordinator, Steven Smith.

Planning a visit to campus? Check out the Purdue Events Calendar.