Top 5 stories from Purdue University

‘Purdue News Now’

Some of the best stories from this week include a record number of Purdue graduates, new One Health investments and more. Trevor Peters has all the latest Boilermaker news in this week’s edition of “Purdue News Now.”

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

Lilly plans to expand Purdue University collaboration with up to a $250 million investment to accelerate pharmaceutical innovation

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and Purdue University announced Friday (May 9) a significant expansion of their long-standing alliance, with Lilly’s planned investment of up to $250 million in the collaboration over the next eight years. This partnership, which has the potential to be the largest ever industry-academic agreement of its kind in the United States, will seek to accelerate innovation at every stage of the pharmaceutical pipeline.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu

Purdue invests in One Health, from making medicines to advancing chemistry, along America’s Hard Tech Corridor

Purdue University has announced a series of new degrees, a synergistic faculty recruitment initiative in the advanced chemistry ecosystem, and a Learning and Training Center in Eli Lilly and Company’s new Medicine Foundry in the LEAP District, all of which underscore the university’s commitment to the One Health Initiative — a bold vision of uniting research and innovation across human, animal and plant health.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu

Australian honeycombs abuzz with possibilities for sustainable additive manufacturing

Australian stingless bees have turned the traditional vertical honeycomb on its side, resulting in natural building concepts and efficiency that may provide new ideas for sustainable manufacturing. A cross section of the bees’ home reveals a detailed architectural structure using discs for the honeycomb’s foundation that spiral upward like a ramp, with design intricacies that solidify the structure, which is made mostly of wax. Nikhilesh Chawla, Purdue’s Ransburg Professor in Materials Engineering and an expert in four-dimensional materials science, said closer inspection shows specifically located supports between the discs. The specialized design aspects and material uses could translate into new concepts for structural materials and additive manufacturing.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu

AP video — Preventing wildfires with drone technology

Joseph Hupy is a professor in Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology and a member of Purdue’s Institute for Digital Forestry. In this video, he explains how drones can be used to prevent wildfire disasters. Homes built near wooded areas or log cabin-style homes are often at a higher risk for wildfires. Associated fire hazards include trees too close to a home, wood-shingled roofs and branches in the lawn. Drones can be used to identify these hazards effectively, cheaply and in more detail than satellite imagery.

Media contact: Derek Schultz, schul221@purdue.edu

Downing Charitable Trust commits $5 million to support new Purdue Extension endowment

The Jean and Bernas Downing Charitable Trust has committed $5 million to Purdue Extension to establish the Downing Endowment for Community Vitality. The mission of the endowment is to cultivate thriving Indiana communities by delivering research-based education and resources that strengthen economic opportunity, enhance personal and family well-being, foster environmental stewardship, and build inclusive leadership capacity.

Media contact: Erin Murphy, ermurphy@purdue.edu

MORE: Recent AP video stories

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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 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.