Manufacturing Day recap: Purdue marks launch of 3 major manufacturing activities

Purdue dedicated its new $73 million High-Speed Propulsion Lab at the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories on Oct. 4. The event also marked the 75th anniversary of Zucrow Labs, the largest academic propulsion lab in the world. (Purdue University photo/Dave Mason)

October 10, 2024 Purdue Today

Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce holds Manufacturing Day on the first Friday in October to show students, parents and the public what modern manufacturing is all about. This Manufacturing Day, Oct. 4, Purdue celebrated its role in advancing new manufacturing technologies with three major events.

High-Speed Propulsion Lab dedication

Eckhard Groll, the William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of Mechanical Engineering and the Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and the Robert V. Adams Professor in Mechanical Engineering; and Bill Crossley, the Uhrig and Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics, cut a ceremonial ribbon at the dedication of the new $73 million High-Speed Propulsion Lab at the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories. Otherwise known as ZL9, the lab features new testing capabilities for innovative research in rocket combustion and gas turbine engines.

New Young Institute manufacturing space

Officials and leaders in advanced manufacturing in pharmaceuticals kicked off the space renovation for the William D. and Sherry L. Young Institute for Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals in the Indiana Manufacturing Institute. The 10,000-square-foot Young Institute facility in the IMI will host four manufacturing areas, a shared analytical space and more, all dedicated to speeding up the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. The space will also house a technology racetrack by LyoHUB, a Purdue-led industry consortium to advance the science and technology of lyophilization, or freeze-drying, for pharmaceutical manufacturing, and to develop a highly skilled next-generation workforce in biotech processing.

Pictured from left to right: Alina Alexeenko, the Reilly Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Chemical Engineering, and co-director of LyoHUB and the Young Institute; Eric Munson, the Dane O. Kildsig Chair in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy, department head, and co-director of the Young Institute; Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science; Eric Barker, vice president for health affairs and the Jeannie and Jim Chaney Dean of Pharmacy; Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research; Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and the Robert V. Adams Professor in Mechanical Engineering; Elizabeth Topp, director of the Young Institute and professor of industrial and physical pharmacy and chemical engineering; and Garth Simpson, professor of chemistry and co-director, Young Institute.

‘AI in Manufacturing Across Smart Corridor of America’ panel

“AI in Manufacturing Across Smart Corridor of America: Next Generation of Smartness for Supply Chain” was the title of a panel discussion hosted by the College of Engineering’s eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations (XMO) initiative in collaboration with Conexus Indiana and endorsed by AnalytiXIN. The panel highlighted advances across the Interstate 65/75 corridor in states including Indiana.

Pictured from left to right: Darshan Shah, executive vice president of data and AnalytiXIN for the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership; Craig Sutton, vice president for industry 4.0 at Eaton Corp.; Elizabeth R. Reynolds, professor of the practice in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Nick Adler, vice president of value streams for Wabash; Mung Chiang, president of Purdue University; Fred Cartwright, president and CEO of Conexus Indiana; Stephan Biller, co-director of XMO and the Harold T. Amrine Distinguished Professor of Industrial Engineering; Ajay Malshe, co-director of XMO, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and a President’s Fellow; and Alex Capone, IT director global product development and transformation at Ford Motor Co.