Purdue, IU, Notre Dame create national defense research consortium

June 5, 2024

Inside INdiana Business

Photo Provided by Purdue University

ODON, Ind. - Purdue University, Indiana University, and the University of Notre Dame this week signed a memorandum of understanding to establish what they’re calling a first-of-its-kind joint research effort in Indiana.

The Indiana Research Consortium will serve as a research engine to “drive innovations and advancements in areas critical to U.S. national security.”

The partners said the effort will also position Indiana as a hub for defense research. Purdue said in a news release the consortium will work to address challenges in microelectronics, hypersonics, energetics and cyber-physical systems, while also focusing on workforce development.

The MOU was signed by representatives from each university on Monday at the WestGate Academy in Odon, near Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC).

“Through the spirit of collaboration and cooperation by the state’s three leading research universities, we can pool our expertise and programs to support the missions of NSWC Crane and the Defense Department and help to solve significant challenges in key areas of national security research,” Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research at Purdue, said in the release. “Indiana’s superpower is working together to solve big problems, and this is the first step towards that goal.”

In addition to research, the consortium also has plans to develop a multi-university workforce development infrastructure utilizing existing programs and creating new methods to boost the talent pipeline.

NSWC Crane also plans to leverage its expertise in microelectronics and hypersonics to support the consortium.

“We are thrilled to see Indiana’s premier R1 universities take this collaborative approach to support critical technology areas that align with our naval mission,” NSWC Crane Deputy Technical Director Kyle Werner said. “Individually, each of the universities has an impressive research portfolio and has made significant institutional investments to Defense Department research opportunities.”

Among the projects being undertaken by the consortium and NSWC Crane are the creation of a “Consortium for Secure Microelectronics” designed to accelerate the transition of chip technology to defense markets.

The partners also plan to build a series of hypersonic reference design vehicles to meet mission requirements.

Purdue said the consortium will work in the future to establish more formal structures that will “enable more effective collaboration” among the universities and any affiliated partners.