FROM the DEAN

As we resume the printed publication of Purdue Engineering’s research magazine this month, we reflect upon the pinnacle of excellence at scale in the discovery and translation of knowledge at our college. Rankings, such as the No. 4 graduate engineering program in the U.S. this year and our highest in 28 years, as well as such metrics as citations, publications, awards, patents, and extramural research funding, are all only partial reflection of the quality and impact of our faculty, PhD students, and research staff. Research excellence comes in different forms, from large-scale experimental projects to single-author theoretical advances. We celebrate all of them as long as they are the very best in their own fields.

This issue of FRONTIERS magazine focuses on one particular type of research success: large national centers funded at $10 million or more and led by, or with significant contribution from, Purdue Engineering faculty. It is truly impressive that our faculty have successfully competed in these highly selective processes, for 12 new national research centers in the past four years. Along with several centers in their second five-year cycle, our college’s research leadership in the country has enjoyed very positive first and second derivatives in its trajectory. As you browse through these pages, you will also observe the diversity of funding sources of these centers across many federal agencies and corporate partners.

Among the topics important to the nation and to humanity, these Purdue-led centers often reflect a key pillar of our strategic plan in 2018: to become the best in the world at the interface between the virtual and physical sides of engineering, between what we code and what we touch, between bytes and atoms. With Purdue Engineering Initiatives in Autonomous and Connected Systems, in Cislunar Space, and in Engineering-Medicine, along with Purdue’s Next Moves in National Security Technologies and in Digital Agriculture, we anticipate many more wins of large magnitude and significance in the coming years.

Winning any one of these competitive centers is a culmination of many colleagues’ Herculean effort. The lead faculty must be devoted to a large, multi-institutional team over months, if not years, of focused preparation. The most capable staff help land the centers and run their operations. And the PhD students and postdocs must first demonstrate their world-leading results before they enjoy the benefits of studying at the lead university of national centers. Our season’s greetings in 2021 and a small step in the long-term strategy is the recent announcement of the long-overdue elevation of the PhD student stipend in our college. Excellence at this level and with such scale must be backed with resources to support the amazing talents here at Purdue Engineering.