DeLaurentis, longtime Purdue administrator, researcher and educator, selected through national search as university’s new executive VP for research

WEST LAFAYETTTE, Ind. — Dan DeLaurentis, a longtime Purdue administrator, scholar and award-winning educator, has been named the next executive vice president for research, steering the university’s robust, record-setting research enterprise.

DeLaurentis, who has led national research centers focused on critical areas ranging from missile defense systems and security to artificial intelligence, hypersonics and aerospace transportation, will succeed Karen Plaut in leading Purdue’s Office of Research, effective July 1. In January, Plaut announced her plans to retire on June 30, and a search committee, led by Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science, was launched to select Plaut’s successor.

“Thanks to the search committee chaired by Lucy Flesch and essential input by many across campus, we identified through a national search the ideal candidate to be Purdue’s next executive vice president for research. Professor Dan DeLaurentis, currently the vice president for Discovery Park, has been an outstanding leader, researcher and educator, including over two decades of success at Purdue,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “I am excited that Dan will work with the entire campus in a serene, sturdy and strategic way to lead Purdue research at a time of national transformation. Dan will continue the outstanding leadership by Karen, whose tremendous impact on Purdue’s research enterprise will be long-lasting and celebrated at multiple upcoming events.”

DeLaurentis has been vice president for Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District at Purdue since 2023 and also serves as the Bruce Reese Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Purdue received a record $647 million in research awards from federal and industry sources in fiscal year 2024, a 6% jump from the prior year and more than double the fiscal 2013 figures. This also marked the second consecutive year this key component of the university’s research enterprise surpassed $600 million.

Under DeLaurentis’ leadership, the 15 Discovery Park District centers and institutes were involved in more than $205 million, or a record 32%, of Purdue’s total funded research in 2024. Discovery Park centers and institutes also engaged nearly half of the university’s 2,300 faculty members and many students through their operations.

At the same time, intellectual property disclosures surged nearly 17% to 466 from 400 in fiscal 2023. Patents issued from Purdue-led research, meanwhile, jumped 11% to 290, while the number of patents licensed skyrocketed 49% to 224 — an ecosystem that helped establish 16 startup companies based on Purdue research.

Flesch, in chairing the 16-person national search committee to find the next leader of Purdue’s research enterprise, said DeLaurentis is a proven leader and researcher who has demonstrated the important role Purdue plays in developing strategic partnerships that propel the nation’s key initiatives.

“Professor DeLaurentis has excelled during his two decades at Purdue, working in many roles with his colleagues in engineering and across a range of disciplines at Purdue, as well as with partners nationwide, while leading his research efforts and instruction with a focus and grace that’s inspiring and admirable,” Flesch said. “He was the ideal candidate at the ideal time for this vital Purdue role in our ongoing pursuit of research excellence at scale.”

DeLaurentis was inaugural director of the Institute for Global Security and Defense Innovation, launched in 2017. Known as i-GSDI, the center focused on advancing external partnerships and collaborative research while defining the next phase for Purdue’s defense and security research mission. This led to the formation of the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI) in 2021.

DeLaurentis also served as chief scientist of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Systems Engineering Research Center UARC from 2019-24.

“I am thrilled to serve as Purdue’s next EVPR and to continue to help our students, research staff and faculty achieve even greater impact on our community, state, nation and the world,” DeLaurentis said. “Though humbled by the responsibility and aware of the shifting landscape, I am absolutely convinced this is an opportunity to innovate and that Purdue, as always, will lead the way in exemplifying what a consequential research university looks like.”

DeLaurentis and his research teams have advanced modeling and simulation techniques and design theory for two special classes of problems: complex aerospace vehicles and “system of systems,” comprising networks of distributed, independent but interoperating systems. His work has impacted aircraft design, advanced air transportation, energy systems, space exploration, hypersonic systems and battle management for missile defense. DeLaurentis also published one of the first textbooks on system of systems modeling and analysis.

DeLaurentis has been elected fellow of the two most prominent professional societies in his discipline: the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences. He also serves as chief scientist for Aerovy Inc., a company founded by a former PhD student based on intellectual property they jointly created at Purdue.

DeLaurentis earned a PhD and master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from the Florida Institute of Technology, all in aerospace engineering.

Since becoming executive vice president for research in January 2023, Plaut has fostered an environment for research and collaboration by helping to build interdisciplinary relationships between researchers for broader impact.

The results have been most visible in her success in several key research areas: advancing One Health research, which is research at the intersection of human, animal and plant health; working with Elanco Animal Health Inc. to establish the One Health Innovation District in Indianapolis; and developing the Institute for Physical AI, bringing together researchers from across the university’s signature strengths in materials science, engineering, microelectronics, computer science, agriculture and life sciences to help solve the world’s toughest challenges.

Plaut’s successes are also evident in the continued growth of Purdue’s research portfolio, which surpassed $3 billion in fiscal year 2024. She has developed or relaunched programs aimed at providing internal funding to seed research, increased support for large multidisciplinary grants, streamlined processes and incentivized faculty success.

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 14 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.