Purdue ECE will participate in two NSF-funded Engineering Research Centers. Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) are NSF’s flagship engineering program for convergent research to address large-scale societal challenges.

The first center is named ASPIRE – Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure Roadway Electrification. It will focus on developing new infrastructure that facilitates widespread adoption of electric vehicles.  Steve Pekarek, the Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III professor of electrical and computer engineering, will lead the Power Thrust area. ECE Prof. Dionysios Aliprantis is also among the faculty involved in ASPIRE. More information can be found here.

The second center, the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag), was created to develop advanced agricultural technologies to address food, energy and water security challenges. IoT4Ag researchers will work in three interconnected projects: sensing, communication/energy and response. Purdue ECE faculty involved in this effort include Purdue team members are James Krogmeier, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Convergence co-lead; David Love, the Nick Trbovich Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Communication and Energy Systems co-lead. More information can be found here.