Top 5 stories from Purdue University
‘Purdue News Now’
Cutting-edge tech fuels the new Spatial Computing Hub in Wang Hall and Boilermakers can help support Purdue’s efforts in cancer research at the Hammer Down Cancer football game Saturday. 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:
1 month out: Countdown to the search for Amelia Earhart’s plane begins
In 30 days, Purdue University and Purdue Research Foundation will join an Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) expedition to the South Pacific attempting to solve the disappearance of Amelia Earhart during her mission to become the first woman to fly around the world at the equator. Announced July 2 — 88 years to the day that Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan mysteriously disappeared — the expedition will include three weeks of travel to determine if a visual anomaly in a lagoon of Nikumaroro Island is Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra 10E. Some members of the expedition will fly out of the Amelia Earhart Terminal at the Purdue University Airport on Oct. 30 and will rendezvous with other team members on Majuro in the Marshall Islands. The entire expedition will depart Majuro by sea Nov. 4, sail approximately 1,200 nautical miles to Nikumaroro and then spend several days on the small island in the search effort. View the full virtual news conference.
Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu
Purdue celebrates grand opening of Elanco Animal Health’s headquarters, next step toward One Health Innovation District
Purdue University President Mung Chiang gathered with industry partners and city and state leaders to celebrate the grand opening of Elanco Animal Health’s new headquarters Wednesday (Oct. 1). The new facility near downtown Indianapolis and west of the White River serves as an anchor of the future One Health Innovation District, originally announced last year in partnership with Purdue, Elanco and the state of Indiana as a shared vision of a research park dedicated to solving pressing issues impacting animal, plant, human and environmental health.
Media contact: Derek Schultz, schul221@purdue.edu
BioTrain fellows work to advance biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce in Indianapolis
A select group of Purdue University engineering and pharmacy graduate students are advancing Indiana’s biopharmaceutical workforce training opportunities through the BioTrain Fellows program. Co-developed with Heartland BioWorks, BioCrossroads and Ivy Tech Community College, the BioTrain Fellows program is a part of Heartland BioWorks, a U.S. Economic Development Administration-funded Tech Hub, and its BioTrain initiative to grow the biomanufacturing workforce and strengthen Indiana’s talent pipeline for high-paying jobs in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. Selection of the first fellows is also an important milestone for Purdue’s One Health strategic initiative.
Media contact: Derek Schultz, schul221@purdue.edu
AP video — Tips for fighting fall allergies
Chelsea Taulman is a family nurse practitioner and clinical assistant professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences’ School of Nursing at Purdue University. In this video, she explains what people can do to prevent and fight allergies during the fall season. Fall allergy season typically begins in August and can last until early November. Allergy symptoms can include sneezing, congestion, runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat and fatigue. Fall allergies are usually triggered by pollen, mold spores and harvest-related dust from crops like soybeans and corn. People with allergies should try to limit their time outdoors when the pollen count is high. Windows should remain closed, and people should shower and change their clothes to prevent pollen from getting inside homes. Air purifiers can also help to remove small particles from the air.
Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu
AI tech from startup PaveX improves consistency, speed and cost of road condition assessments
A Purdue University-connected startup is leveraging AI to help public works departments across multiple Indiana cities automate road condition assessments and maintain local road infrastructure. Since January 2025, PaveX has surveyed and assessed more than 3,400 miles of Indiana roads. Mohammad Jahanshahi, CEO and founder, said the company’s solution builds on more than a decade of research and development, using a data collection system that can be implemented for only a few thousand dollars. PaveX’s platform improves upon traditional assessment methods in several ways: reduced cost because there is no need for specialized vehicles or expensive sensors, improved consistency because artificial intelligence ensures standardized and repeatable assessments, and increased speed because roads can be assessed in a fraction of the time.
Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@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 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations 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 integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
