Braun gets firsthand look at national security efforts at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., visited Purdue University last week to tour two of its leading-edge engineering facilities and speak with top researchers in national security.

On April 3, Braun visited the Robert L. and Terry L. Bowen Laboratory for Large-Scale Civil Engineering Research and the Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility, both primary facilities of the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI).

Purdue President Mung Chiang and PARI President and CEO Mark Lewis were among the officials accompanying Braun, describing the work done at PARI and its importance in current world events.

“As a land-grant university, we have a duty to defend our country,” Chiang told Braun. “We embrace national security as part of that land-grant mission.”

At Bowen Laboratory, which marked 20 years of operation last week, director Amit Varma led Braun on a tour of infrastructure projects with military construction applications. The Karl H. Kettelhut Professor of Civil Engineering, Varma is also director for PARI’s Infrastructure Research and Innovative Solutions division. IRIS develops solutions for sustainable, resilient and economic infrastructures to meet security and defense industry needs.

At the Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility, Braun met with researchers who guided him through their work with the HYPULSE shock tunnel and showed him the first components of what will eventually be Purdue’s Mach 8 quiet tunnel. The 65,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art hypersonics facility opened nearly a year ago, and Braun commended the teams on how much they have accomplished in such little time.

Among those accomplishments: The first test in the HYPULSE shock tunnel since it moved to West Lafayette was executed successfully on Monday (April 1). HYPULSE is one of the nation’s foremost high-speed wind tunnels and was donated to Purdue by the Northrop Grumman Corp. Joe Jewell, who leads the HYPULSE program, explained to Braun how the tunnel had been rebuilt at Purdue, and why the first test results were a significant step in recommissioning this national asset.

About PARI

The Purdue Applied Research Institute delivers timely advanced solutions to global challenges by combining applications-focused research expertise with state-of-the-art facilities. It leverages Purdue University’s world-class capabilities to offer practical customer-driven results in national security, global development and critical infrastructure.