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Energetic materials — propellants, pyrotechnics and explosives — are critical technologies for the U.S. defense ecosystem. Maintaining a modernized infrastructure with advanced technological capabilities requires a robust, skilled workforce across public and private sectors.

Anyone who’s seen a rocket launch knows there’s an enormous amount of light at the end of the nozzle. What happens upstream of that nozzle, however, is not often seen by human eyes. But in Purdue’s Propulsion Design, Build, and Test (DBT) course this spring, students got to do more than “just” fire their own rocket engine. They got to see right through it.

Tim Pourpoint and his propulsion students developed a completely transparent rocket engine, enabling them to see the entire combustion process for the first time.

The Purdue Energetics Research Center has received approximately $7 million from the United States Department of Defense to modernize manufacturing processes for energetic materials — explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants. These new methods aim to support government and industry in scaling up production, reducing costs, and ensuring safety and quality of materials.

Jiselle Thornby, PhD in chemical engineering, successfully defended her dissertation, "From Dust to Deposition: Development and Characterization of 3D-Printed Surrogate Energetic Materials," in November 2024. Below, she goes into more detail about her research and her plans for the future.

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, has become a staple area of study across engineering disciplines because of its potential to revolutionize the design and production of a variety of materials and structures. Monique McClain, assistant professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering, has dedicated her career to more efficiently developing high-quality and high-performing 3D-printed energetic materials, such as explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants, that can be fine-tuned for performance and safety.

Since 2017, the biennial Purdue Energetic Materials Summit (PEMS) technical exchange has provided a
stimulating venue for open discussion of state-of-the-art and emerging challenges associated with energetic
materials. Thought leaders from across industry, government, and academia have gathered to share their
expertise and develop a vision for the future. We look forward to continuing this tradition and ensuring that
the vision is realized. The next PEMS will be held from September 23-26, 2025.

Since 2017, the biennial Purdue Energetic Materials Summit (PEMS) technical exchange has provided a
stimulating venue for open discussion of state-of-the-art and emerging challenges associated with energetic
materials. Thought leaders from across industry, government, and academia have gathered to share their
expertise and develop a vision for the future. We look forward to continuing this tradition and ensuring that
the vision is realized. The next PERC-ETS will be held on September 22-23, 2025.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Adranos Inc., a Purdue-originated company that grew from a doctoral project into an impactful company, has been acquired by a major Costa Mesa, California-based defense products company, Anduril Industries.

From the world leader in academic energetics research, Purdue University

Even Purdue’s globally renowned experts aren’t immune from geeking out over fighter jets, catapult takeoffs and blazing afterburners. A group of faculty and staff were invited by the U.S. Navy to a jaw-dropping and informative day this summer aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.