Tune in at 11 a.m. for Purdue, Virgin Galactic news
Purdue is making even more strides in space exploration this week with its partnership with Virgin Galactic. A significant and exciting announcement about the future of space flight will take place at 11 a.m. ET at the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. Watch the event live on the Purdue University News YouTube page or follow @LifeAtPurdue on X.
Two Purdue alumni are part of NASA’s 2025 class of astronaut candidates. The alumni, Adam Fuhrmann and Yuri Kubo, will immediately join the Cradle of Astronauts at Purdue, bringing the total number of its members to 30.
Purdue remains the highest-ranked public university in Indiana and, for the third straight year, places as the state’s only public institution among the nation’s top 50, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings. In the annual ranking focusing primarily on undergraduate programs, Purdue tied at No. 46 among more than 400 universities, the same as last year, according to the results released today (Sept. 23).
The continually expanding toolkit from professor Mohit Verma’s laboratory now includes a portable, paper-based biosensor for identifying genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean. The GM crop biosensor, based on a method called loop-mediated isothermal amplification, offers a fast and less expensive alternative to the point-of-need molecular tools already on the market.
Purdue is embracing the future of immersive technology and preparing students to be the next generation of innovators by opening a Spatial Computing Hub utilizing Apple Vision Pro technology. On Monday (Sept. 22) President Mung Chiang, joined by university leaders, Apple representatives and other members of the campus community, marked the opening of the cutting-edge facility.
The fall 2025 Road to Retirement three-day virtual conference — which provides employees with a variety of no-cost financial wellness and retirement planning resources to help plan and save for retirement regardless of where they may be on their career path — begins Wednesday (Sept. 24) and runs through Friday (Sept. 26).
This construction engineering student’s summer was unlike any other — Elizabeth Saunders met Kenyan family members for the first time while also getting involved at the Tumaini Innovation Center.
