Jack Champaigne - Our People - Purdue Engineering

Jack Champaigne

President, Electronics Incorporated
BSEE 1968

Jack Champaigne has dedicated his career to the relatively unheralded field of shot peening. Every automotive axle, turbine shaft and piece of landing gear is shot peened, yet most engineers are unfamiliar with this surface engineering technique — or just know it as a required specification.

Shot peening enhances the fatigue strength of components that are subject to high alternating stress. In 1974, Champaigne founded Electronics Incorporated (EI). In the 50 years that followed, he gained a thorough understanding of the history, theory, specifications and practical applications of the field, positioning him as the leading industry expert — both domestically and globally. Accumulating more than 30 patents, he has worked tirelessly for decades to improve processes and formalize standards through professional societies.

He has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers since 1982, receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award Honoring James M. Crawford in 2010, and is chair of the Aerospace Surface Enhancement Committee. He became a member of the International Scientific Committee for Shot Peening in 1993, and he chaired the conferences in 1996 and 2011. Thanks to Champaigne’s influence, the International Scientific Committee for Shot Peening selected Purdue to host its 2025 triannual conference, which is expected to draw more than 300 industry and university researchers. He is a charter member of Purdue University’s School of Materials Science Center for Surface Engineering and Enhancement.

He has served on boards for the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, the South Bend Civic Theatre, the South Bend Museum of Art, the South Bend Alumni Association, the Purdue Alumni Club of St. Joseph Valley and was inducted into the South Bend Community Hall of Fame in 2023.

Located in a 24,000-square-foot facility in Mishawaka, EI employes 28 people and reports annual sales of $10 million. The company sells media flow control valves (also known as the MagnaValve, patented by Champaigne), media flow monitors, certified Almen test strips and Almen gauges. EI’s products are used in aerospace, automotive, medical, energy and manufacturing applications.

Offering training services and educational programs throughout the world, EI has certified more than 3,000 practitioners. The first company to offer a training program directly serving Federal Aviation Administration specifications, many participants have become certified to perform peening required for U.S. aircraft airworthiness qualifications.

Due to a lack of industry trade information, EI started publishing The Shot Peener magazine in 1986. In 1991, the company hosted the first Shot Peening and Blast Cleaning Workshop and continues to sponsor events in North and South America, Asia and Europe. In 1995, EI launched an extensive online library and now is the largest source in this field for research papers and articles for working professionals.

Prior to EI, Champaigne was vice president of X-CEI Controls, where he designed and built electronic products for automation, air pollution controls and punch press safety controls. He then became a manufacturing engineer with Torrington Bearings.

“Whenever I was asked about college, as soon as I said ‘Purdue,’ eyebrows went up,” he said. “I was beginning to learn that Purdue engineers were a cut above. As I continued my career, it became clear that the Purdue curriculum was superior in many ways. The blend of other engineering courses, such as mechanical, thermal and chemical, provided a well-balanced education. This allowed me to participate in many conversations with a modicum of knowledge.”

One of his best experiences as a student was serving as a residence hall counselor.

“I felt like I got to help a lot of students academically and socially. I must have liked it a lot, because for over 10 years, I would have a dream about leaving my job and going back to Purdue to be a counselor and student.”

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