Where most faculty, students, and research labs are located. The adminstrative staff for the CS department is located here. The basement houses the TA offices and computer labs for students. Including the basement, there are 5 floors (though most people will never enter the top floor). The 3rd floor has a balcony that overlooks University St. and 3rd St.
The main computer science building until Lawson was completed in Fall 2006. Even though other departments have taken over much of the space, a few labs and faculty still remain in this building.
With the addition of the Computer Science building, very little of our department remains in good ol' “Math-Sci.” A brief tour of the building, starting from the basement (remember, there are two basements, but the elevators are only on the south side) and moving skyward, follows:
Until a few years ago, the Recitation (REC) building, directly east of MATH, was only of interest if you had a class there. Starting from the Fall of 1999, however, the second floor of REC is home to the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS, pronounced like “serious”). CERIAS grew out of the COAST laboratory in Computer Science, but with its current Center status is able to have a much larger multidisciplinary reach, although it still has very strong connections with CS. Several CS faculty and staff members as well as grad students have offices there. So if you are interested in matters related to security, healthy paranoia and being a white hat, make sure you visit there.
Schleman and Hovde Halls are the main student services and administration buildings. There are a number of major administrative attractions in these two buildings including:
The Memorial Union (in memory of Purdue alums killed in wars) was built back when it was stylish and economically feasible to incorporate a good deal of wood in finishing the interior of a building. The varnished woodwork, solid wood tables and chairs, and stone and wood floors are a refreshing change from the plastic, concrete, veneer and linoleum which surrounds you in most places. Also featured are lots of old moldy plaques commemorating people who would otherwise be forgotten, and a 3-D model of the campus (a must for visiting parents).
Functionally, the predominant features of the Union are eating places, meeting places (various ballrooms and lounges), and sleeping places (the “Union Club” hotel rooms for convention attendees, visiting parents, etc.). For details about the eating places, see the section about on-campus dining. Other useful facilities in the PMU include:
The Purdue Memorial Union also possesses facilities for a number of entertainment and recreation activities:
From here it is possible to walk through tunnels and buildings all the way to either Grad House without going outside, as well as to either of the three parking garages, Marsteller Street (across from Hawkins Grad House), Wood Street (across from Young Grad House), or Grant Street (across from the Union). The main attractions of the Stewart Center are:
The Center for Career Opportunities is located on the main floor on the east side of the north end of the east hall of the Stewart Center (and you thought directions had to be clear!). They provide helpful advice free of charge to everyone regardless of their career interests or visa status. You can register with CCO on CCO Express at https://www.cco.purdue.edu/student/CCOExpress.shtml. Details relating to corporate interviewing on campus and job vacancy postings are found there along with some pretty good job search help videos. More than 600 companies show up at the CCO every year to hire both internship candidates and graduating students. They also conduct quite a few workshops including ones that target graduate students.
The Purdue Library System is dispersed throughout many buildings on campus which can make locating a particular book very difficult. Fortunately, their web-based catalog can direct you to the right location if you remember to check it before you leave home. There are over a dozen different libraries spread around campus including:
Notable items in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (HSSE) Library include the complete, out-of-date card catalog for all the university's libraries, the Interlibrary Loan Service, several photocopiers, and a complete collection of all Masters and Ph.D. theses written at Purdue. The latter are kept in a steel vault 700 feet underground, guarded by rabid reference librarians. At the reference desk you may obtain in-library use of one (a dissertation, not a reference librarian) by posting your life as security for its return.
There is also a lab, called Digital Learning Collaboratory, at the lower level of the library from which you can check out nice digital equipment, including digital cameras and video cameras and laptops, with a student ID. Information about the lab is also available online at http://dlc.purdue.edu.
The Undergraduate Library, just south of Stewart Center, is oriented toward freshman and sophomore students but there are useful items for all students. You may want to check out the comfortable vending lounge. Notable items in ``Undergrad'' are Purdue's film library, a 24 hour lounge/study room, and the Independent Study Center. One can also find popular reading materials (i.e. paperbacks, magazines, American and foreign newspapers) and a lot more photocopy machines in this building. Also, in recent years, the undergraduate library has been open 24 hours during dead and finals week, so it is a good place to hide/study/sleep during that period.
The Mathematical Sciences Library occupies the third floor of the Math Science building and serves the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Sciences departments. One large room is a reading room for Math graduate students and faculty and has a fair amount of blackboard space, as well as coffee and cookies every day from 3-4 pm (though rumor has it, this is for math majors only). There are several smaller study rooms in the back with smaller amounts of blackboard space. There are two photocopy machines near the main desk. As for holdings, the collection of CS journals is quite good and includes Computing Reviews, many conference proceedings are available but may be hard to find, and copies of most Math, Stat, and CS dissertations from Purdue are kept in the grad/faculty room. Many CS books must be requested at the desk because they have been prone to mysterious disappearance. The organization of this library is usually not obvious to the uninitiated, but the staff are quite friendly, so don't hesitate to ask at the desk for help in locating materials.
The Engineering Library is housed in the Potter Engineering Center, which is just east of the building with the big smokestack. It features numerous copies of all the IEEE Transactions, MIT PhD dissertations, and a sensor which beeps at you if you try to exit with an unchecked-out book.
The Krannert Library takes up the second and third floors of the Krannert Building. In the Corporate Records Room you can read all about how your favorite corporation is doing. It is also a great place to learn more about companies before interviews.
Purdue University Libraries online provides access to the Purdue Libraries' on-line catalog, media catalog, bibliographic databases, and access to Indiana and Big 10 catalogs. You can access it at http://www.lib.purdue.edu.
In addition, Purdue has university-wide online subscription to the ACM and IEEE digital libraries (http://www.acm.org/dl and http://ieeexpert.ieee.org, respectively), and also recently subscribed to the LNCS digital archive (www.springer.de/comp/lncs/). Publications from all of these digital archives are accessible from the purdue.edu domain.
Yes, all of African-Americans, Hispanic, and International Students have found homes near or on campus which they have made into cultural centers.
The Black Cultural Center is a place where the Black Experience in America can be explored, celebrated, and shared. Located on 3rd Street, about a block west from the CS building. The BCC sponsors:
The BCC also offers a number of interesting courses related to African American studies. To learn more about the BCC, visit http://www.purdue.edu/BCC.
The International Center was founded in 1971 to enrich the cultural diversity in the Greater Lafayette area. The center is located at 523 Russell Street. The Center provides free ESL classes, foreign language instruction and conversation groups, meeting facilities for foreign student organizations, cultural presentations, and international dinner series. For more information about the center, visit the International Students Association's web page at http://www.intlctr.org or call 743-4353.
The Latino Cultural Center was established in 2003, is a place to gather, learn, share, and support Latino cultures. The LCC serves as the home base for Latino students, faculty and staff members, and student organizations, fostering a welcoming environment for all Purdue students. The center hosts a variety of educational and social events throughout the year, which include lectures, picnics, and dances. The center is located at South Campus Courts Complex. Additional information about the center can be obtained on their website http://www.purdue.edu/LCC/ or by phone 49-42530.
The Office of International Students and Scholars in located in Schleman Hall. ISS is a division of International Programs and offers many services that are useful to foreign students. ISS is the expert resource for the University in the areas of F-1, J-1, and H-1B rules and regulations. The office, SCHL 136, is open between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm each weekday, and if you are an international student, you will be visiting every now and then. They are nice folks, even though they may appear a bit harried when you first encounter them around orientation time. To learn more about ISS, visit http://www.iss.purdue.edu.
The ISS has assembled a handbook for international students which contains a lot of useful information about getting along here at Purdue. The 2002 edition can be found at http://www.iss.purdue.edu/resources/docs/Immigration/ISSHandbook2002.pdf
The Purdue University Student Health Center (PUSH) is where the folks with white coats, stethoscopes, and benign smiles are simply waiting to have a look at your innards. They provide the health services to full and part-time students and their spouses, and in certain cases to Purdue employees and visitors.
The hours of operation below are for the regular semesters; while the appointment desk is stays on the same schedule during the summer, some other offices have somewhat reduced hours during summer session and between sessions.
The following services are available without charge. Many of the doctors will accept appointments and a walk-in service is always provided during clinic hours. Walk-ins are first-come-first-serve and you should expect a 15 to 40 minute wait.
Fees are collected for the following (in many cases, with Purdue student insurance you will be charged only a $10 deductible):
All of the Allergy Clinic, Immunization Clinic, Laboratory, Radiology unit, and Physical Therapy have different hours, which you can find at http://www.purdue.edu/PUSH or by calling 49-41700. Exact rates for any of these services are available on request from the Health Center Business Office - call 49-41677.
If you can hang on until the end of the semester and get out of Lafayette, you will probably recover without assistance. If, however, you find yourself trying to wrench open one of the windows on the top floor to escape, there are two professionally-staffed mental-health facilities on campus.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers consultations to full and part-time students. Included in your student fees are eight free hours of individual consultation or treatment; otherwise, a fee applies (part-time students are eligible only to one free consultation). They offer same-day initial appointments with counselors on a first-come, first-served basis, Monday through Friday 8am-5pm. The center has two main offices (PSYC 1120 and PUSH 246), as well as three satellite offices at Purdue Village, Vawter Residence Hall, and School of Veterinary Medicine. For more information call 49-46995 or visit http://www.purdue.edu/caps/.
Another place to go is Purdue Counseling and Guidance Center located in Beering Hall, Room 3202. They assist everyone with a variety of career and personal concerns at no charge; staff members are qualified graduate counseling students. For an appointment and information call 49-49738 or visit http://www.edst.purdue.edu/cd/pcgc/.
Purdue Individual, Couple and Family Therapy Clinic (PICFTC) is run by the Department of Child Development and Family Studies. The clinic is staffed by supervised graduate student therapists who assist with personal and family-related problems and is located in Fowler Hall. Their fees are reasonable and depend on the income and family size. For appointments and information call 49-42939 or visit http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/mft/clinic.html.
Additionally, for immediate and/or short term help, the Lafayette Crisis Center provides 24-hour, confidential, crisis counseling. This service is free and available on a walk-in basis at 1244 North 15th Street (in Lafayette) or over the phone at 742-0244 or toll free (877) 419-1632. If you need to talk to someone about anything, they invite you to call or stop by. Their website is at http://www.lafayettecrisiscenter.org.
Unfortunately, the choices for finding a music room on campus are more limited now than they were a number of years ago. Here is what Purdue currently has available: Both Hawkins and Young have music rooms, but you must live there to check out the key (or know someone who lives there). Hawkins has a moderately large room with a servicable baby grand, while Young has a smaller room with a small upright piano and an organ inside. Both rooms can be checked out for two hours.
The South Tower in the PMU (accessible from the top floor, in the middle of the building just where the campus map is) also has a piano, but only student organizations are permitted to book that room. In addition, that piano is not in the greatest condition.