Hypersonic vehicles focus of research agreement with Dynetics Inc.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University and Dynetics Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, have signed a master research agreement for the design, manufacturing, production, testing, research and development of government systems and projects.

Daniel DeLaurentis, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and director of Purdue's Institute for Global Security and Defense Innovation, said the initial focus of the research agreement will be in hypersonic vehicle systems.

In August 2019, Dynetics Technical Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dynetics, was received a $351.6 million contract to produce Common-Hypersonic Glide Body prototypes for use as a part of a hypersonic weapon system by the U.S. Army and Navy, and the U.S. Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency.

"This work dovetails with Purdue's prominence in hypersonic vehicle research," DeLaurentis said. "As our research partnership proceeds, we expect to also explore joint projects in areas such as systems engineering, microfabrication, propulsion, materials science, and machine learning and artificial intelligence."

Jimmy Allen, director of advanced materials and nanosystems research at Dynetics, said that the company and Purdue have a long-standing relationship. Dynetics employs 45 people who collectively have 60 Purdue degrees.

“Each year, our employees visit with the students and encourage and mentor them about potential careers across our divisions,” Allen said. “The research agreement will broaden our partnership, and with our newest program, the Common-Hypersonic Glide Body prototypes, it will offer more opportunities for Purdue students to join our growing company.”

Purdue's Institute for Global Security and Defense Innovation is an interdisciplinary center created in 2017 to deliver responsive and transformative solutions to the most pressing security and defense challenges facing the nation and the world. It is located in Purdue's Discovery Park.

Writer: Steve Tally, 765-494-9809, steve@purdue.edu, @sciencwriter

Source: Daniel DeLaurentis, 765-494-0694, ddelaure@purdue.edu