Purdue OIGP

The OIGP Ambassadors are student leaders who represent their Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs and help promote and support the Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs. They serve as representatives of our office and help us engage with the larger campus community and within our associated interdisciplinary programs. Today we’re highlighting our ambassador, Shivika Aggrawal. Shivika is in her 3rd year of her Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Ecological Sciences & Engineering.

“I am a PhD student in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. I am proudly affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Ecological Sciences and Engineering (IESE) Program since August 2023. I love the program for so many reasons that it is difficult to pinpoint just one, but at the heart of it is the breadth of knowledge, experiences, and understanding it has opened up for me.”

Why do some people escape Alzheimer’s disease despite carrying its hallmarks?
A new study by Priyanka Baloni, PULSe faculty member, and PULSe student Purba Mandal may have found the key.

More: https://communities.springernature.com/posts/the-brain-s-hidden-resilience-why-some-people-escape-alzheimer-s-disease-despite-carrying-its-hallmarks?channel_id=behind-the-paper

Congratulations to ESE faculty members, Shalamar Armstrong, Aaron Specht, and Catherine Searle on their faculty promotions.

More: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/2026/Q2/faculty-promotions-and-tenure-approved-by-trustees/

INSC faculty member and former program head, Eugene H. Spafford, has been appointed to the newly formed MITRE ATT&CK® Advisory Council. Established by MITRE, the Advisory Council brings together leaders from government, industry and academia to provide strategic guidance on the long-term sustainability, integrity and global impact of the MITRE ATT&CK program

More: https://www.cs.purdue.edu/news/articles/2026/spafford-appointed-to-mitre-attck-advisory-council.html

A study led by PULSe faculty member James Dooley, maps how rapid eye movement (REM) sleep evolves across early development. The key discovery; REM sleep doesn’t begin as the structured state seen in adults. Instead, it gradually separates into two distinct phases, each playing a different role in shaping the brain.

More: https://www.bio.purdue.edu/news/articles/2026/the-hidden-work-of-sleep-how-the-brain-builds-itself-in-early-life.html

The Purdue University Teaching Academy has announced 11 inductees for 2026, including ESE faculty member, Abigail Engelberth, in recognition of their excellence in teaching, innovation in teaching methodology, teaching-related service, and scholarship in teaching and learning.

More: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/2026/Q2/purdue-university-teaching-academy-announces-11-inductees-for-2026/

Congratulations to PULSe student, Freddie Mildenhall, for winning first place in the Graduate Student Speaking Award category at ASPB Midwest, held at the University of Missouri.

Read More: https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/hla-happenings/article/freddie-mildenhall-placed-first-at-aspb-midwest/

Researchers at Purdue University, including ESE faculty member Songlin Fei, are using digital forestry tools to better understand wildfire risks in real time. Their work is helping communities improve how they predict, monitor, and respond to growing wildfire threats.

Read more: https://ag.purdue.edu/news/2026/05/meeting-the-wildfire-threat-with-digital-models-of-the-real-world.html

Our office is closed today, Monday, May 25th, in observance of Memorial Day.

"Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices." - President Harry S. Truman