Heath Murray

Director of Industry Partnerships, National Security Portfolio

Heath Murray is the Director of Industry Partnerships in the Central Office at Purdue University, where he leads efforts to grow strategic collaborations across defense, industry, and academia, with a particular focus on the Department of Defense and national security portfolio. In this role, he works to connect Purdue’s research strengths and innovation capacity with partners across Indiana, the Midwest, and beyond.

Heath founded and served as Executive Director of the Defense Innovation Networking Group (D!NG), a regionally focused initiative 501(c)(3). Under his leadership, D!NG established itself as an ‘interstate network of connections” across the globe for defense businesses, universities, and federal stakeholders, facilitating millions in DoD-related opportunities into Indiana.
Heath’s career spans law enforcement, cyber security, and leadership roles in DoD industry. He is a Mitch Daniels Leadership Fellow, former Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF) Conference Director, and co-founder of the Bloomington chapter of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum.
He earned his Masters in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Penn State, where his research focused on “Building the Midwest defense ecosystem.” Outside of work, Heath enjoys heavy metal, fantasy writing, Dungeons & Dragons, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.

Education
MS Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Penn State University
BS Information Systems Security, American Military University