The Ray Ewry Sports Engineering Center (RESEC) is named in honor of a record-setting Olympian and College of Engineering graduate, Ray Ewry. As a joint effort between the College of Engineering and Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, the center reflects Ewry’s passion for both sports and engineering and advances research and learning opportunities to athletes and students alike. The center benefits Purdue student-athletes and other high-level athletes in regional, national, and international competition.
We see that sports have the power to unite, to teach, to challenge, and to initiate change, and those are our goals for RESEC. We are driven by our passion for sport and a deep understanding of the influence it has in shaping society. As technology continues to advance, there is enormous room for opportunity to rethink how athletes train, coaches coach, fans engage, and event organizers plan events. Engineering and data science are at the center of excitement, health and safety, and the integrity of sport, and by bringing a data-driven, analytical approach to this industry, we can address the growing need and desire to increase participation and engagement of athletes and fans.
As a fully comprehensive, university-based network for sports engineering, the center has the extensive expertise needed to advance high-quality sports equipment and enhance performance in addition to being on the forefront of data science and engineering for fan experience.
The Ray Ewry Sports Engineering Center recognizes that big ideas and innovative thinking is what will bring sports technology into the future. As part of its activities, RESEC collaborates with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by developing periodical articles for Games Flash, an internal emailer of the IOC, highlighting insights about the latest technologies impacting sport globally. "As the IOC continues to evolve and develop the Olympic Games, Purdue’s expertise in science and technology will be a valuable support to our work”, said Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games Executive Director. The articles produced as part of this collaboration can be found here.
Education and Outreach Goals
- Demonstrate the close interplay between the development of emerging technologies and their rapid implementation in competition sports
- Emphasize the impact of equipment, apparel, and facilities on performance, safety, physiology, and biomechanics
- Manage the technology and principles relating to the ruling and approval of equipment and facilities
- Trigger innovative ideas for next-generation sports technology and entrepreneurship
Professional Master's Concentration in Sports Engineering
The Professional Master's Concentration in Sports Engineering in the Graduate Program of Interdisciplinary Engineering (IDE) provides students with an opportunity to specialize their studies in the area of sports engineering. There are very few programs in the United States that offer formal sports engineering education, so participation in this program is advantageous for those with aspirations to work in sports. With the launch of the Ray Ewry Sports Engineering Center at Purdue, we have the opportunity to equip the next leaders in this field with the skills and tools needed to be successful in industry.
– 1 gold medal
- 1 bronze medal
