News
February 16, 2023
Zucrow Labs Annual Report now available
Review all the exciting developments at academia's largest propulsion lab.
September 08, 2022
Explore Zucrow Labs with 360 photo tour
NEW 360° tour! Now you can see Zucrow Labs from the inside, and explore the world's largest academic propulsion lab in detail!
August 19, 2022
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks visits Purdue
Purdue University's strength in state-of-the-art aerospace technology, energetic materials, semiconductors and hypersonics research stands as a testament to the university's future in national security. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and her advisers visited Zucrow Labs on August 18 to tour essential research facilities.
August 18, 2022
3D printed metal parts go hypersonic
Zucrow Labs is quickly becoming the center for hypersonics research in the US, and for that you need parts that can stand up to Mach 5 conditions. Recent work done by the team demonstrates that advanced additive manufacturing technology is now capable of producing fully dense, end-use parts with robustness that surpasses traditional methods like casting. Parts that can create hypersonic conditions and live to tell the tale.
June 13, 2022
Can we turn Martian soil into rocket propellant?
We've sent many probes, landers, and rovers to Mars, but we've never been able to send anything back from the Red Planet. That may change, thanks to some Zucrow researchers who have successfully demonstrated a solid rocket propellant using the same perchlorates found in Martian soil.
June 01, 2022
Purdue Space Program launches liquid methane rocket twice in one weekend
Very few organizations have ever launched a liquid methane rocket. Launching the same methane rocket, twice in one weekend? Well, that singular honor belongs to Purdue Space Program.
May 26, 2022
Purdue and Rolls-Royce sign 10-year, $75 million strategic alliance agreement
Purdue University and Rolls-Royce officials have signed a research and testing agreement that will bring $75 million over 10 years to the West Lafayette campus, primarily to Zucrow Labs. It is the largest deal with an industry partner in Purdue history.
May 24, 2022
Arthur Mellor (1941-2022)
Arthur McLeod (Mac) Mellor has passed away. A well-known figure in combustion and propulsion, he served as a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue from 1967 to 1975, recruited by "Doc" Zucrow himself.
April 27, 2022
Adranos closes on $20 million funding for solid rocket propellant
Adranos Inc. has closed on a $20 million Series A funding round to help the company continue development of solid rocket fuel and motors for long-range missiles and space systems. Adranos co-founder Brandon Terry developed their proprietary aluminum-lithium alloy fuel called ALITEC at Zucrow Labs.
April 15, 2022
Roy Ramirez recognized as outstanding senior for all of Purdue University
Roy Ramirez came from Costa Rica to Purdue to learn about propulsion, and had a much bigger adventure than he had ever planned. Ramirez is this year's recipient of the G.A. Ross Award, which is presented annually to one outstanding male senior in honor of his contributions to Purdue University.
April 08, 2022
Purdue approves $73 million funding for new High-Speed Propulsion Lab
Purdue University’s work in national security took another giant leap forward, as the Board of Trustees approved $73 million for the construction of a new high-speed propulsion laboratory at Zucrow Labs. Otherwise known as ZL9, the lab will feature new testing capabilities for innovative research in rocket combustion and gas turbine engines, continuing Purdue’s history of world-class research and development in those areas, and reaching a scale only found in government or large defense contractor facilities.
April 01, 2022
Research at Zucrow Labs leads to a Tesla internship
As a sophomore, Tarun Prakash conducts research at Zucrow Labs, and participates in Purdue Space Program's liquid rocket team. This small step has led to his giant leap of getting an internship at Tesla!
February 07, 2022
New hypersonics materials and manufacturing center
Purdue University will expand its hub of hypersonics research with the addition of a center focused on developing high-temperature materials and creating new manufacturing processes to build and join these materials, which will extend hypersonic vehicles’ capabilities and apply to other industries. The new Hypersonics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (HAMTC) will be a single location at Zucrow Labs for industry partners, including GE Additive, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, GE Edison Works, Boeing and several small businesses, to work on materials and manufacturing innovations and provide access to testing capabilities at Purdue that would enable the U.S. to overtake near peer adversaries in the field.
January 21, 2022
Paul Sojka retires from Purdue
Paul E. Sojka has retired from Purdue after 38 years as a professor of mechanical engineering. He conducted research in spray mechanics at Zucrow Labs.
December 17, 2021
Nicole Key appointed to NASA Advisory Council
Nicole Key has been appointed to the NASA Advisory Council, as part of the Aeronautics Committee. Key conducts turbine and compressor research at Zucrow Labs.
December 15, 2021
Michelle Moody: the glue that holds Zucrow Labs together
As Laboratory Coordinator at the world's largest academic propulsion lab, Michelle Moody has a big job. But her efforts have made Zucrow Labs a better place for everyone. Purdue's College of Engineering recently recognized Michelle with their Support and Customer Service staff award.
December 13, 2021
Guillermo Paniagua receives Humboldt Research Award to share expertise in Germany
Guillermo Paniagua, professor of mechanical engineering, has received the prestigious Humboldt Research Award, and will move to Germany for six months to research at Technical University of Darmstadt.
November 19, 2021
Pourpoint wins AIAA Best Paper Award for liquid propulsion
A paper by AAE Professor Timothee Pourpoint and his team was selected for the 2021 AIAA Liquid Propulsion Best Paper Award from the Propulsion and Energy Forum held virtually this past August.
August 10, 2021
Another landmark facility: the Hypersonics Ground Test Center
As announced by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, the Purdue Aerospace District will host two new hypersonics facilities: the Hypersonic Applied Research Facility, and the Hypersonic Ground Test Center.
August 02, 2021
Rolls-Royce to expand its investment in Purdue Aerospace District
Rolls-Royce has conducted research at Zucrow Labs for many years, and in 2017 opened an adjacent 55,000-square-foot technology center. They have now announced an enhanced partnership with Purdue, committing to new multi-million dollar research and testing facilities.
July 27, 2021
Hypersonics facility to feature the only Mach 8 quiet wind tunnel in the world
Construction will soon begin on Purdue's 65,000 square-foot $41 million Hypersonic Applied Research Facility (HARF), adjacent to Zucrow Labs.
June 08, 2021
NASA funds hyperspectral imaging at Zucrow Labs
En'Urga Inc has received a $125,000 grant from NASA to develop a hyperspectral imager, to help with combustion research at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Jay Gore will oversee the Phase I experiments at Zucrow Labs.
May 04, 2021
HySonic Technologies receives Navy grant to develop hypersonic propulsion
Hypersonics, the study of vehicles that can travel faster than Mach 5, is the next uncharted frontier of aerospace. Thanks to a grant from the US Navy, a new collaboration between Carlo Scalo and Carson Slabaugh is developing propulsion technologies that bring that vision closer to reality.
April 09, 2021
Loral O'Hara and Yen Matsutomi built a bond at Zucrow Labs
NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and Blue Origin's Yen Matsutomi met when they were graduate students at Zucrow Labs under Professor William Anderson. They were both recently named Outstanding Aerospace Engineers by Purdue.
April 05, 2021
New stall warning technology for gas turbine engines
Gas turbine engines often are considered the "heart" of airplanes and ships. Now, a Purdue team including Prof. Nicole Key, looking for new solutions to reduce emissions and enhance operations of these engines, have come up with technology similar to tests used on human hearts.
April 01, 2021
Video tour of Zucrow
Unable to visit Zucrow? Enjoy this video tour of the largest academic propulsion lab in the world.
March 10, 2021
Joe D. Hoffman (1934-2021)
Joe D. Hoffman, who taught at Purdue Mechanical Engineering for 38 years and directed the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, passed away on February 13, 2021.
March 05, 2021
Faculty profile: Stephen Heister
Since 1990, Aeronautics & Astronautics professor Stephen Heister has conducted world-changing research in propulsion at Zucrow Labs.
February 18, 2021
Zucrow researchers part of team honored by NASA
Timothee Pourpoint, Hilkka Kenttämaa and Swanand Sardeshmukh were part of an award-winning team honored by the NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC). The Transient Combustion Modeling for Hypergolic Engines Assessment Team was selected in "recognition of a unique and insightful combination of modeling, testing and analysis to determine the sources of ZOTs and pressure spikes in hypergolic engines."
February 15, 2021
Zucrow Labs 2020 Annual Report
Even in the midst of a pandemic, 2020 was a year of world-changing research at Zucrow Labs. Read our annual report and see all of the new facility upgrades and research projects at the largest academic propulsion lab in the world.
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