University recognized for community partnership
PNW has been named Indiana’s third Innovation and Economic Prosperity University, an acknowledgement of its commitment to being a metropolitan university committed to driving change for surrounding communities. Indiana’s two other IEP schools are Purdue University in West Lafayette and Indiana University Bloomington. Other nearby IEP-designated institutions include Northern Illinois. Niaz Latif, PNW associate vice chancellor for Commercialization and Research, said “The … IEP designation is the recognition of PNW’s excellent contribution to regional economic development.”
Energy Department awards $10 million grant for hydrogen research
The U.S. Department of Energy has given PNW’s Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (PNW) a $9.96 million grant to build an industry-scale demonstration of a hydrogen-fired, continuous reheating furnace operation to show how it might reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The reheating furnace is used in hot rolling mills to heat steel for further processing in steelmaking. More than 80 reheating furnaces across the U.S. burn natural gas to reheat semi-finished products, generating 200 kg of carbon dioxide per ton of steel, the majority of carbon dioxide in hot strip mill operations. This is CIVS’s second Energy Department grant. Partners in the project include Argonne National Laboratory, Cleveland-Cliffs, Gerdau, Linde, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium.
College of Nursing recognized for excellence
For the third consecutive time, the College of Nursing has been recognized as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing. The designation recognizes that PNW demonstrates sustained, evidence-based, substantive innovations; sets high standards, and is committed to continuous quality improvement. PNW is one of just nine higher education institutions named a Center of Excellence this year. The college was recognized for enhancing student learning and professional development.
October is Medicine Month at PNW
During the month of October, the university is promoting good health through exercise. The month, designated Exercise is Medicine Month, features a variety of events designed to promote a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating, an introduction to mountain biking, and more exercise. One event scheduled for Oct. 30, will show participants common pitfalls with squat exercises and how to make the most of this common lift. The demonstration will take place at the Fitness and Recreation Center in Hammond from noon to 1 p.m.
New digital crime unit to help local law enforcement investigators
PNW has officially launched a collaboration with the Lake County Prosecutor’s office to operate a state-funded High Tech Crime Unit. It will assist law enforcement agencies in the Region to investigate crimes committed through digital devices. The unit will operate from the Hammond Campus. Its operations will be supported by the university’s Forensics faculty and students majoring in Forensic Science, Computer Science, and Cybersecurity.
Unit, a partnership between the Lake
County Prosecutor’s Office and PNW.
(PNW photo)
Esports team partners to run high school gaming competition
PNW is partnering with the Indiana Esports Network to run the high school competition of Fortnite for the entire state of Indiana in the fall and both high school and middle school competitions in the spring. Fall matches began on Sept. 27 and will continue through Nov. 15. The matches are played remotely, but student competitors in the area can use the PNW eSports arenas at Hammond or Westville to compete. Indiana Esports Network is 100% volunteer-driven, educator-led, and free to students. It is a collective of 100 school districts across the state that seek to use esports as a vehicle to engage students who aren’t involved in traditional athletics or afterschool activities, increase academic performance/motivation, create an inclusive community of students that foster social growth and provide students with meaningful opportunities to develop 21st-century skills and career competencies in a novel way.
