$18.5 million dollar Purdue design facility creates 'magnet space' for collaborative creativity, prototyping
Credit: Purdue University / Rebecca Wilcox
Innovators will be able to use the facility to advance conceptual designs, execute capstone projects, build prototypes and conduct product testing as well as further develop softer business and life skills such as team building across multiple disciplines and acquire leadership acumen.
“Purdue is already recognized for its strong pipeline of innovation, and we all recognize the importance of an innovator or startup founder demonstrating a hands-on product in order to make a connection to investors and customers,” said Dan Hasler, chief entrepreneurial officer for the Purdue Research Foundation. “Creating such a prototype or product can be expensive and time-consuming endeavor. The Bechtel design center is a game-changer in filling this critical need at Purdue.”
The 31,000-square-foot, $18.5 million building will be available 24/7 for Purdue innovators. The center is located at 1090 Third St. and opened Sept. 23. Some of the assets available in the center include CNC tools, waterjet cutter, laser cutter, laser engraver, 3D plastic printing, paint and surface finishing, welding, wood working tools and electronics assembly.
“Designing and creating a prototype for a device is one of the most challenging aspects for an innovator, and I spent quite a bit of time finding the right place to further develop a medical syringe that I had patented and am commercializing,” said Kyle Hultgren, founder of Image Medical Device life sciences startup and director of the Purdue University Center of Medication Safety Advancement. “The Bechtel center will provide me and other innovators with a tremendous asset to advance our technologies.”
Providing a hands-on environment in design and development fills an important need for students, staff and faculty.
Credit: Purdue University / Rebecca Wilcox
“We have witnessed a tremendous increase in student engagement in design and creation of products and in startup creation over the past three years,” said Gary Bertoline, dean of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. “The Bechtel design center provides them with a place to explore new ideas and put those ideas into action.”
About 50 percent of the 100 Purdue startups based on patented intellectual property and the more than 60 startups based on know-how over the past five years have at least one Purdue undergraduate or graduate student in a leadership role with the company.
“The opportunity for Purdue engineering students to learn and create in BIDC will greatly enhance their overall educational experience ,” said Mung Chiang, John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. “The College of Engineering is proud to collaborate with the Purdue Polytechnic Institute to launch this remarkable maker space. The talent and programs in this space will further enrich the vibrant ecosystem for entrepreneurs at Purdue: turning our education and research into positive impact on people’s lives.”
Kyle Hultgren, founder of Image Medical Device and Director of the Purdue University Center of Medication Safety Advancement, plans to take advantage of the new design center.
“Designing and creating a prototype for a device is one of the most challenging aspects for an innovator, and I spent quite a bit of time finding the right place to further develop a medical syringe that I had patented and am commercializing,” Hultgren said. “While the partnerships that I ended up making are invaluable, the Bechtel center will enhance these partnerships and provide me and other innovators with a tremendous asset to test our ideas and advance our technologies.”
The facility is the latest of improvements to the Purdue innovation ecosystem.
The Bechtel Innovation Design Center is dedicated in honor of Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., chairman emeritus of Bechtel Group Inc., who earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue in 1946 and received an honorary doctorate in 1972.
Source: Purdue Newsroom