Purdue establishes permanent presence near NSWC Crane
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Purdue University, the Purdue Applied Research Institute and the Purdue Research Foundation are setting up a permanent presence near Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Odon, the university announced Tuesday.
Purdue said the move is part an effort to accelerate existing collaborative research agreements related to national security and defense, as well as semiconductors.
Purdue@Crane will be located at the WestGate@Crane Technology Park, adjacent to NSWC Crane, and will have a focus on hypersonics, energetic materials, and microelectronics.
During a news conference Tuesday, Purdue President Mung Chiang said it was time to take the university’s relationship with Crane to the next level.
“We have long been an admirer and fan of Crane, of the Naval Surface Warfare’s capability in delivering for Navy, DoD and the whole country in critical areas, including hypersonics, secure microelectronics, cybersecurity, energetic materials, and much more,” said Chiang. “We talked about this, and we said we got to do more, and we got to have a P3: Permanent presence of Purdue right here at Crane.”
The university said the initial focus of Purdue’s permanent presence at Crane will be secure and reliable microelectronics, which will be led by a research director that has yet to be named.
That director will be tasked with expanding workforce and technology development in advanced packaging, reliable and trusted microelectronics, and electronic system design, Purdue said.
Plans for Purdue’s presence at Crane includes an initial 3,000 square feet of space inside WestGate Academy, as well as a cleanroom space that will be part of a forthcoming microelectronics facility.
Purdue said its team will take part in collaborative work with companies, including Illinois-based Nhanced Semiconductors Inc. and Arizona-based Everspin Technologies Inc, which were among several companies that committed to setting up shop inside the $84 million microelectronics campus at the technology park announced in November 2022.
The estimated annual budget for Purdue’s team will begin at $2 million, but the university said that is expected to grow to $40 million of collaborative research in national security by 2030.
Dr. Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research at Purdue, said the move is a natural fit for Purdue and the Purdue Applied Research Institute, or PARI. She said talent and workforce development will be key.
“It’s not just about making sure we have things in people’s hands today, but also making sure we have the people we need for the future to keep the nation strong,” Plaut said.
PARI President and CEO Mark Lewis, who is also a former deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said the work already being formed at Crane makes Purdue’s presence a natural fit.
“There is a lot of discussion in defense circles about bridging the so-called ‘valley of death’ between the laboratory and the warfighter,” Lewis said, “but that is exactly what we will be doing with this new initiative.”
Chiang added that be believes the partnership will have benefits beyond just research.
“In these exciting years and decades to come, it’s going to be great for the economic development and job creation here in Daviess County and Greene County, where Purdue Extension has had a substantial presence for many, many decades,” Chiang said. “And I know this will be great for our state of Indiana, working across all the major universities, not only Purdue but also IU, also Notre Dame. We love this ‘one team Indiana’ to win big and lead the nation in national security and defense innovation.”