Today’s top 5 from Purdue University

‘Purdue News Now’

From a major win for the Purdue Computes initiative to the upcoming 91st annual Purdue Christmas Show, Trevor Peters has everything you need to know in this week’s “Purdue News Now.”

Plus, check out five good stories below you may have missed.

U.S. Department of Commerce awards $285M Manufacturing USA Institute to SRC-led consortium with Purdue as lead academic institution

Purdue University is a lead academic institution in a large national institute focused on “digital twins” for semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced negotiations Tuesday (Nov. 19) to establish the Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins (SMART) USA Institute. SMART USA, a consortium spanning more than 30 states and comprising in excess of 150 expected partners in industry, academia, national labs, and the full spectrum of supply chain design and manufacturing, won the nationwide competition for the manufacturing institute under the CHIPS Manufacturing USA program.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, emurphyv@purdue.edu 

Boilermakers come together for One Health Alumni Reunion

More than 150 Boilermakers from a variety of medical professions converged on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus Nov. 14-16 to participate in the university’s first One Health Alumni Reunion. Attendees networked and took part in timely discussions with Purdue President Mung Chiang, First Lady Kei Hui and fellow alumni as well as Purdue faculty, staff and students.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, emurphyv@purdue.edu

Chad Pittman, longtime economic development leader, named president and CEO of Purdue Research Foundation

Chad Pittman has been named president and CEO of the Purdue Research Foundation, effective Feb. 1, 2025. Pittman succeeds Brian Edelman, who served as president since spring of 2017. Edelman announced his retirement in August 2024. Pittman was selected following a national search that included the assistance of an executive search firm. 

Media contact: Erin Murphy, emurphyv@purdue.edu

Purdue Air Force ROTC program receives DOD’s prestigious ROTC and Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award

Purdue University has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense’s prestigious ROTC and Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award for 2022-23, citing the university as a “premier institution for military education and training” and Purdue’s Air Force ROTC program as a “beacon of excellence.” The annual DOD award recognizes ROTC units across the country for their accomplishments in areas such as overall program performance, educational institution support and other notable achievements. Air Force ROTC Detachment 220, based in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, is comprised of over 145 future Air Force and Space Force leaders. The detachment consistently commissions more than 15 rated positions such as pilot and combat systems officer, along with a variety of other career fields.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, emurphyv@purdue.edu

Purdue Memorial Union to welcome holiday season

The Purdue Memorial Union will soon be full of holiday spirit as this year’s Christmas tree makes its way into the Great Hall today (Nov. 22). A hot apple cider bar and ornament crafting area will be open for visitors at 11:30 a.m.; the tree will be delivered around noon. The tree lighting ceremony will take place at 5:30-8 p.m. Nov. 25 in the Great Hall. The community is invited to enjoy musical performances and light refreshments during the ceremony.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, emurphyv@purdue.edu

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About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.