Techies Today

Techies Today, the Purdue Polytechnic PodcastTechies Today, the Purdue Polytechnic Podcast, features conversations with Polytechnic faculty, staff and students, plus alumni and friends of the college. Topics include:

  • Profiles of faculty, staff and alumni
  • Engaging research
  • Exciting class happenings
  • Interviews with students
  • Interesting on-campus experiences
  • And any topics that share Purdue Polytechnic’s message and promote our unique role as one of the 10 academic colleges at Purdue University

Techies Today is for faculty and staff, current students and their families, future students and families, our friends in industry, and everyone interested in the academic programs and research in Purdue University’s third-largest college. Purdue Polytechnic offers 30+ undergraduate majors, graduate programs and research in the fields of aviation, computing and graphics, construction management, engineering technologies, technology education and technology management.

Techies Today, the official podcast of Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute, is produced by the Polytechnic’s Office of Marketing and Communications.

Have an idea for an episode? Send email to techiestoday@purdue.edu.

Behind the scenes in our podcast studio

Behind the scenes in our studio

How to listen

Techies Today episodes are available below in the Episode Guide (click on an individual episode to go to the page with an embedded player) and in most popular podcast player apps on mobile devices. See How to Listen to learn how to subscribe or follow (it’s free!) on your mobile device. Your app will notify you each time a new episode is published.

Episode Guide

Techies Today will re-launch in Fall 2024. Earlier episodes are available right here:

Gary Bertoline, Maximizing Our College's Value, on Techies Today, the Purdue Polytechnic Podcast

Gary Bertline, distinguished professor and former dean, recalls how he and the college‘s leadership team came up with a future-forward plan to redefine and differentiate our college a decade ago — and converted the formerly skeptical Purdue President Mitch Daniels into being one of the college’s biggest supporters.

John Gates

Equity is not about treating everybody the same. John Gates, Purdue’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion, says it’s about providing people what they need to succeed, even if that means treating people differently—and what we do innately in our lives is what we should do in our classrooms and offices.

Mike Reckowsky

Mike Reckowsky, director of industry relations in Purdue Polytechnic, says companies that sponsor students’ senior capstone projects receive working prototypes that address real-world problems. See students’ unique problem-solving abilities on display during our Tech Expo, and learn why your company should partner with our college.

Daniel Castro

How did building cities in the dirt with toys and listening to soccer games on the radio lead a boy from Colombia to a distinguished career in industry and higher education that spanned three continents? It’s the story of Daniel Castro, the new dean of Purdue University's Polytechnic Institute.

James Letsinger

James Letsinger, a 2013 Construction Management Technology grad, is overseeing construction of Purdue’s $140 million Engineering & Polytechnic Gateway Complex. He discusses what his job is like each day at the construction site and what it means to him to advance from being a graduate to building his school’s future home.

Toni Munguia

This episode of Techies Today features a visit with Toni Munguia, Purdue Polytechnic’s director of recruitment, retention and diversity. Learn why Toni loves her students like her own family. Toni tells us how she first came to Purdue, why working with students is so meaningful to her, and how her TECH 101 course makes a difference for students and the Polytechnic.

Abby Perez

Abby Perez is a user experience engineer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In 2018, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Purdue Polytechnic’s UX Design program with a minor in psychology and a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. This episode of “Techies Today” includes interviews with Abby recorded several years apart.

Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar

Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, associate professor of computer and information technology, fights crime using cyberforensics, a branch of digital forensic science pertaining to evidence found in computers and digital storage media.

Nadeem Ali

Nadeem Ali went on three internships while earning his mechanical engineering technology degree. Internships help “diversify your experience outside of your book-smarts” and make students especially attractive to future employers, he said.

Rosemary Astheimer

Rosemary Astheimer’s students watch her pre-recorded video lectures before coming to class, allowing for class meetings to be used for active, hands-on learning and problem-solving. Astheimer says the “flipped classroom” method better accommodates different learning styles.

Mark Zimpfer

Mark Zimpfer, assistant professor of practice in Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Construction Management Technology, talks about the "almost limitless opportunities" for students studying construction management technology and about the construction industry-related YouTube channel he is helping to develop.

Jay Akridge

Purdue Provost Jay Akridge spoke with Polytechnic faculty and staff about new investments in faculty and facilities, making Purdue a "Teaching 1" institution, and preparing the University for the expected realities of 2030.

Renee Thomas

Renee Thomas, director of Purdue’s Black Cultural Center, knows that being active in the campus community leads to academic success. With music, performing arts and cultural programs, the Black Cultural Center encourages students to get involved in “edutainment” — education through entertainment.

Lindsay Drake & Carson Deal

Purdue Polytechnic students Lindsay Drake and Carson Deal started their college experience with a two-week Study Abroad trip to Europe even before attending their first on-campus classes.

Jim Tanoos

Purdue Polytechnic Vincennes' Jim Tanoos discusses supply chain management, globalization, and how studying abroad provides students with unique insight into this increasingly global field of study.

Melody Birmingham-Byrd

Melody Birmingham-Byrd studied organizational leadership and has been a supervisor throughout her career, including more than seven years with Duke Energy. She reveals the inspiration for her career in management and shares advice about how to succeed in business in every phase of your career.

Mitch Daniels & Gary Bertoline

Mitch Daniels and Gary Bertoline discuss the $140M Engineering & Polytechnic Gateway Complex, to be built soon on campus.

Mark French

Mark French’s videos, seen by over 6.5 million viewers, help students understand challenging mathematical concepts. We talked with Mark about his channel's origins and production techniques.

Techies Today, the Purdue Polytechnic Podcast

An introduction to Techies Today, the Purdue Polytechnic podcast, with clips of upcoming episodes.