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Winter
2002
Gifts
support Purdue Agriculture
By Steve Tally and Tom Campbell
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| Purdue
urban pest scientists Gary Bennett (left) and Abdul Ameen
examine German cockroaches in a laboratory designed to simulate
the conditions in an American kitchen. Bennett and Ameen will
be testing two agricultural insecticides, donated by DuPont,
to determine if they can be used to control non-agricultural
pests. (Photo by Tom Campbell) |
"We
are inviting people to Discover Purdue, its present greatness and
its amazing future potential for economic development, research
and education," according to Murray Blackwelder, senior
vice president for advancement, during the kick-off celebration
last fall.
The gifts
will support research, economic development, scholarships, professorships
and athletics throughout the university. First to be announced was
the lead gift of $51 million to establish the Birck
Nanotechnology Center, the initial building in the university's
new Discovery
Park, which will become a hub for interdisciplinary research
and education.
Nanotechnology
is an emerging science in which new materials and tiny structures
are built atom by atom, or molecule by molecule, instead of the
more conventional approach of sculpting parts from pre-existing
materials. "This new nanotechnology facility will position
Indiana to become a player in the 'Silicon Valley' of the future,"
says Purdue President Martin
C. Jischke.
Purdue Agriculture
is the recipient of two of the major gifts announced in the campaign:
patents for two agricultural insecticides from DuPont
and an estate bequest of $21
million in land and timber from Fred van Eck. The DuPont gift--more
than 30 U.S. and foreign patents for the two insecticides--has the
potential of being one of the largest gifts in Purdue history.
Gary Bennett,
professor of entomology
and director of Purdue's Center
for Urban and Industrial Pest Management, and entomology research
associate Abdul Ameen will investigate these compounds to determine
if they are effective against pests such as ticks, fleas, ants,
cockroaches and mosquitoes or other household or garden pests.
"Although
these insecticides were developed for agricultural pests, because
of the way they function, they show great promise to control more
familiar household pests," Bennett says. "I'm confident
that we will discover new uses for this technology."
The full
value of the patent portfolios cannot be accurately assessed because
future uses of the products have yet to be determined. However,
Bennett says DuPont has made significant investments in these two
products during their initial development, in tests of their safety
and effectiveness, and in preparing the U.S. and international patent
applications.
The donation
marks the first time Purdue has received such a gift. In addition
to the patent rights, Purdue also is receiving toxicology and field
data.
The two compounds--one
of which was designed to control beetles and the other to control
mites--were found to be safe and effective against agricultural
pests, but DuPont determined that the compounds were no longer a
part of its strategic business direction, says Thomas Woods, the
company's director of intellectual assets management. Rather than
entomb the research in a file cabinet, DuPont decided to make the
technology available so that it could benefit Purdue and the general
public.
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