New beginners at Purdue University in Indianapolis had a chance to learn about majors and programs during the Boiler Gold Rush engineering welcome picnic the week before the semester began.

Boiler Gold Rush made its way to the Circle City in August as Purdue University in Indianapolis welcomed an estimated 550 new engineering students. Those new beginners joined a projected 850 continuing engineering students on the first day of classes on Aug. 19. The expansion to Indianapolis presents new opportunities for Boilermakers, combining the powerhouse of Purdue students and education with easy-to-access internships, work and Fortune 500 companies.  

At the forefront of Purdue’s developing engineering programs at the new urban location is new associate dean for Indianapolis Nikhilesh Chawla, the Ransburg Professor of Materials Engineering. 

“Here in Indianapolis, we have all the classic things that Purdue is known for: tradition, rigor, engineering prowess and amazing students, faculty and staff,” Chawla said. “With amazing internship opportunities for our students and the big city feel, students can go out and do a lot of things.”

Purdue students who enjoy the feeling of a bustling city and are searching for urban opportunity will thrive in Indianapolis. The city houses many successful and exciting companies, such as Eli Lilly and Company and Rolls Royce, and a new program in sports engineering. It’s a perfect spot for engineers looking for a way into the Indy 500, sports and esports, companies for airplanes, microchips and more. High-class education and innovative internships are neighbors in a way they haven’t been before. 

“(Indianapolis) is an untapped space for us,” Chawla said. “The combination of big city and Purdue engineering values is a killer combination.” 

Chawla is excited for the development of the motorsports programs and major, not only for his own racing enthusiasm but for students who will create and test unique features for race cars. His own materials research, 3D X-ray tomography, is used to improve adidas shoes by showing in real and non-destructive scans how shoes break down, cushion or crack under everyday pressure. He hopes to teach a foundational class about materials engineering in Indianapolis soon but is focusing on welcoming students as the associate dean for the fall. His goal: to keep the Indianapolis community academically and socially connected to West Lafayette. 

“We’re hoping to have cross-pollination. When there is an event in Indianapolis, we invite the West Lafayette campus and vice versa,” he said. “The beauty of having two locations is that students here can take a class in West Lafayette and students in West Lafayette can do the same in Indianapolis.

“It is important that we have mechanisms to connect students from both locations. In addition, graduate students in Indy can take advantage of research facilities in West Lafayette and vice versa.”

Many Purdue professors in Indianapolis use a new simulcast system for their classes. Instead of watching a recording or commuting, students can watch and interact in real time with their professor, even from another city.  

Chawla’s goal for accessible education in either location extends to the social atmosphere as well. Purdue Campus Connect physically connects the two with buses that accommodate creativity, collaboration and internet connectivity while students travel between campuses.

“We are one family in two locations,” Chawla said.