Top 5 stories from Purdue University
‘Purdue News Now’
A ranking from Forbes places Purdue among the New Ivies, and President Mung Chiang will join semiconductor industry leaders for the 2025 SEMIEXPO Heartland in Indianapolis next week. Trevor Peters has these stories and more in this week’s edition of “Purdue News Now.”
Plus, check out five good stories below you may have missed.
Purdue named a ‘New Ivy’ in Forbes ranking
A new ranking out this week places Purdue University — again — among the nation’s best in establishing value for students and creating job-ready graduates for employers. Forbes’ New Ivies 2025: 20 Great Colleges Employers Love ranking lists Purdue among 10 public and 10 private institutions that are “outpacing the Ivy League in the eyes of employers.” The Forbes ranking is based on a survey of more than 380 C-suite executives, vice presidents and managerial professionals who reported being 37% less likely to hire an Ivy League graduate than they were five years ago.
Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu
10 Purdue faculty chosen as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Purdue University is recognizing faculty members who have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the most distinct honors within the scientific community. The honor, from the world’s largest general scientific society, recognizes members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished. The Class of 2025 includes the highest number of Boilermakers in six decades.
Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu
Discovery reveals how a specialized structure in plant cells helps regulate photosynthesis
Purdue University scientists have discovered a key mechanism that regulates how plants develop chloroplasts, essential structures responsible for the photosynthesis that sustains life on Earth by producing oxygen and food. A new paper in Science Advances by Gyeong Mee Yoon, associate professor of botany and plant pathology, and Yuan-Chi Chien, PhD student, describes how plants control this import process by regulating the stability of a transporter called the TOC (translocon at outer envelope of chloroplasts) complex. Yoon and Chien identified a crucial amino acid of the transporter that, when modified, acts as a molecular switch governing these transporters.
Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu
AP video — Future takes flight: Self-flying aircraft explained
Daniel DeLaurentis is the Bruce Reese Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the College of Engineering at Purdue University. In this video, he explains what autonomous aircraft are and how unmanned aircraft could improve the industry. Automation and artificial intelligence in airplanes already exist in the form of autopilot and other functions found on commercial and business aircraft. DeLaurentis says that new forms of aerial automation could include self-flying air taxis and automated air-traffic control at airports. These forms of automation can increase safety in areas of busy air traffic and make air taxis in cities economically viable.
Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu
Purdue launches sport management graduate degree program
Harnessing its reputation in athletics and the sports strength of its urban location in Indianapolis, Purdue University is launching a master’s degree program in sport management. The Master of Science in Sport Management, which will begin in fall 2025, leverages Purdue’s athletic prowess, partnerships with industry leaders and Indianapolis’ renowned reputation as a sports-centric city. Students in the sport management program, which was approved by the Purdue Board of Trustees on Feb. 7, will mix classwork with practicum hours in the capital city — thanks to entities like Indiana Sports Corp, which will provide research, internship and job-shadowing opportunities.
Media contact: Derek Schultz, dcschultz@purdue.edu
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About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. 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 comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
