Top 5 stories from Purdue University

‘Purdue News Now’

The “Victories & Heroes” campaign kicks off and basketball returns. 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.

Purdue ranks best in Big Ten in inaugural City Journal college ranking

Purdue University ranked No. 8 in the U.S. and best in the Big Ten among the nation’s top 100 universities in the Manhattan Institute’s inaugural City Journal 2025 College Rankings, which examined the school’s qualities ranging from learning and research to free speech and student success postgraduation. In the City Journal rankings, released Oct. 22, Purdue topped the U.S. in leadership quality, alumni network and student political tolerance, and ranked second in the country for curricular rigor.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

Highly ranked BME graduate program draws best and brightest in pursuit of solutions to improve people’s lives

Elizabeth Su jump-started her pursuit of a PhD as a Boilermaker when her mentor and advisor was picked as the new head of Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. Looking to chase her dream as a neurotechnology researcher, Su followed professor Kevin Otto from the University of Florida when he was selected to return to West Lafayette and lead one of the nation’s strongest biomedical engineering programs. Helping seal the deal: the fact that Purdue’s BME graduate program ranks No. 5 for universities without a medical school, No. 5 in the Big Ten, No. 8 among the nation’s public universities and 24th on the list of 155 U.S. colleges, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 rankings.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

Novel materials engineering course emphasizes fundamentals for hypersonic vehicle design

Hypersonic vehicles — aircraft that can reach speeds of Mach 5 and beyond — are subject to extreme conditions while they are in flight, requiring strong yet aerodynamic materials to keep them both in the air and intact. Rodney Trice, a professor of materials engineering at Purdue University, realized there was no course that focused on materials for hypersonic applications — so he took on the task of developing the first one, geared toward both current Purdue engineering students and industry professionals. Since its inception in spring 2021, Materials for Hypersonics has helped to fill a critical need by educating nearly 400 individuals in this vital and emerging technology area.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

AP video — State of U.S. economy ahead of the holiday season

James “Jim” Bullard, former president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is the dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University. In this video, he reviews the current state of the U.S. economy. Bullard says the nation’s economy has proven more resilient than markets expected during the first half of the year. While the inflation rate currently sits around 3%, it is significantly lower than the 9% it was in 2022. Bullard says 3% inflation is still too high and may contribute to increased prices around the winter holidays. He hopes that the Open Market Committee can get inflation down to 2% in the future. Macroeconomic growth has been steady despite fears amid the global trade war. The AI boom is helping drive investment, keeping equity prices high.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

Govindaraju named VP for Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District at Purdue

Dan DeLaurentis, Purdue University’s executive vice president for research, has announced the appointment of Rao S. Govindaraju as vice president for Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District at Purdue. Govindaraju, who currently serves as the Bowen Engineering Head of Civil Engineering and the Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, will begin the role in January. As vice president, Govindaraju will build upon the foundation of Discovery Park District’s one-of-a-kind research and educational facilities, fostering collaboration across disciplines and driving research that advances Purdue’s strategic priorities. He will forge greater coordination and productivity among the resident research facilities, advance incentive-based budget planning, and partner with center and institute directors to generate new revenue sources.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@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 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.