purdue university engineering tour

Discover Purdue Engineering

Learn more about our world-class undergraduate engineering programs.

Introduction

Welcome to the College of Engineering Virtual Visit page!

The Office of Future Engineers has created this virtual guide to walk you through nearly everything that Purdue Engineering has to offer. This guide is composed of a series of virtual stops, each one focusing on a specific topic. Consider this as your customized self-guided tour, so you're able to spend as much (or as little!) time at each stop based on your interests.

We also plan on continually updating the content on this page so that we can keep things fresh and add new experiences. Keep an eye on our social media feeds for announcements about new updates!

View Changelog

Stop #1: Overview of Purdue University and the Admissions Process

Overview of Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, conveniently situated just one hour north of Indianapolis and two hours south of Chicago. Purdue University was founded in 1869, thanks to the generous $150,000 gift from John Purdue (equivalent to about $2,900,000 today), a $50,000 gift from Tippecanoe County, and 100 acres donated from residents. The university has maintained its compact size and welcoming atmosphere by keeping its academic campus within one square mile.

Purdue University offers more than 200 undergraduate majors and over 69 masters and doctoral programs. Purdue is a proud member of the Big Ten Conference and is home to 18 intercollegiate sports teams. We are known as the “Cradle of Astronauts” for our 25 astronaut alumni including Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernin, and Beth Moses, the first female commercial astronaut. Purdue is also known as the “Cradle of Quarterbacks” (12 Alums including 3 Super Bowl Winners), and as of April 2019, the university has been associated with 13 Nobel Prize recipients.

Although Purdue does not have a music major, it is home to the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band (AAMB), the World’s Largest Drum, and a variety of musical ensembles and choirs. Over half of the musicians and singers on campus are students from STEM majors, and over half of those are studying engineering at Purdue.

Continue swiping through this section to learn about important dates & deadlines and a brief overview of the application process.

Application Information

All students interested in applying to Purdue University should start with the Office of Admissions and consider them the #1 resource for application questions. When it comes to specifics about Purdue Engineering, and life as an engineering student, the Office of Future Engineers (OFE) is here for you. While OFE does not review applications, we do understand what Admissions is looking for and can provide some general guidance and advice.

Interested students should apply to Purdue via the Common App. When applying to Purdue Engineering, all students will be applying to our First-Year Engineering program (which we'll cover in the next stop of this Virtual Tour), regardless of which specific engineering major they are interested in.

To apply to the First-Year Engineering program on the Common App, you would make the following selections in the ‘Academics’ section:

College, School, or Program: College of Engineering Campus: Main Campus - West Lafayette Major/Program of Study-First Choice: Engineering (First-Year)(Fall Only)

The Area of Interest field, while required, is for informational purposes only and your selection for this field does not impact your application in any way, nor does it commit you to a specific engineering major. All students are on equal footing applying to the First-Year Engineering program regardless of engineering major of interest. A student interested in Mechanical Engineering, for example, would not be considered differently than a student interested in Nuclear Engineering or who is undecided on an engineering major.

Important Application Dates & Deadlines

The application timeline for Purdue University typically remains unchanged from year to year, barring any extraordinary circumstances. Here are key dates to keep in mind:

August 1: Applications open via the Common App November 1: Early Action application deadline January 15: Regular Decision application deadline & release date for Early Action and merit scholarship decisions March 31: Final Regular Decision release date May 1: Deadline to accept Purdue admission decision

Students who apply by the Early Action deadline will automatically be considered for campus-wide merit scholarships and have the opportunity to apply to the Honors College if they wish to do so. Early Action applicants will also receive their Purdue admission decision sooner than the Regular Decision applicants. Applying Early Action is non-binding, so Early Action applicants who are admitted to Purdue on January 15 still have until May 1 to decide where they wish to go to college.

Students who apply during the Regular Decision window of November 2 through January 15 will not be considered for merit scholarships, will not be able to apply to the Honors College, and will receive their Purdue admission decision sometime between January 15 and March 31.

Purdue University Fast Facts

Total student enrollment, undergraduate students, public university in the u.s., best value insitution in the u.s., stop #2: first-year engineering, first-year engineering overview.

Our First-Year Engineering (FYE) Program is the starting point for all undergraduate engineering students at Purdue. Students in the First-Year Engineering program (FYE) will get first-hand experience with problem-solving, critical analysis, and teamwork skills while also exploring the various major and career options available to them. They will have time to cultivate a strong foundation in math, science, and engineering basics before deciding which engineering discipline is right for them.

Just because everyone starts in FYE, however, doesn't mean everyone has the same experience. We know every student is unique, and that is why there are multiple different pathways to complete the FYE Program! Each option provides students with a core engineering foundation while allowing for individual customization of their learning space.

Swipe through this section to learn more about all of the different pathways through our First-Year Engineering program, including Ideas to Innovation , the Goss Scholars Program , EPICS , and Vertically-Integrated Projects .

Ideas to Innovation

Ideas to Innovation (i2i) is the “original” First-Year Engineering (FYE) pathway, but it’s far from ordinary. Students will take ENGR 13100 & ENGR 13200 in addition to their other math, science, and elective courses. These two engineering courses are taught by professors whose research background centers on educating the next generation of engineers and take place in specialized classrooms.

Purdue's i2i Learning Laboratory is an experiential, collaborative, reconfigurable learning environment that prepares FYE students for the rigors of their professional programs and, ultimately, for the workforce where they'll be equipped to make positive contributions. During the two-semester sequenced course students will be assigned to teams of four each semester where they will create solutions to real-world engineering problems across a variety of industries.

The i2i Learning Laboratory includes four studios (Design, Innovation, Prototyping, Demonstration) and a companion classroom, all currently housed in the lower level of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. The studios are set-up to take students through each stage of the design cycle. Like professional engineers, students identify design criteria for a particular problem, come up with potential alternatives, plan for a chosen solution, build and test a prototype, evaluate their work, and refine their solution.

Goss Scholars Program

The Goss Scholars Program (formerly known as Engineering Honors) starts with the Goss Scholars Learning Community. The learning community is a year-long experience designed to foster a seamless academic transition and social adjustment for students as they enter college and begin exploring the engineering as a profession.

The Goss Scholars Learning Community seeks to build community among first-year engineering students who have demonstrated scholastic excellence and want to extend the depth of their academic experience. Goss Scholars are challenged in experiential first-year engineering design, and benefit from personalized guidance from a network of support from academic advisors and peer mentors. The Goss Scholars Advantage is intentional programming that focuses on success factors, allowing students to thrive during their first year and in their future endeavors.

There are two ways of opting into the Goss Scholars program: 1) Applying and being admitted to the Honors College at Purdue, or 2) applying and being admitted to the Goss Scholars Learning Community.

EPICS Learning Community

Do you want to learn engineering design while immediately making an impact in the local or global community? The EPICS Learning Community places first-semester students in the award-winning EPICS program to design engineering-based solutions for some of the most pressing needs of the local and global communities while working with human service, governmental, and educational institutions.

This learning community builds a support system by offering first-year students three common classes with other EPICS learning community students, outside-of-class activities, the opportunity for a shared residence experience, and a formal mentoring experience. This combination helps students transition to Purdue, explore different engineering disciplines, and find fulfilling career paths.

While the EPICS Learning Community is for incoming freshman, students are also able to join the EPICS program at any point in their academic career. EPICS is open to all students at Purdue regardless of major.

Vertically-Integrated Projects

The Vertically-Integrated Projects (VIP) Learning Community provides an opportunity for first-year engineering students to engage with other undergraduates (sophomores, juniors, and seniors), graduate students and faculty mentors in authentic and extended research and design projects on multi-disciplinary VIP teams that are typically related to active research areas of Purdue faculty members. Most projects in VIP last multiple years, so students are typically able to continue participating in the research project beyond their freshman year if they wish to do so.

Participating in this learning community assists students in integrating into the Purdue Engineering community and helps support engagement in research and design activities. It is an incredible opportunity for students interested in getting first-hand experience in cutting edge research to do so as soon as they get to Purdue!

Emmalee Severson

I2I First-Year Engineering

Riley Brown

Alanna Nash

Matt Blount

Nick Sergeant

Peggy Hutchinson

Stop #3: engineering majors, engineering majors.

Purdue Engineering offers 17 different majors for students to choose from. Combine that with the various specialty tracks within each major and you get over 90 different ways to tailor Purdue Engineering to your interests! Additionally, the breadth of each discipline means Purdue students are fit to work in almost any field, regardless of major.

To help round out their degree or pursue an additional interest, many engineering students also pursue minors. Some of the most popular minors for engineering students include business, foreign language, computer science, and other engineering disciplines. For some students, certificate programs may be a preferred addition to their engineering degree. :

• Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering
• Agricultural Engineering
• Biological Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Construction Engineering & Management
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental & Ecological Engineering
• Environmental & Natural Resources Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Interdisiciplinary & Multidisciplinary Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering

Maor Gozalzani

Allison Biddinger

Katie Krick

Laura Flandermeyer

Morgan Callin

Basie Andoh

Samantha Davis

Ethan Edwards

Andrea Copeland

Ashley King

Tyler Roberts

Andrew LaPrade

Kaiwen Shen

Leah Crisco

Abby Francis

Laurel Stevenson

Matthew Vining

Jackson Sanders

Marlee Reisinger

Megan Casey

Rachel Casetti

Lauren Heiss

Leigh Witek

Namita Mekala

Evan Parshall

Lexie Zovko

Teddy Sergesketter

Brynna Keelin_Kelly

Isabelle Lindsay

Jeremy Mateja

Mark D'Aloia

Stop #4: engineering opportunities, engineering opportunities overview.

Being an engineering student opens up - quite literally - a world of opportunities! You can get involved in world-class research, gain real-world work experience with companies through internships and co-ops, study abroad, and even start a business!

Swipe through this section to learn more about Research , Internships & Co-Ops , Study Abroad , and Entrepreneurship & Innovation .

Are you interested in discovering a world of opportunity through research? As an R1 Research institute, undergraduate students can work alongside award-winning faculty on a variety of exciting research projects for experience, credit, or pay. With over 2,000 undergraduate research opportunities available every year, Purdue research is an amazing way for students to gain experience in cutting-edge fields of technology, science, math, and beyond.

There are lots of different ways to get involved in research at Purdue:

Internships & Co-Ops

Internships and Co-Ops offer students the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world problems, and earn a significant salary to help pay for college.

With over 30 career fairs and more than 1700 different employers visiting campus every year, there are several opportunities for students to get the experience employers want to see in graduating seniors. The largest career fair hosted at Purdue is called Industrial Roundtable. This student-run fair is held in September every year with over 350 employers attending! Employers say that Purdue is usually at the top of their short list of colleges to visit because of the quality and preparation of students.

Since Purdue is known globally known, employers from around the world are hiring their summer interns from Purdue. Most engineering students choose to do internships due to the ability to try a variety of industries and positions before finding the right fit for their first employer after graduation.

Co-ops are not unique to Purdue; however, we are well known for having a formalized structure benefitting both student and employer. Committed to fostering a holistic student experience, the Office of Professional Practice (OPP) offers formal programs in 5-Session Co-Op, 3-Session Co-Op, internship, and research formats. OPP also facilitates the Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (GEARE), Purdue’s premier international work experience program. Purdue designs Professional Practice programs to combine practical on-the-job experiences with the classroom training of a four-year college curriculum. Co-ops are a great option for those students who know what industry they want to work in after graduation.

Determining to do an internship or co-op often comes down to student preference, however the options are also guided by industry demand. Some industries choose to not offer co-op opportunities while other may offer both options. No matter which option a student chooses, on average a Purdue Engineering undergraduate student will earn between $20-$30/hour while working on internships or co-ops.

Study Abroad

There are a variety of opportunities open to students at Purdue to explore the world. Studying abroad allows students to combine unique cultural experiences with gaining professional skills. Programs range in duration from one week, one month, one semester, or even up to one year and can fit into your plan of study with any major. There are even opportunities for incoming students to take a trip the summer before starting classes at Purdue!

When considering the best Study Abroad opportunities for you the place to start is the Global Engineering Programs & Partnerships (GEPP). Today, most US businesses are global, and many have employees, value chains, and markets extending far beyond US borders. GEPP believes that immersive, transformative international experiences such as studying, working, or researching abroad lead to more effective engineers - graduates that can work effectively across cultural, ethnic, and national boundaries and help their employers or their own businesses succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.

Students interested in an immersive global option are encouraged to check out the Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (GEARE) program. GEARE is the most comprehensive global engineering training program in the country. Students in the program pursue a minor in Global Engineering Studies by completing academic, intercultural, and professional experiences. These include foreign language study, at least a full semester of study abroad, domestic and global internship/research experiences, cultural training seminars, and global design team projects.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Have an innovative idea that you’ve never been able to bring to fruition? Purdue has the resources to help you make those ideas a reality! Purdue allows students to retain the Intellectual Property (IP) rights of the things they create while studying at Purdue. In addition, Purdue will help you develop, patent, and market your ideas or products through a system of departments designed to walk you through every step of the process.

Stop #5: Engineering Student Life

Engineering student life.

Your experience at Purdue is what you make of it. Even with all the opportunities we've covered so far, engineering students still find plenty of time for an active social life.

While Purdue is a large university with an average enrollment of 40,000 students, current students will tell you it has a small feel thanks in part to the Learning Communities, Greek System, and nearly 1,000 student organizations. From the Goat Club, Free Food Club, robotics teams, a Quidditch team, faith-based organizations, cultural centers, big-name speakers, concerts or Broadway productions, Purdue offers unlimited involvement opportunities to meet other students with similar interests and backgrounds.

Whether it’s taking a weekend trip to Chicago or Indianapolis, participating in intramurals , or even just getting dinner with some friends, there is always time to make new lifelong memories at Purdue

Entrepreneurship Certificate

Erin Mickey

Alex Freriks

Student Life

Elizabeth Higgins

Ekin Vardar

Engineering Student Orgs

Hunter Malmin

Engineering Outreach

Stop #6: Virtual Tours

Virtual tours.

There are over 30 buildings associated with Purdue Engineering for academics and research, with world-class facilities and innovative classrooms.

360° Photo Tours

Armstrong Hall of Engineering

Bechtel Innovation Design Center (BIDC)

Research facilities.

Herrick Labs

Zucrow Labs

Birck Nanotechnology Center

Purdue Technology Center Aerospace

Video tours.

Stop #7: Connect with Us

Connect with the students & staff of purdue engineering.

The absolute best way to get to know Purdue Engineering is to visit with current students! The Office of Future Engineers (OFE) Peer Counselors are current undergraduate engineering students who are ready to help you learn more about our campus, our programs, and what it’s really like to be a student in Purdue Engineering.

The Purdue Student Engineering Foundation (PSEF) is a student organization of dozens of current undergraduate engineering students who are all passionate about sharing their stories and experiences with prospective students and families.

We in OFE understand what a big and complex decision college choice is, which is why we believe that being honest and authentic is vital to helping you find your best college fit. Feel free to ask us anything! Email us at [email protected] or give us a call at (765) 494-3975 .

Want to know what’s happening right now? Follow OFE’s social media! You can find us on Twitter , Instagram , YouTube , and Facebook .

Final Stop: Campus Visit Opportunities

Come visit purdue's campus.

Nothing can beat coming to our beautiful campus and experiencing it in person! There are opportunities to visit our campus all year-round.

Ready to visit Purdue Engineering? Check out our Visit Us page linked below to plan your visit to campus!

Bechtel Innovation Design Center 360 Tour

Armstrong hall 360 tour, herrick research labs.

Undergraduate Admissions

Admitted Student Experiences

Are you ready to become a Boilermaker? Your small step towards your next giant leap begins at Purdue University.

Daily Visit - Indianapolis

A Daily Visit to Purdue in Indianapolis will introduce you to Purdue's comprehensive urban campus! Start with an Admissions Information Session and then explore campus with a student tour guide.

Daily Visit - West Lafayette

Daily Visits are a great way to see life at Purdue! Start with an Admissions Information Session and then explore campus with a student tour guide.

Purdue's for Me - West Lafayette

Specifically for students who have been admitted to Purdue University in West Lafayette, this event will cover next steps like accepting your offer, answer any questions, and show you what it's like to live and study at Purdue!

Purdue's for Me - Indianapolis

Specifically for students who have been admitted to Purdue University in Indianapolis, this event will answer any questions, cover next steps like accepting your offer, and show you what it's like to live and study at Purdue!

Real Talk Diversity Chats

Experience the Purdue community virtually through the eyes of our students! Learn about social justice, connecting with professors, transitioning from high school to college, or how to find the best coffee on campus.

International Information Sessions

These virtual information sessions are for admitted international students. Topics of discussion will include the student visa process, international student orientation and being a part of the Purdue community.

Transfer Tracks

A virtual visit opportunity designed just for transfer students! If you are a transfer student that wants to learn more about Purdue and the transfer process or would like to meet with one of our admissions counselors, this is the visit for you!

Have questions about your admission decision?

Connect with a Counselor

Can't make it to campus?

TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR

There are many visit opportunities being offered from areas all around campus. Explore the tabs below to find live panels, Q&A's, one-on-one custom visits, recorded information sessions and more. Whatever you're looking for - whether in-person or virtual - we've got it! 

  Explore Your Academic College

Click on your college below to discover the opportunities awaiting you!

  The Division of Financial Aid

The Division of Financial Aid is happy to meet with you in person to discuss any financial aid questions you may have. Counselors are available Monday – Friday to see students on a first-come, first-served basis.

You may continue to contact us via email at [email protected] , or call 765-494-5050, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET to speak with a counselor.

Visit Our Website

  New Student Orientation

Purdue's Orientation Programs team is here to help you experience a successful academic and social transition to Purdue! We are excited to help make your transition as smooth as possible.

Orientation and Transition Website

  Student Housing

University residences housing & dining tours.

Indianapolis Students

Visit days at Purdue University in Indianapolis will include a residence and dining hall tour!

West Lafayette Students

Planning to visit the West Lafayette campus? Sign up for a University Residences Housing & Dining Tour below! Learn about our facilities and accommodations, leadership opportunities, delicious food and incredible student experiences. All tours are led by current students and include stops in at least one residence hall showroom, a dining court, and community spaces.

Register Here 

  Summer Programs

One-on-one custom visits .

Students and families have the opportunity to meet with a staff member for 45 minutes to find out more about Early Start or Summer Start.  We will schedule your visit around other campus activities (for example, Daily Visits with Admissions, information sessions, and 1-1 visits with academic majors).  One major benefit is that students save an average of $54,400 by using summer courses to graduate early.  More than 700 incoming students took advantage of summer courses last year. 

  Sign Up Now

Early Start 

Earn up to 9 credit hours before the fall semester.  Students can complete the program online or on-campus.  This program is open to students admitted to the fall semester. 

Summer Start 

Some students are admitted directly to Summer Start by the Office of Admissions.  This residential program provides access to a success coach through graduation, involvement in a learning community, and much more.  This program is only offered in the initial admissions letter from the Office of Admissions. 

LEARN MORE 

• Certificate of Entrepreneurship and Innovation  
• Data Mine  

The award-winning and Princeton Review ranked  Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program  is designed to turbocharge any Purdue undergraduate degree. In this program, you will earn a credential similar to a minor by completing five courses, some of which may overlap with requirements in your major.

Click the link below to learn how this program might fit with your major and  MORE !

Turbocharge Your Degree

The Data Mine is a living, learning and research-based community created to introduce students to data science concepts and equip them to create solutions to real-world problems. Members of The Data Mine will be part of a team, living, studying and ultimately, performing data-driven research together. The Data Mine is part of Purdue University’s  Integrative Data Science Initiative , which is designed to train students across all majors with the data literacy needed to succeed in a data-driven world.

Explore Campus

Take a 360-degree look at campus and stop along the way to check out campus facts, photos and videos of the places that you'll frequent as a future Boilermaker!

Daily Visit Information and Agenda

Purdue in Indianapolis hosts several Daily Visit dates!

Enjoy a student-guided campus walking tour and an information session that is customized for admitted students.

Your experience includes:

• Information Session  (30 minutes) —  Gain insights into Purdue's academic programs, resources and life on campus. Plus, get all the information you'll need about your next steps as an admitted student.
• Campus Tour  (90 minutes) —  Explore campus with student tour guides on a walking tour.

Purdue hosts Daily Visits almost every day, sometimes multiple per day, and on some Saturdays.

Enjoy a student-guided walking tour of campus and an information session that is customized for admitted students.

Choose Your Academic College

Purdue's for me.

Join us for our biggest admitted student event on campus! Get to know your academic college and learn to navigate your way around Purdue as you prepare to become a Boilermaker!

Agenda at a glance:

Join current Purdue students virtually in a candid discussion about life on campus. From developing classroom skills to finding your community, all topics are welcome!

International Student Information Sessions

These 90-minute virtual information sessions are for admitted international students. Sessions will be presented and moderated by an international admissions counselor, who will walk you through next steps as an admitted student. Topics of discussion will include the student visa process, international student orientation, and being a part of the Purdue community. Participants will also have the opportunity for their questions to be answered by a live student panel at the conclusion of each session.

The April 5, 8:00 AM event is designed for students who were admitted to Purdue University in Indianapolis, however all are welcome to attend!

This two hour virtual information session is for students who are interested in transferring to Purdue. Sessions will be presented and moderated by an admissions counselor, who will walk you through next steps as transfer student. Participants will also have the opportunity to opt in to a first-come-first-serve 15 minute one-on-one meeting with one of our admissions counselors. 

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Celebrating 150 years of Purdue engineering excellence 

Ben O’Brien, Takaharu Igarashi and Anika Bhoopalam are among the 16,000 current students who will extend the Purdue College of Engineering’s tradition of excellence. (Purdue University photos/Kelsey Lefever)

Today’s Purdue engineering students will change the world, as their predecessors have done for the last 150 years

Takaharu Igarashi (MSAAE ’21) is pursuing a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics that will allow him to someday work as a space architect. 

That’s exactly what it sounds like. Igarashi wants to combine the engineering education he receives at Purdue with the architectural training he completed in his native Japan, allowing him to design structures that are fit for extraterrestrial habitation.  

Anika Bhoopalam wants to work in semiconductor manufacturing and use her Purdue chemical engineering background to introduce groundbreaking innovations — particularly related to solar or other forms of renewable energy — that increase environmental stability. 

And Ben O’Brien hopes to influence the adoption rate of electric transportation by pairing technical knowledge gained as a Boilermaker civil engineering student and policy analysis conducted while simultaneously majoring in political science . 

Those are just three of the more than 16,000 stories that ambitious students in Purdue’s College of Engineering could share about how they plan to change the world, contributing to a tradition that is now 150 years strong. Starting with a kickoff event on Sept. 13, the university will acknowledge its engineering sesquicentennial with a yearlong celebration packed with special events . 

“The stories of Purdue engineering for one-and-a-half centuries are the stories of hundreds of thousands of engineering alumni, the stories of world-class discovery of knowledge and transformational problem-solving impact, the stories of intellectual pursuit of the highest caliber by our faculty,” says Purdue President Mung Chiang , who spent five years as the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering prior to becoming the university’s 13th president in 2023. “The stories continue into the next 150 years with new scope, accelerated speed and amplified scale as Purdue engineering reaches the pinnacle of excellence in everything its people choose to pursue.” 

The incredible accomplishments of those Boilermakers are exactly why Purdue’s name became synonymous with engineering excellence, adds Arvind Raman (MSME ’94), Chiang’s successor as the dean of engineering. 

“When you ask the question, ‘Why is the brand so prestigious?’ it must be because of 150 years of excellence in our students who have graduated and gone on to do great things,” says Raman, himself an alumnus and faculty member in mechanical engineering . “The brand builds based on the talents we graduate.” 

Tradition of innovation

So many compliments could be heaped upon those talents produced and great things accomplished. 

The first and most recent people to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong (BSAE ’55) and Eugene Cernan (BSEE ’56), were both Boilermaker engineers. 

So was Maurice Zucrow , the first to receive a PhD in mechanical engineering from Purdue, who returned to his alma mater and established what would become the world’s largest academic propulsion lab, now known as the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories .  

The designer of the Golden Gate Bridge? That was Purdue engineering professor Charles Ellis . 

And the list of Boilermaker engineering innovations and patents could stretch from West Lafayette to the Sea of Tranquility, where Armstrong landed the Eagle lunar module on the moon’s surface in 1969. These revolutionary creations include anything from the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (or MOSFET, an essential component in most electronic devices) co-invented by Martin (John) M. Atalla (MSME ’47, PhD ME ’49) to the soft-serve ice cream machine created by Frank Thomas Jr. (BSME ’41).  

It would be impossible to document every distinguished alum and noteworthy achievement, but it’s reasonable to assert that Boilermaker engineers have impacted virtually every aspect of modern life. 

And they’ll continue to do so, rising to embrace societal challenges that might not even exist yet. Remember, Gus Grissom (BSME ’50), Armstrong and Cernan didn’t come to Purdue to become astronauts, an occupation that did not exist when they enrolled. But their rigorous Purdue training helped them become NASA pioneers and pave the way for 23 more Boilermaker engineers (plus College of Science graduate Drew Feustel ) to follow them into space thus far. 

Foundations of engineering excellence  

Purdue’s history as an engineering-focused university originates with its creation via the Morrill Act of 1862 , which emphasized educations in agriculture, the mechanic arts (the precursor to modern-day engineering) and military tactics for working-class people who had been previously ignored within American higher education. 

Ever since the university introduced four-year curricula in civil and mechanical engineering in 1874, hundreds of thousands of Purdue graduates have earned engineering diplomas, using that education to improve their families’ economic circumstances and advance their communities, nations and humankind. 

“It’s amazing to see how over 150 years, Purdue engineering has contributed significantly in educating the sons and daughters of the working classes and keeps making sure that those doors of opportunity remain wide open,” Raman says. 

As time has passed and society has evolved, Boilermakers have taken important steps to ensure that every student has a fair chance to capitalize upon those opportunities. Because of recruitment and retention obstacles that women and minority students encountered, the nation’s first Women in Engineering program debuted at Purdue in 1969, and the university’s Minority Engineering Program (1974) and founding chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (1975) became models of success that other universities would emulate. 

The College of Engineering has also frequently adapted its educational portfolio to accommodate student interest and societal need, introducing the nation’s first freshman engineering program (1953) and first School of Engineering Education (2004) while also adding studies in disciplines like biomedical engineering and motorsports engineering — housed at Purdue’s Indianapolis campus — where potential employers and industry partners have a sizable footprint within the state of Indiana. 

When you ask the question, ‘Why is the brand so prestigious?’ it must be because of 150 years of excellence in our students who have graduated and gone on to do great things. The brand builds based on the people you produce. Arvind Raman  John A. Edwardson Dean of the Purdue College of Engineering 

A wealth of opportunities

There is also an ever-growing list of initiatives in which engineering students can tailor their educational paths to accommodate personal interests, whether through a program like multidisciplinary engineering or interdisciplinary engineering studies , through a joint degree offering with another college at the university, or through research opportunities, co-ops, and internships that can shape students’ futures. 

The stories of Bhoopalam, O’Brien and Igarashi reveal some of these opportunities for Boilermaker engineers to broaden their horizons. 

Igarashi and O’Brien both joined Purdue research collaboratives: O’Brien in the Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE) initiative, a National Science Foundation-backed Engineering Research Center focused on advancing sustainable electrified transportation , and Igarashi in the Value through Reliability, Safety, and Sustainability Lab led by Karen Marais , professor of aeronautics and astronautics.

“The topic that everyone has in their mind is, ‘How can we make better buildings?’ And that question, that theme, is also the same thing that I have been thinking of in space architecture,” Igarashi says. “The definition of good architecture includes not failing, not doing things wrong. I feel that safety, preventing failures, is the fundamental part of being good. You have to do it right before you think about doing good.” 

Meanwhile, Bhoopalam completed a pair of internships with semiconductor industry partners: one at chipmaker SkyWater Technology’s Florida facility and another in the Netherlands at ASML , an opportunity to work abroad that arose via Purdue’s Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education program.

“After I went to SkyWater, it was like, ‘Wow, I really like this. I really like this industry and this work,’” Bhoopalam says. “I found it very fast-paced and exciting, and that changed my career path. I still want to work in solar panels, but also in chip manufacturing. And then going to ASML definitely fortified that.” 

In addition to serving as a research assistant under Nadia Gkritza , professor of civil engineering and agricultural and biological engineering , and conducting survey work with ASPIRE, O’Brien also completed a summer internship in the transportation industry (introducing electric buses and building the required charging infrastructure with the transit authority in Washington, D.C.) and took advantage of a dual-degree offering that is unique to Purdue. 

The Purdue College of Liberal Arts waives its core requirements for students who enroll in its Degree Plus program, making it possible for them to complement a bachelor’s degree in their primary major with a liberal arts degree in no additional time. That enabled O’Brien to gain both technical know-how from civil engineering and meaningful policy analysis experience through political science coursework that should benefit someone on the verge of a career in transportation. 

“Degree Plus is a really unique part of Purdue engineering and the university as a whole that you don’t really find at other schools,” O’Brien says. “It opens up so many different career pathways, whether through research or public agencies or industry. It allows me to take my career in so many different places and is why I appreciate Purdue as a large and diverse school so much.” 

Eyes on the future

Not long after Purdue commercial astronaut Sirisha Bandla (BSAAE ’11) returned to Earth in 2021 following her Virgin Galactic Unity 22 suborbital flight — which made her the third Indian woman to travel to space — Bandla’s former AAE professor Steven Collicott informed her via text message about a prospective student he had just led on a campus tour. 

The student was interested in attending Purdue because it was Bandla’s alma mater. 

It was a full-circle moment for Bandla, who became fascinated with space as a child and applied only to Purdue because it was where so many of the astronauts she idolized had attended college. 

“It’s great that I’m following in the footsteps of people that have done incredible things and have blazed a trail before me,” Bandla said at the time. “It’s really nice to see that I’m helping blaze a trail for someone else, as well. They’re going to do the same for the generation after them. That’s how we grow as people.” 

And it’s an example of how the Purdue engineering incubator will continue to advance society in the years ahead. 

The university’s leaders have embarked on an ambitious agenda, placing Purdue engineers at the center of numerous initiatives with significant stakes. Boilermakers will continue to break new ground in areas like manufacturing and operations, construction, space exploration, defense innovation, energy transition, engineering technology, and engineering in medicine. And at the same time, Purdue’s presence will be increasingly evident in fields like hypersonics, artificial intelligence and advanced computing, with special emphasis on quantum computing, physical AI and semiconductors. 

The university’s numerous semiconductor initiatives — including the nation’s first comprehensive semiconductors and microelectronics degree program ; workforce development plans; and extensive alliances with industry partners, domestic agencies and foreign governments — helped convince South Korean chipmaker SK hynix to invest nearly $4 billion to construct an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for AI products in the Purdue Research Park . 

The stories of Purdue engineering for one-and-a-half centuries are the stories of hundreds of thousands of engineering alumni, the stories of world-class discovery of knowledge and transformational problem-solving impact, the stories of intellectual pursuit of the highest caliber by our faculty. Mung Chiang President, Purdue University 

It’s one step in a larger plan that places Purdue at the center of the budding Silicon Heartland. 

Bhoopalam says Purdue’s efforts have helped semiconductor engineering appeal to prospective chip designers and manufacturers — workers who will be essential as the U.S. moves to reshore chip production to protect its national and economic security. 

“It’s given me a lot of excitement to work in this industry, which I can see in other students, as well,” Bhoopalam says. “It’s really cool to work in semiconductors in a way that wasn’t there a few years ago, before all this news about how we need more semiconductor workers, fabs and materials.” 

There has arguably been no more exciting time to be a Boilermaker engineer than today. And that’s saying something, considering the precedent set by previous generations. 

“I have a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for 150 years,” Raman says. “And with that comes the sense that we owe it to the hundreds of thousands of Boilermaker engineers — I feel the weight on my shoulders because I’m one of them — that we have to keep hitting it out of the ballpark.” 

David Ching

After attending a journalism workshop at summer camp, David started a school paper in fourth grade. At the time, he covered school skits and kickball games but he eventually fulfilled his dream as a professional sportswriter covering college sports for ESPN. Now, he leverages his storytelling skills to share compelling narratives from across campus.

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Purdue AI urban tree monitoring and analysis initiative to improve city life

• Written by Maureen Manier
• Photos by Joshua Clark
• September 16, 2024

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — With 89% of the U.S. population and 68% of the world population projected to live in cities by 2050, concerns mount about how to address health and environmental issues such as excessive heat, poor air quality and rainwater runoff. Urban trees have the potential to improve these issues, but first, accurate tree inventories and information must be obtained, analyzed, shared and regularly updated to make effective data-driven decisions.

This is the ambitious goal of a project led by Daniel Aliaga , Purdue computer science associate professor and principal investigator, with Songlin Fei , professor and director of the Purdue Institute for Digital Forestry , as the forestry lead.

Aliaga and Fei have received a $5 million fund from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for uTREE (Urban Tree Resilience and Environmental Equity), a project that focuses on using AI to obtain information about tree density, species and location, and changes in tree counts over time and events. The uTREE team will achieve this goal using the first cloud-based cyberinfrastructure (CI) to support a national (and potentially worldwide) urban tree inventory. The CI will be used in multidisciplinary urban science, engineering and planning to create and maintain safer and more livable cities.

“The uTREE CI is scalable to serve a large and multidisciplinary community of researchers and urban practitioners,” Aliaga said. “In collaboration with the Institute for Physical Artificial Intelligence , a Purdue Computes initiative, we will also demonstrate how an AI-based approach can be successful in operating in previously unseen urban areas.”

The CI fills a major gap. “Researchers — armed with the increased computational power and advancement of recent novel urban canopy models, urban ecological models and urban social science linkages — can now provide improved predictions,” Aliaga said. “However, the lack of high-resolution tree data, particularly in urban and under-resourced communities, have previously remained a significant barrier.”

Disadvantaged communities disproportionately suffer from the negative fallout of rapid urbanization, industrial development, lasting environmental inequities, and absent or misinformed codes and ordinances in cities and towns, said Fei, professor and Dean’s Chair in Remote Sensing in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. 

“UTREE, in partnership with local organizations already working on these issues, will advance environmental justice and grow local capacity to ensure lasting impacts in urban and community forests nationwide,” Fei said.

Other Purdue team members working on uTREE are: associate professor Brady Hardiman and professor Zhao Ma from forestry and natural resources; professors Melba Crawford and Panagiota Karava from civil engineering; Matthew Huber , professor and director of Purdue’s Institute for a Sustainable Future ; and Rajesh Kalyanam , a computer engineer and senior research scientist at the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing .

Aliaga and his colleagues have already tested their CI. The team developed an initial tree localization foundation model yielding a preliminary dataset comprised of more than 278 million trees, covering 8.2 million acres in 330 U.S. cities. Aliaga estimates the uTREE CI will serve a community of 60,000 researchers and half a million urban practitioners.

The innovation and technology are novel, but it’s the potential impact on which Aliaga and his colleagues stay focused.

“Using our AI-based method, we can now update urban tree inventories with 92.5% count accuracy,” Aliaga said. “Instead of relying solely on high-spatial resolution, the uTREE generative AI modeling approach draws from data collected repeatedly over time. It’s automatic and repeatable so the monitoring for any city can be computed in a few hours and quickly repeated at will. We also definitely anticipate timely tree inventory and localization data will be used to improve weather/climate modeling.”

Aliaga explains why this innovation has deep roots at Purdue. “Our team worked together on prior NSF projects that laid the groundwork for this larger effort and we are members of the Institute for Digital Forestry at Purdue, which draws on faculty expertise from multiple colleges. Our project also makes use of the MyGeoHub utilities at Purdue, which permit jump-starting such a large-scale software infrastructure providing data and tools catered to communities ranging from domain scientists, to CI users/experts, to practitioners.”

The prototype work was completed through a multidisciplinary collaboration. Adnan Firoze , a computer science PhD student, led the graduate student development team that included computer science student Akshaj Uppala and forestry and natural resources student Lindsay Darling. The collaboration also included computer science assistant professor Raymond Yeh and professor Bedrich Benes .

“It is extremely gratifying to work in such an eclectic domain and know it will have an incredible impact on the natural world,” Firoze said. “Seeing the state of trees so precisely and on a national scale across time is fascinating and the first work of its kind. It is like a time machine for trees!”

While they collaborate with professionals across disciplines and the country, the team is also preparing the next generation of urban computational and ecological researchers and managers as they leverage the Purdue Data Mine , a learning community for undergraduates, to address the educational and experiential gap in urban computational and forest management tools.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at  https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives .

Writer: Maureen Manier, [email protected] , 765-494-8403

Media contact: Devyn Ashlea Raver, [email protected]

Sources: Daniel Aliaga, [email protected] ; Songlin Fei, [email protected]

Agricultural Communications: Maureen Manier, [email protected] , 765-494-8415

Journalist Assets: Images and/or Videos, Google Drive

Media Contact

Devyn Ashlea Raver [email protected]

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Quantum Research Sciences receives U.S. Air Force’s first Quantum Computing Phase III contract

Quantum computing delivers more accurate inventory forecasting

Quantum Research Sciences has received a $2.5 million, three-year Phase III Small Business Technology Transfer contract from the U.S. Air Force to deliver the Department of Defense’s first operational, production-level quantum computing software. QRS personnel are (left to right) AJ Wildridge, CTO and Purdue University doctoral student; CEO Ethan Krimins; and Andreas Jung, COO and Purdue University associate professor of physics and astronomy. (Purdue Research Foundation photo/Jennifer Mayberry)

Purdue-connected software company  Quantum Research Sciences  (QRS) has received a $2.5 million, three-year Phase III Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract from the U.S. Air Force to deliver the Department of Defense’s first operational, production-level quantum computing software. 

CEO Ethan Krimins said the company has used a quantum computer to accurately identify optimal inventory levels, including for parts with sporadic or infrequent demand. The Air Force will be the first customer, but the software’s capabilities will allow it to be utilized throughout the DOD. 

Headquartered in Lafayette, QRS is a  Purdue Innovates  client company and an affiliate company of the  Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute . QRS collaborates on the quantum computer software with  Andreas Jung , associate professor of physics and astronomy in Purdue University’s  College of Science , and the Jung Research Group, where AJ Wildridge carries out his doctoral research.

Supply chain challenges

A majority of the world’s inventory, whether it be in the military or private industry, sits on the shelf because user demand is not easy to predict. The Air Force considers much of its inventory unforecastable, and the consequence is that too many or too few parts are in the supply chain.

“Not having adequate inventory puts stress on industrial and supplier sourcing processes, while excess inventory has costs associated with storage, security, maintenance, theft and design obsolescence,” said Curtis Mears, director of the USAF 418th Supply Chain Management Squadron.

Most government agencies, military organizations and commercial corporations employ forecasting technology that predicts future inventory levels based on historical demand. The chances are slim that the prediction will be accurate.

“At best, a supply chain forecast is an educated guess; at worst, it is a wild guess,” Krimins said. “For organizations, the consequence is tens of millions of dollars tied up in inventory that can’t be sold, utilized or liquidated.”

A quantum software solution 

QRS has turned the problem of supply chain inventory management into an optimization scenario, something that quantum computers are uniquely capable of solving. 

“Quantum computers are excellent at optimization: quickly identifying the most efficient solution in a complex situation,” said Chris McCorkle, USAF 418th Data Science and Analysis Flight Chief. “Looking at the supply chain management problem as an optimization scenario allows us to harness quantum computers to determine how many items should be on a shelf more accurately than a classical computer can.” 

The results? “QRS quantum computer software is achieving a 28% improved accuracy over classical computers,” Krimins said.

Value isn’t just in determining how many items should be in inventory. 

“An optimal solution includes three answers: how many parts are needed, when they are needed and how they get there,” Krimins said. “The cost of our quantum software quickly pays for itself by providing organizations with the data to answer these questions without guessing or estimating.”

Contracting with the U.S. Air Force

Mears said, “The Phase III contract with the U.S. Air Force builds upon three years of effort with this technology.”

“We designed the software under a USAF Phase I STTR. It was developed into a prototype during Phase II,” Krimins said. “The culmination of our work, moving from prototype to real-world production, occurs in Phase III. The process has been a collaborative one from the start, and it would not have been possible without support from the Air Force and Purdue.”

About Quantum Research Sciences 

Quantum Research Sciences  (QRS) is an American technology company focused on the discovery, development and delivery of practical quantum software. QRS created the DOD’s first operational quantum software and is working toward new quantum software applications every day. For more information on QRS, visit  https://quantumresearchsciences.com/ .

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at  https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives .

About Purdue Innovates

Purdue Innovates  is a unified network at Purdue Research Foundation to assist Purdue faculty, staff, students and alumni in either IP commercialization or startup creation. As a conduit to technology commercialization, intellectual property protection and licensing, startup creation and venture capital, Purdue Innovates serves as the front door to translate new ideas into world-changing impact.

For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at  [email protected] . For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at  [email protected] . 

Writer/Media contact: Steve Martin, [email protected] Source: Ethan Krimins, [email protected]

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