The postseason looms for Purdue baseball, but the microcosm of the Boilermakers’ remarkable 2026 season was in a sweep of Indiana over Mother’s Day weekend. In a campaign plagued with too many injuries, Purdue persevered with a capital P — or maybe it should be a Motion P — to multiple improbable come-from-behind victories.

The Boilermakers battled back from deficits in all three games against their intrastate rival to solidify their position for the Big Ten Tournament and put themselves in a great place for earning just the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

The examples of heroic effort in the face of difficulty are many. But here is a prime example: senior outfielder Brandon Rogers’ performance against the Hoosiers. The Chicago native had not played since early April after suffering a hand injury crashing into the outfield wall at Alexander Field while making a run-saving catch. But against IU on May 9, he came through with a walk-off, two-out, three-RBI double to complete a miraculous five-run ninth-inning surge and give Purdue a 5-4 win. The night before, he hit a game-tying, two-run single to help rally the Boilermakers from an 8-0 deficit to an 11-9 win.

“We had something like five guys who have been in starting roles for most of the year go down,” says senior Aaron Manias, who has battled a bad back for much of the season. “We have found a lot of different ways to get the job done.”

Not to correct Manias, but the number on the injured list is closer to eight. But at this point in this season full of resilience, who is counting? The only tally that matters is victories, and that number is shockingly high (35-18 overall, 18-12 Big Ten) for a team picked preseason to finish 15th or 16th in the 17-team conference race.

“It just shows the depth we have,” Manias says. “Our bench players aren’t really bench players. Our guys are there for when guys go down, and they’ve been ready. They have kept great attitudes, and when their number has been called, they have come up big.”

The next-man-up mentality has paid dividends, producing a team full of believers, willing to do whatever it takes to win, from whatever source it comes.

Fellow senior Avery Moore came up big in the Indiana series as well, enjoying a 4-for-4 game with a pair of home runs. He is one of five Boilermakers who have hit five or more homers to date, as hitting for power is a key component of Purdue’s offense. The Omaha, Nebraska, native is in his second year at Purdue and is viewed, along with Manias (a fellow second-year vet), as a team leader — a role he relishes.

“Coach (Greg) Goff has said all year that we’re going to be the toughest team in the country,” says Moore, who leads the team with a .369 batting average. “We’ve got to put it all on the line to win, no matter what it takes, whether it’s running into walls like we’ve seen (Rogers) do or be willing to get hit by pitches. It takes everything from everybody to get the most out of the team and get those wins that we need.”

Specifically, Moore credits the pitchers for being difference-makers.

“The pitching has been outstanding; our starters, our bullpen,” Moore says. “(Closer) Jake Kramer has been really big for us with being able to put him in late-game scenarios, no matter what it is — bases loaded, whatever; he can come in and shut the door. It has been an everyday aspect of our team, and as long as they hold the opponent to under five runs, we feel like we have a chance to win any ballgame.”

For Goff, who is wrapping up his seventh season at Purdue and 21st as a collegiate head coach, it has all been satisfying. And it shows. How many third-base coaches, where Goff resides when the Boilermakers are at bat, seemingly hug just about every player who stops at the base 90 feet away from home plate?

“These guys have let me coach them; they take our approach well,” says Goff, who speaks like a coach who has never enjoyed a season more. “It’s been a great group of guys. Now, they get on each other. They hold each other accountable, and the good thing for our coaching staff is that it is 100% player-led.

“The thing I respect about our team is that they have been willing to play when they weren’t 100% physically. After Aaron tweaked his back in the series at Northwestern, he pleaded for us to use him in any way possible. In today’s world, a lot of guys will tap out. Their agents will say, ‘Hey, don’t push yourself, you need to think about your future.’ Our guys have done everything medically possible to get on the field, and that earns my complete respect.”

Purdue has grit and determination and is clearly in it to win it — often in dramatic fashion. Four walk-off victories, including Rogers’ aforementioned exploits, have helped the season border on the surreal.

But it is the disciplined, do-the-little-things-right approach that has made the Boilermakers’ world of possibilities burgeon.

Fun with a disciplined approach is the mantra from Goff and his staff. It’s a brain trust that does not cut corners. Batters sprint through first base, even if they have just hit a routine pop-up that is sure to result in an out. Outfielders catch the baseball the old-fashioned way, with their gloves above their shoulders.

“An opposing coach paid our program a compliment in a text message he sent me,” Goff says. “He said, ‘You guys just play baseball at a high level. You don’t walk people, you don’t make errors, you run the bases, you play the short game, you have some guys that hit home runs. It’s just hard to defend you guys.’”

Through it all, Goff has faced some challenging moments. The players have taken pride in their compliance and cohesion, but there have been missteps. That’s bound to happen when dealing with three dozen young players, including several newcomers, on the roster.

“We had a pitcher in our weekend starting rotation that showed up late for our team breakfast,” Goff says. “We could have easily let it go, but he knew that if you miss breakfast, you miss a start. The players know if we, as coaches, don’t live up to what we have said, it all doesn’t work.

“Sure, it is hard in today’s world to stick to our rules, especially when social media is involved. But it was the right decision, and the end result was our players grew even more respectful of what we are doing.”

Goff has had frequent discussions with men’s basketball coach Matt Painter, who loves understanding and evaluating baseball just about as much as he does his day job.

“Matt is great, and he texts me every time we win, which I appreciate,” Goff says. “He’s so invested in what we’re doing, and I have run some thoughts by him because he has such a great feel for it. I remember when trying to decide who to start in the first game of our series at USC, he had thoughts that helped me make the decision. I really appreciate our friendship.”

In the big picture, Goff knows this is a unique coaching journey in 2026. In today’s college sports environment, there will be challenges, especially for sports like baseball. The “new rules” that allow schools to put all players on scholarship have allowed Goff to grow his scholarship pool to nearly 18, up from 11.7. Yet he knows that his program will have to compete with schools in the Southeast that have more revenue-sharing and NIL resources.

“I appreciate the commitment of our athletic administration to us, in this environment,” Goff says. “There’s nothing easy out there when it comes to finances these days.”

Purdue’s “secret sauce” is a key selling point shared by Goff and Painter.

“Purdue is a great school, and we tell parents and kids they are here to get an education first,” Goff says with steely conviction. “With the parents and their son, I lay it out there as honestly as I can. If you don’t go to class, I am going to reduce your scholarship. Now, nobody’s perfect. Yeah, we’re going to love you as somebody in our program. But we also owe it to our guys to be honest with them, and sometimes we lose some guys in the process. But I would rather lose a guy than have them here and it be a problem.”

The good thing for Goff and his staff is that the only current “problem” is winning enough games in the Big Ten Tournament to warrant an NCAA Tournament bid. And the way the 2026 season has transpired, it is hard to bet against this band of banged-up Boilermakers, whose baseball résumé can be summed up with three Rs: resilient, runs and respect.

Written by Alan Karpick, publisher of GoldandBlack.com since 1996.

On the Purdue 1 mission, Abigail Mizzi will become the first grad student to conduct research on a commercial suborbital flight

Note: This story is part of a series that will introduce each member of the all-Boilermaker crew who will participate in Virgin Galactic’s historic Purdue 1 suborbital flight in 2027. 

Sometimes when Abigail Mizzi thinks back on the moment Steven Collicott invited her to join the Purdue 1 mission, she still can’t believe it happened. 

“He said, ‘Do you have any concerns about going to space?’ Mizzi recalls of the life-changing conversation with the Purdue professor who will serve as the mission’s lead researcher. “Any concerns about going to space? That’s not something a graduate student has ever heard. I was just in shock and also trying to hold back tears because it was so incredible.” 

But it was an honest question — and the offer was very real. 

“The selection committee found her to be our best choice for this unique opportunity,” says Collicott, now Mizzi’s graduate thesis advisor in Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AAE). 

Mizzi (BS AAE ’25) was interviewing with Collicott on the recommendation of Dan DeLaurentis, whom she assisted in his research lab before he accepted a new position as Purdue’s executive vice president for research. DeLaurentis suggested that Collicott might have a promising opportunity for her, but Mizzi never fathomed that it would be this. 

Not only did Collicott invite Mizzi to join him on the 2027 Purdue 1 mission — the first university-chartered commercial suborbital spaceflight, where all five crew members will be Boilermakers — he was also offering an opportunity the likes of which had never been extended to someone like her. 

When she initiates her human-tended experiment studying fluid dynamics during the Virgin Galactic flight, 23-year-old Mizzi will become the world’s first graduate student to conduct research on a commercial suborbital flight, as well as one of the youngest people ever to travel to space. 

“This is truly the best opportunity that I ever would have imagined because I’m getting to do engineering and science, and I’m getting to do something that’s never been done before,” Mizzi says. “Hopefully it will allow even more people like me — more students and learners — to go do research in space.” 

A secret revealed

Mizzi was not the only Boilermaker who was shocked by the news that a Purdue student could fly aboard a research mission like Purdue 1. 

By the time the all-Boilermaker spaceflight was announced on Sept. 23, 2025, a dozen undergraduate students from Collicott’s famous AAE418 (Zero-Gravity Flight Experiment) class had already been assisting graduate assistant Mizzi for a month, working to upgrade Collicott’s autonomous experiment from Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 07 mission in 2024. At the university’s launch party, the students learned about the secret that Mizzi had been unable to share with them until that moment. 

“We had no idea about Purdue 1 or Abby going to space when we joined the project, and I think that is a major key to our team’s strong connection,” says Alayna Miller, a spring 2026 graduate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. “Everyone joined this team with true passion and interest in the experiment, not with an ulterior motive of being part of Purdue 1.” 

But their lack of clarity about the scope of the experiment did create some communication hiccups that now amuse the researchers as they look back on their first few weeks on the team. 

“It’s funny because a lot of us would say something like, ‘We should change the system to do this,’ and Abby would say, ‘I don’t know about that,’ which confused us,” says Kyra Charters, another of the team’s spring 2026 graduates. “She wanted us to add a control panel and all of these characteristics that weren’t going to be autonomous, and we were still focused on making a new autonomous version. So when we learned that Abby was going to be up there and flying with this, a lot of these times where she was pushing back on our ideas made a lot more sense.” 

Their experiment aims to collect critical data about liquid behavior in zero-gravity environments, which could have a wide-ranging impact on future long-haul space missions — from fueling rockets and spacecraft to developing life-support systems. 

“When I chose to go to Purdue for my undergrad, I couldn’t have imagined that this is something that I would be working on my senior semester,” Charters says. “There are so many incredible opportunities here at Purdue to participate in hands-on design or research, or a lot of different things where you get actual experience.” 

The student researchers were already excited about their work even before the Purdue 1 announcement, but learning about their team’s unique role in the mission shifted the group dynamic. Miller described the vibes in the first class after the announcement as “electric,” once the teammates finally understood the stakes involved. 

“It wasn’t until the Purdue 1 announcement where it finally clicked,” Miller says. “We weren’t just designing an experiment — we were designing a piece of Boilermaker history.” 

And they’ve built invaluable experience in the process, giving Mizzi an opportunity to pay it forward to a group of younger Boilermakers in the same way that so many students, professors and mentors invested in her during her time at Purdue.  

“They’re getting to CAD (computer-aided design) things. They’re getting to design our control panel. And they’re getting to have ownership and be able to say, ‘How can we make it more intuitive? What’s the best way for a human to interact with the system? How do we make this easy for a high-pressure, three-minutes-of-microgravity situation? What are the different aspects that we need to consider as designers to make a product that is easily usable by a human?’” Mizzi says. 

“That’s all engineering. I think it’s so exciting that I’m getting to support their learning and their development and they’re getting to work on a real project that’s going to do something really cool,” Mizzi adds. “I’m so glad that I get to help them learn and help them grow, and they’re helping me grow.” 

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Mutual growth and support 

In many ways, that theme of mutual growth and support has been a constant throughout Mizzi’s Purdue experience — and even before it started. 

She attended an on-campus Women in Engineering outreach session as a high schooler and became comfortable with Purdue’s campus, the types of students she’d interact with and the learning opportunities that would be available. Later as a prospective student, she recalls attending an informational session on Zoom where Angie Zhang, then the president of Purdue’s section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), was among the speakers. Years later, Mizzi remembers the thoughtful gesture that Zhang extended to the total stranger who had expressed an interest in becoming a Boilermaker. 

“She gave me her phone number and said, ‘After this event, reach out to me if you ever need something. I’m in aero, I do these research things and I’ve done these jobs.’ And everything she did just seemed cool,” Mizzi says. “I thought, ‘That sounds like what I want to do in aerospace engineering.’ It struck me as very kind and welcoming and supportive of her.” 

Mizzi soon took Zhang up on the offer, trading texts about how to best prepare for becoming a Purdue engineering student. Their exchange was so encouraging that Mizzi sought out the SWE table when she attended the university’s annual B-Involved Fair as a brand-new Purdue student exploring which student organizations she might like to join. 

After joining SWE, Mizzi engaged with older students like Zhang who took a genuine interest in her success, whether they were helping her create her first résumé, offering interview tips or helping her navigate the ups and downs  

of the Purdue engineering experience. 

“They really made me feel like, from Day 1, I had somebody to go to if I got an interview and didn’t know what to wear or had this event and didn’t know what to do,” she says. “There were always people who had done that. And I think that’s why SWE and the Women in Engineering program are so important. They give you a person who says, ‘Yes, I will help you. I’ve been there before, and I want to fill you up and make you feel supported and confident. You can nail this interview. You can do this.’” 

Mizzi received similar support from upperclassmen in research labs and when she joined the Purdue Space Program’s hybrid rocket team as a freshman. 

She had a limited understanding of how rockets worked when she joined the club, but she peppered team mentors with questions about how the engines functioned and what technologies are used for the challenges they faced. Over time, she expanded her knowledge base and practical skillset by working with the team each Saturday morning at Purdue’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, where they tested their designs. 

“I’d never built a rocket before, but stepping onto that team was completely mind-blowing,” Mizzi says. “We got to go from assembly of our plumbing system to then hot firing the engine at the end of my freshman year. It was really cool just to be like, ‘OK, I did something small in this, and it took a lot of knowledge from the upperclassmen on the team to get us here, but I learned a lot from them.’ It was an incredible experience.” 

Mentorship didn’t come solely from Mizzi’s professors and classmates, however. It also came from Purdue alumni like Jeri Lynn Metzger (BS AAE ’05). Mizzi reached out to Metzger — a deputy program manager at Northrop Grumman who remains active in the national SWE organization — before attending the 2023 SWE conference in Los Angeles. The two connected in person at the event, and Metzger soon became another trusted source of guidance, helping Mizzi navigate SWE membership and introducing her to a high-ranking executive at Northrop Grumman prior to her summer internship at the aerospace and defense giant. 

“The connections through SWE are one of my favorite things that I continue to enjoy as an adult and as a volunteer,” Metzger says. “It helps me connect with current students, with my roommates from college and with other people that inspire me — and it was a fantastic way to meet Abby.” 

As she looks ahead to the Purdue 1 spaceflight that will help her join the university’s prestigious Cradle of Astronauts, Mizzi understands the foundational role that these many Boilermakers played. 

The way she sees it, she won’t be the only person occupying her seat on the Virgin Galactic Delta-class spacecraft when it lifts off. She’ll be bringing along all of the Boilermakers who helped her get there. 

“With every single one of these people, the analogy I like to use is that they’ve all given me a feather to put in my wings to now fly,” Mizzi says. “They truly have all supported me every single step in the highs and the lows. When I didn’t get into different opportunities that I wanted, when I got rejection emails or letters of not being accepted, they were still supporting me through all of that. I’m so grateful that I’m here.”

With every single one of these (mentors), the analogy I like to use is that they’ve all given me a feather to put in my wings to now fly.

Abigail Mizzi (BS AAE ’25)

Who during the Purdue 1 mission will become the first graduate student to conduct research on a commercial suborbital spaceflight

Paying it forward 

Mizzi’s Purdue experience has hardly been a one-way transaction where she only reaped the benefits of attending one of the world’s top aerospace engineering universities, however. She also uplifted many fellow Boilermakers along the way. 

She has worked in research labs, helping professors bring next-gen technologies to life. She has represented the AAE program, the College of Engineering and the John Martinson Honors College as a student ambassador. And as she rose through the ranks with SWE, she held multiple leadership positions before ultimately serving as section president in 2024-25. 

“It was exciting to be on the other side of things and be like, ‘Hey, I’ve been at Purdue for a few years and I learned these things from these people. How do I continue that because they’ve graduated and left Purdue? How do we continue making sure that the way they helped me continues to be passed down? And how do we continue to expand upon the community-building, the technical development and the professional development and really make sure that we’re supporting students in all the ways they need? The mission is to make better engineers and leaders, so how do we make sure that we’re doing that?’” says Mizzi, who was recognized as one of the SWE global organization’s Outstanding Collegiate Members in 2025. 

Seeing students like Mizzi display that leadership is among the primary reasons why Northrop Grumman’s Metzger — herself a SWE award winner — continues to enthusiastically support the organization years after graduating from Purdue. 

“I don’t know if it’s intrinsic, if it’s understanding the privileges that we’ve had and wanting to make sure others have them as well, but I do see it in Abby. I absolutely do,” Metzger says. “She wanted to make sure that SWE was there, that it continued to thrive, such that current classmates and future classmates had the same opportunities or more.” 

And now, as Mizzi prepares for her historic trip to space, she’s leading a group of students whose work will improve her chances of success during the Purdue 1 mission while simultaneously helping them build skills and credentials that will surely pay off in their budding aerospace careers. 

“Her ability to level with each of us on the team has made us feel comfortable sharing our thoughts and has encouraged us to try new things,” Miller says. “I feel strongly that good leaders lead people, but great leaders make leaders of their people. The strongest leaders are those who encourage independence and empower their teams to believe in their individual strengths. 

“Abby embodies this fully,” Miller says. “I believe that good things happen to good people, and Abby’s opportunity to fly aboard Purdue 1 is just one of those many blessings she is well deserving of.”

Emily Spreen helps lead lunar innovations and spacecraft landing and recovery operations at Johnson Space Center

When Boilermakers begin to dream of what’s next — for themselves, for their communities, for the world — they build a brighter tomorrow together. Read the real stories that inspired our video and find out what happens when you dream bigger at Purdue.

Emily Spreen doesn’t have one of the most interesting roles in aerospace — she has two.  

At NASA’s Johnson Space Center, she’s an engineer helping humans return to the moon. She also leads a team positioning the recovery forces that retrieve a crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the ocean. 

It all started in high school, when Spreen and her father took a spur-of-the-moment trip to see the final launch of the space shuttle Discovery from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.  

“When I saw the launch, I knew I wanted to be a part of it,” she says. “I had no idea how yet, but I knew that was it.” 

Setting the bar high  

Spreen began her college career studying engineering and pursuing opportunities that brought her closer to spaceflight. Early internships at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Langley Research Center gave her hands-on experience and confirmed she was on the right path. 

She started at the University of Maryland, getting in-state tuition with the Academic Common Market program. After earning the NASA Aeronautics Scholarship, she transferred to Purdue — a place where she could fully immerse herself in space-focused research.

As soon as I got to Purdue, I felt like I found where I belonged.

Emily Spreen

BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’15, MS astrodynamics and space applications ’17, PhD astrodynamics and space applications ’21

“As soon as I got to Purdue, I felt like I found where I belonged,” she says. “I loved it so much that I just didn’t leave.” 

West Lafayette reminded her of the small towns she grew up around in South Carolina. She made connections easily and enjoyed the most iconic campus experiences — like completing a fountain run with one of her best friends and taking photos beside the statue of Neil Armstrong after each graduation ceremony.  

She completed her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 2015, then stayed to pursue both a master’s and doctorate in astrodynamics and space applications. The field focuses on how spacecraft move. Engineers in astrodynamics can plan missions, design trajectories and determine how to safely send humans and technology through space. 

A course with Kathleen Howell, the Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, helped solidify Spreen’s direction. Spreen joined Howell’s research group, diving deeper into orbit design and mission planning, which she first experienced during her Goddard internship. The community she found at Purdue also played a defining role. Surrounded by Boilermakers who shared her ambitions, she built friendships that continue today. 

“We literally call it Purdue South here,” she says. “There are three Purdue PhDs from my research group in my office.” 

Turning research into reality 

While still in graduate school, Spreen interned at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. She later joined as a civil servant through the Pathways program, continuing her work while finishing her doctorate. 

Today, she serves as an aerospace engineer contributing to some of NASA’s most ambitious human spaceflight initiatives. Her work includes studying the Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the moon and developing lunar missions.  

She also leads a team supporting landing and recovery operations. After astronauts return to Earth — like when Artemis II came back from its 10-day lunar flyby mission on April 10, 2026 — their spacecraft splashes down in the ocean. Spreen’s team predicts where parachutes and hardware will land, helping position recovery crews safely. The work is fast-paced, collaborative and deeply meaningful. 

“I’m not watching all this history get made,” she says. “I’m helping to make it happen.”

Remembering her worth

Throughout her career, Spreen has learned that pursuing ambitious goals requires persistence — and self-advocacy. 

Working in aerospace means tackling long timelines and complex challenges. Speaking up, asking for opportunities and stepping into new roles helped her expand her impact. 

“You’re not going to make as much progress unless you say, ‘I want to do that. I want to be a part of this. I’m smart enough for this,’” she says. 

She can think of endless examples from her education and career. Step one to becoming a subsystem lead on the landing and recovery team? A conversation with her manager where she said she wanted to work on the U.S. Navy ship that’s used on the mission.  

“It wasn’t like someone said, ‘Emily, do you want this job?’” she says. “When you’re brave enough to speak up, you open a lot of doors for yourself, and you help move the mission forward.” 

Looking beyond Earth

Today, Spreen works at the center of missions that will define the next era of human spaceflight. Whether she’s planning lunar orbits or helping guide recovery teams, her work contributes directly to getting astronauts safely to their destination and back again. 

The same excitement she felt watching Discovery’s final launch still drives her. Only now, she’s part of the workforce making liftoff possible. 

“I love what I do,” she says. “We’re at the forefront and pushing it further than what seems possible. I’m living my dream.”

We’re at the forefront and pushing it further than what seems possible. I’m living my dream.

Emily Spreen

BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’15, MS astrodynamics and space applications ’17, PhD astrodynamics and space applications ’21

Brian Rexing explains how being the 2026 milk ‘rookie’ is an honor that extends beyond the track

“The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is so much more than a spectacle — it’s a connection point with countless traditions. One of those treasured rituals is the role of the milk people. This year’s “rookie” is Brian Rexing, an Indiana dairy farmer who earned a certificate from the College of Agriculture in 1992 and currently has two Boilermaker daughters.  

Q: What was your reaction when you were chosen to be a milk person? 

A: This is an honor. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the industry I get to represent. Dairy farmers are optimistic and committed, and any chance to recognize that is amazing. The Indy 500 really resonates with people, and it’s humbling to have this opportunity. 

Q: What does the milk rookie do? 

A: As the rookie, I’ll present milk to the winning team owners and chief mechanic. I’m also doing interviews, meeting the governor and helping out with the ceremony in any way I can. It’s really going to be fun. Next year, I’ll be the one handing milk to the driver.  

Q: What’s something people may not know about your job? 

A: It’s rewarding in so many ways, especially being a part of the Indy 500, Dairy Farmers of America and National Milk Producers Federation. I’ve made connections across the state, throughout the country, even around the globe. Everywhere in the world, dairy farmers are facing the same struggles and wins. You gain an incredible perspective and meet great people.  

Q: What does it mean to have your daughters at Purdue? 

A: I could not be prouder of all four of my kids. Two are at Purdue — Mylie is a junior in agribusiness with a minor in psychology, and Aleah is a freshman in agriculture sales and marketing. It’s a place where dedicated people go. My sister Kelle graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989 and lost her battle to cancer in 1997. Kelle was an amazing student. Purdue’s always had a strong presence in our lives.

Q: How does being a fourth-generation farmer influence the way you look at life? 

A: There is no challenge too big to overcome. I’m focused on making things even better for the next generation. Seeing my daughters step into the industry is really cool. I’m happy with whatever path the girls choose, but we could keep the legacy going and even have a second-generation milk presenter someday.  

Q: What are you most excited for next? 

A: With being a presenter, my family’s creating memories we’ll have for the rest of our lives. I can’t think of a more exciting thing to do. We’re producing a product that is wholesome and nutritious, and I’m proud to be a part of it — that’s what puts a spring in your step. 

Caroline Shanley, a communications staffer with the National Archives Foundation, developed a love for history at Purdue

With American tourists expected to flood into Washington, D.C., this summer, Purdue alum Caroline Shanley will have a unique vantage point for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration. 

Shanley (BA political science ’19, BA public relations and strategic communications ’19) is a communications and outreach manager with the National Archives Foundation, promoting the millions of documents and artifacts in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s collection — including the nation’s founding documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 

“We describe the Archives as being the epicenter of America250 because we are the home of the Declaration of Independence, which is the exact anniversary we’re celebrating,” Shanley says of the document, which the Continental Congress officially adopted on July 4, 1776.

To help celebrate this historic milestone, the National Archives Museum introduced a redesigned permanent exhibit, “The American Story.” The exhibit features documents like those marking the Louisiana Purchase, areas dedicated to the American Constitution and military, and rotating displays of additional holdings that provide insight on America’s historical and cultural evolution. 

“All in all, it’s an exhibit that shows the breadth of the things that we hold at the Archives and how these different things, from objects to pieces of paper to film rolls, tell our American story in one way or another,” Shanley says. 

That story includes artifacts with distinct Purdue connections: 

• Any retelling of American history would be incomplete without mentioning Purdue astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took humankind’s first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969. Included among the space-related items on display is original 70 mm film from Armstrong’s Apollo 11 lunar mission. Shanley describes the footage — some of which is included in the acclaimed 2019 documentary “Apollo 11” — as “one of the most fascinating things we have.” 
• There is also the U.S. Coast Guard’s radio log from legendary pilot Amelia Earhart’s final flight, revealing when operators lost contact with the Purdue-funded plane during Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan’s attempted around-the-world flight. 

“It shows, minute by minute, a log of them going back and forth with her aircraft,” Shanley says. “Basically you can see where they mark with a line when they stop hearing back from her.” 

• In addition, a rotating display in the exhibit spotlights Title IX, a landmark civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.

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Not only did Purdue alum Birch Bayh (BS agriculture ’51) write Title IX, but the display also features letters to lawmakers from two people in Purdue sports — one writing to support Title IX and one to oppose it. 

“That case is always going to rotate with different petitions to show how citizens can use their voices to persuade lawmakers, whether they’re on the side for or against a piece of policy,” Shanley says. “(The debate over Title IX) was a moment in our history, and part of our mission is that we’re not trying to say things are good or bad. We are just trying to show you the history, show you the documents and let you come to your own conclusion.” 

Each item in the archival collection has a unique story, which is what initially attracted Shanley to her field. She developed a fascination with the storytelling role historians play while pursuing a minor in American history at Purdue and engaging with professors like Wendy Kline, Kathryn Brownell and Yvonne Pitts. 

At times, her courses involved research at Purdue Archives and Special Collections — a foundational experience for Shanley, who would eventually elect to attend American University to complete a master’s degree in public and applied history that would help make archival research part of her career. 

Shanley describes her role at the National Archives Foundation as “the very traditional nonprofit comms person, where I wear a lot of different comms hats.” A normal day might include leading a tour at the National Archives Museum or contacting media to promote a program or event there. But it might also include reviewing the vast archival collection to produce content for her organization’s social media channels or an item for its newsletters. 

“I love finding and digging out these stories of maybe marginalized, lesser-known people, finding the connections in my personal life to these stories,” she says. “There really is something so touching about when you are reading a handwritten note or letter. It doesn’t matter what decade or century it’s from, just knowing that somebody touched that and wrote down their thoughts at that point — it gives you this tangible connection to the past.” 

Which, after all, is exactly why the National Archives exist.

We describe the Archives as being the epicenter of America250 because we are the home of the Declaration of Independence, which is the exact anniversary we’re celebrating.

Caroline Shanley (BA political science ’19, BA public relations and strategic communications ’19) 

Communications and outreach manager at the National Archives Foundation

This American institution bills itself as “the nation’s record keeper,” providing access to military records, genealogical history and some of the most important documents in human history. 

As the nation pauses to celebrate 250 years since its founding, the National Archives collection is arguably society’s most valuable resource to comprehend the story of America. 

“Getting to know our past is so critical to understanding our future and what we want out of our future,” Shanley says. “I don’t really subscribe to the ‘history repeats itself’ idea. I don’t always agree that history perfectly repeats itself, since every circumstance is historically unique. But I think it can often illuminate certain forces and why things happen in the sequence that they happen. 

“We do what we can do here,” she adds, “which is expand access and preserve our nation’s history, and we will keep doing that.”

Purdue professor’s research responsibilities will leave little time for sightseeing during the historic spaceflight

Note: This story is part of a series that will introduce each member of the all-Boilermaker crew who will participate in Virgin Galactic’s historic Purdue 1 suborbital flight in 2027.

Steven Collicott recalls thinking to himself that he’d never have a chance to look back at Earth from space like Purdue astronaut Greg Harbaugh did when he described the wondrous vantage point of a spacewalk to an audience of fellow Boilermakers. 

“He said, ‘The Earth is sitting there right below you, and it’s the most beautiful thing you’re ever going to see,’” says Collicott, a professor of aerospace engineering in Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “And I thought, ‘No, it’s the most beautiful thing you’re ever going to see. I’m stuck down here.’” 

That will no longer be the case when Collicott and four other Boilermakers launch aboard Virgin Galactic’s historic Purdue 1 suborbital spaceflight, scheduled for 2027. However, the out-of-this-world view that will finally be available to Collicott will present a unique challenge that virtually no one in human history has ever encountered. 

Unlike most of the roughly 700 people who have traveled to space before him, Collicott will barely have any time to sightsee. As one of the first researchers selected to conduct their own experiments aboard suborbital flights, Collicott has more important things to do. 

“I’m going up there to do an experiment, not to look out windows,” says Collicott, whose research proposal won a NASA Flight Opportunities award that will fund his trip. 

After all, time will be of the essence, and the stakes are high. The Purdue 1 flight is expected to last approximately 90 minutes round trip, but Collicott and graduate student researcher Abigail Mizzi will have only about three minutes to conduct experiments examining fluid dynamics in zero-gravity environments. 

“When you fly as a researcher, you’re flying for a third party: someone who’s paying for it and who expects you to get the goods — to accomplish the objectives with the experiment and return with the data,” explains Alan Stern, a planetary scientist and executive at the Southwest Research Institute, who became the first commercial company researcher to fly aboard a commercial suborbital flight during Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 05 mission in 2023. “That third party is judging whether you succeeded, and that in turn affects whether your project will receive further funding going forward, because no one wants the black eye of a flight that didn’t accomplish its objectives. 

“So with the clock ticking and work to do, you have to really be disciplined to get the job done, which means not looking out the window.” 

Thankfully for lifelong space enthusiast Collicott, he will at least have brief opportunities to enjoy his surroundings. His research will explore liquid behavior when touching solid surfaces in weightlessness — a phenomenon that could impact a wide variety of activities on long-range spaceflights. There are a few 10-second periods in his experiment plan where he must wait for the liquid motion to settle to equilibrium, and those breaks will give him chances to see for himself what he once heard Harbaugh describe. 

Otherwise, he views this voyage as a business trip — not just for himself, but for the researchers who hope to follow him aboard commercial spaceflights someday. 

“I feel that having a successful mission will make it simpler for others to do the same — many others, hopefully,” Collicott says. “If I make a complete mess of it, it could be many years before the next attempt is made. So I feel a real responsibility to deliver my best work on this project.”

Justifying the presence of the person 

Purdue astronaut Charles Walker understands better than just about anyone else why it makes sense for researchers like Stern and Collicott to conduct their own experiments in space. 

In 1983, NASA confirmed Walker — an employee of the McDonnell Douglas Corp. — as the first industry commercial astronaut to fly aboard a space shuttle. Walker flew on three shuttle missions simply because he was the best possible choice to conduct experiments using the McDonnell Douglas continuous-flow electrophoresis device he helped develop, in the unique environment where it was designed to operate. 

“Space is a field laboratory,” Walker says. “And the most that we humanly can learn from any inquiry and experiments put forward to answer questions is by going where the environment is around you, where you are immersed in the environment of the intellectual inquiry, the application inquiry, the scientific or basic knowledge inquiry. So that’s the crux of the point that Steven is out to pursue and that all investigators should pursue.” 

But up until now, few space researchers have been able to collect firsthand data like experts in many other areas of scientific study. The expenses and complicated logistics associated with space travel simply didn’t allow it. 

“Take an oceanographer: They go out on ocean research ships,” Stern says. “Similarly, a volcanologist goes to volcanoes. Atmospheric scientists fly on high-altitude airplanes. Geologists go on field expeditions. Astronomers go to telescopes. But space scientists sit in mission control and operate by remote control some automated gizmo that has many failure modes that we can eliminate when we fly the human instead of having to pay for the design and build and then all the testing of automated equipment.” 

The main objective for trips like his, Collicott explains, is to “justify the presence of the person” instead of automating the experiment where no human with specialized knowledge would be present to manipulate the experiment or adjust on the fly. Not only does this new opportunity require the researcher to ignore the distractions that exist outside the spacecraft’s windows, but also to prove that they can complete the experiments without falling victim to the acceleration, microgravity or other unique conditions that accompany a suborbital flight. 

Stern is confident that’s exactly what will happen as more researchers benefit from the opportunities that he and Collicott have been granted. 

“If automation was so great, every university and industrial research lab would be automated. Every oceangoing NSF research ship would be robotic. Every geological field expedition would be performed by something like a Mars rover,” Stern says. “None of that has happened because humans are so much better and cheaper and more reliable than present-day automation technology, but we have not had the ability to fly humans in space — the actual researchers — on a routine basis, and therefore we’ve had to pay for all this automation and suffer the failure modes it brings. 

“Those of us at the beginning of this new researcher-in-space era are in agreement that it’s our job to show how much easier, less expensive, quicker, more reliable it is when you just operate it like you would any laboratory on the Earth or on an oceangoing ship. We’ll normalize spaceflight to be more like any other research endeavor where the researcher goes in the field with their experiment.”

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‘Steven, you’re gonna love it’ 

Collicott was a seemingly obvious choice to handle the research responsibilities that NASA will support during the Purdue 1 mission. 

As a leader within organizations like SARG — the Commercial Space Federation’s Suborbital Applications Research Group — Collicott has spent many years advocating for the scientific and educational potential of suborbital flights.  

As a world-renowned researcher, he has flown dozens of experiments — most of which also involved fluid dynamics — aboard parabolic and suborbital flights. A dozen of his automated experiments have already flown aboard commercial spaceflights: 11 on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and another on Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 07 mission in 2024. 

And as a professor, he has helped countless Purdue students chase their own space dreams. For more than 30 years, he has taught a zero-gravity flight experiment course that culminates with Collicott and some of his students experiencing weightlessness aboard a parabolic aircraft — nicknamed the “Vomit Comet” — while conducting their own experiments. 

“I never really set out to do what I’m doing,” Collicott says. “It was just kind of a 30-year evolution of a good idea and good support from department heads and deans, and then it just kind of snowballed. And here we are, 30 years after starting this kind of teaching and going from one experiment with four students to, right now, I think in my class we have 11 experiments and 80 students. It’s been very rewarding to see how, in addition to more traditional classes, this hands-on, team-based, real-world project class really can impact the students’ future.” 

For quite some time, Collicott probably thought that was as close as he’d ever come to fulfilling his own childhood space dreams. 

He has vivid memories of sitting in front of the TV on July 20, 1969, as Purdue astronaut Neil Armstrong took humankind’s first steps on the lunar surface, with Apollo 11 crewmate Buzz Aldrin following close behind. Collicott had a familial connection to the historic moment, as his father, Purdue engineering alum Howard Collicott (BS mechanical engineering ’51), worked for one of the legions of American contractors whose combined efforts made Armstrong’s giant leap possible. 

“I was 8 years old watching Armstrong and Aldrin step on the moon,” Collicott says. “I really don’t know how anybody my age — as a child during the moon race — grew up to be a doctor or a banker or a lawyer or anything else. To me, it was just fascinating being immersed in that.” 

But as was the case for many space enthusiasts across the decades, a physical shortcoming — in Collicott’s case, it was poor vision — made it apparent that a future as a NASA astronaut or Air Force pilot was probably not in the cards. Instead, he found a different way to contribute to space exploration, never expecting that he’d also travel beyond the Earth’s atmosphere someday. 

That opportunity now exists for preeminent researchers like Collicott and Stern, who invited Collicott to join him as his guest at New Mexico’s Spaceport America during his Virgin Galactic flight. 

“I remember he came out of the spacecraft and said, ‘Steven, you’re gonna love it,’” says Collicott, who has worked alongside Stern since 2008 at organizations that examine commercial spaceflight research applications. 

“I wanted him to be there, in part because of his very great service to the application of these suborbital vehicles for research, but also because Steven was the second person that NASA selected to be funded to fly with an experiment,” Stern says. “I thought that it would be valuable for Steven to be on the ground and see what happens during the researcher’s flight when I flew, and that it would be of interest to him and better help him plan his flight.”

I’m going up there to do an experiment, not to look out windows.

Steven Collicott 

Professor of aerospace engineering and lead researcher for the Purdue 1 mission 

Leading the next phase 

In truth, Collicott started planning for this mission long before Stern’s flight or when the university officially announced his research would be part of Purdue 1 in September 2025. NASA selected his research proposal for funding in 2021, six years before the all-Purdue mission is scheduled to take flight. 

The wait is all part of the process, Collicott says. 

“I was aware that these things take time and they never go as quickly as the companies want or the customers want. I think I had a very realistic point of view going into it that the schedule would have great uncertainties,” Collicott says. “But frankly, I’ve been waiting since 1969, so what’s another couple of years?” 

Once the time finally arrives, Collicott, grad student Mizzi, alumnus Jason Williamson (BS civil engineering ’97) and two more Boilermakers (to be announced at a later date) will set a new precedent that fits Purdue’s reputation as one of the leading institutions for space travel and research. 

In addition to Collicott’s work — which will make him the first engineering professor to conduct research on a commercial spaceflight — Mizzi’s real-time experiment will build upon Collicott’s findings from his 2024 Virgin Galactic research. And two more autonomous experiments, prepared by Purdue researchers including Ajay Malshe and Shengwang Du, will focus on quantum technology and in-space chip manufacturing. 

All of these experiments, and many more, are essential as humankind prepares to venture deeper into the endless frontier that is space, Collicott says. Just as his father and thousands of other American workers laid the groundwork for Armstrong to land on the moon, Collicott and his fellow researchers are now doing work that will help us go back on a long-term basis — and eventually travel even farther. 

“There’s a lot to do,” Collicott says. “I tell people the International Space Station is the biggest thing we’ve ever put in space, but it’s not big enough. We have a lot of science that needs to be done that needs weightlessness, and it can’t all get up to the space station. So these other options like suborbital rockets, parabolic aircraft flights, drop towers on Earth, they’re all very needed laboratories.” 

Boilermakers are conducting landmark research in all those environments, so it makes sense that Purdue would break new ground with the all-Purdue spaceflight, which has inspired envy among researchers from other institutions. 

“Individuals from other universities are hungry to do what Purdue has been out in front to accomplish,” says Walker, the pioneering commercial astronaut who has heard as much while participating in teleconferences with other members of SARG. 

Not only does Walker believe Purdue 1 is the natural next step for Purdue to contribute to the new era of space exploration, but he offers a prediction about the step that will follow. 

“I’m so bold as to suggest that when — not if, but when — Purdue succeeds mightily with Purdue 1 suborbital, that there will be a Purdue X orbital (mission), probably not on ISS, but on Vast or Orbital Reef or one of the other commercial space stations, later this decade or beyond,” Walker says. 

At most universities, Walker’s prediction might seem bold enough to border on absurdity. At the alma mater of 30 astronauts (and counting) and home base for the Purdue 1 mission, nothing seems out of the question.

Some call her “Riri.” For others, it’s “Riah.” She’ll also answer to “Polar.” And “Shake ’n’ Bake,” too.

But one moniker for Moriah Polar is universal: “Great.”

The Purdue junior outfielder is in the midst of a season the likes of which has never been seen for a 30-something-year-old softball program, which is a reason why the Boilermakers are enjoying one of their best seasons.

“She’s special,” says Purdue coach Maggie Frezzotti. “She can do it all. She’s a five-tool player.”

The bats-left/throws-right outfielder ranks second in the nation with a .577 batting average (through mid-April), which is tops in the Big Ten Conference by a significant margin. She’s able to slap the ball and leg out a single — or hit a laser in the gap. And she has clear-the-fence power.

“She’s as physically gifted as anybody: fast, strong, good arm, great sense for the game,” Frezzotti says. “She processes things quickly, which helps her make decisions.

“But the biggest thing you don’t see right away is how present she is. No matter how big or small the moment, she’s always ready. That ability to stay present allows her to maximize all those physical tools. Her greatest talent is being ready to do something extraordinary at any moment.”

This is a story about an uber athlete with a magnetic personality who is redefining greatness on the softball diamond for Purdue.

Toughness with infectious ability

The first thing you notice about Moriah Polar is her smile. It’s infectious and comes quickly.

With her hair pulled back taut in a ponytail, there’s an ease about her as she leans back in a chair and talks about her childhood, her goals, and her dreams. No doubt: Polar is comfortable in her own skin.

Polar’s story begins deep in the heart of Texas. She was raised in the Houston suburb of Pearland, the youngest of Martin and Tiffany Polar’s two girls. Polar’s athletic prowess glowed early in life.

“She turned about anything into a competition,” Martin Polar says. “She’d say, ’Daddy, I can eat faster than you.’”

That competitive spirit moved from the dinner table to the sports arena. Polar dabbled in volleyball, track and even cheered. But her siren song was softball.

“Softball and tennis were my main sports early on,” Polar says, “but I quit tennis around age 6 because it was messing with my swing.”

Smart move.

With her father at her side, whispering coaching tips, Polar matriculated through the politics and competition of Texas club softball, motivated to play with the best. She flashed her trademark speed and athletic ability. Martin Polar knew.

“She was fast,” he says. “She had an older sister who played volleyball. But Moriah wanted to forge her own path and decided to focus on softball.”

In addition to an array of athletic skills, Polar also showed a new quality: toughness.

“At around 6 years old, during tryouts, she missed a ball, and it hit her in the face,” Martin Polar says. “She didn’t flinch. The coach noticed that toughness and picked her, even though others laughed because she hadn’t really shown skill yet. He saw something in her.”

Polar soon was dominating the competition.

Her toughness was tested last May during a Senior Day game vs. Indiana. Polar chased a fly ball in left-center field, dove, and violently collided with Jordyn Ramos. Polar was temporarily unconscious.

“I fractured my C2 vertebra, broke both sides of my jaw, and fractured/dislocated my thumb,” Polar says. “I had surgery on my jaw and was in a neck brace for three months.”

She was fully back by the start of the 2025-26 school year.

“Her injury was tough,” Martin Polar says. “It could have been much worse, but thankfully she recovered well. That experience has motivated her even more to not just return to form but surpass it. She’s always been extremely disciplined, and that’s only grown.”

Polar had several suitors

Georgia, Ole Miss, Washington, Oregon, Houston. Those were just a few of the schools that wooed Polar coming out of Shadow Creek High.

But she chose Purdue.

“She doesn’t follow trends — she’s very headstrong and makes decisions based on her own vision,” Martin Polar says. “She saw something in Purdue and believed in it.”

Adds mother Tiffany Polar: “When we visited, the campus was beautiful. Moriah loves tradition and building a sense of home. The combination of the campus, the traditions and the coaching staff made it feel like a place where she’d be safe, valued and could grow — not just as a player, but as a person.”

Polar has blossomed like few could have envisioned. Ask Frezzotti, who has seen it all unfold.

She was dispatched in a white passenger van to pick up Polar and her parents at the Indianapolis airport for a recruiting visit.

“I met her when she visited as a junior — I was an assistant coach at the time,” Frezzotti says. “I picked her and her mom up from the airport in a 15-passenger van, which was my big responsibility.

“Right away, her personality stood out — she’s bright, positive, easy to connect with, even at 16. Those conversations can sometimes be tough, but with her, it was effortless.”

Polar debuted in 2024, starting each game and earning All-Big Ten defensive team honors. That was just a tease for a sophomore season that ended with second-team All-Big Ten accolades.

This season? She’s been one of the best players … in the entire country.

“My range in the outfield is a big strength — I can cover a lot of ground,” Polar says. “My arm is strong and accurate, too. At the plate, I consider myself a triple threat: I can bunt, hit for power or place the ball wherever I need to.”

Teammate and best friend

Moriah Polar has a thing for bugs.

“Oh yeah, she loves bugs,” teammate Emma Bailey says. “If a bug lands on most of us, we try to flick it off right away. But she’ll just let it hang out. She’ll even carry it around.”

Earlier this season, a little gnat landed on her shoulder, and she just let it chill there. It was crawling around her arm and hand, and she didn’t mind at all.

“Yeah, she loves things like roly-polies,” Frezzotti says. “She really respects all life — that’s just part of who she is.”

Polar has a welcoming personality that endears her to others. She carries herself as the anti-star, blending in among teammates. She is one of many. But they all know who the straw is that stirs the drink.

“Moriah is not only my teammate but also my best friend,” Bailey says. “One thing that really stands out — beyond stats — is the kind of teammate she is. In the dugout, she usually stands near the front, and this year we started doing a little cheer tunnel when someone comes in after a big hit or play.

“She’s always one of the first people in that tunnel, cheering everyone on. That really shows her personality. She’s one of the best players in the country, but also one of the best teammates.”

And Polar’s story is still being authored at a school she knew nothing about while in high school.

“I always knew I wanted to leave Texas for college,” she says. “I love Houston, but I didn’t want to stay there my whole life.

“Purdue actually reached out to me my junior year — I didn’t know anything about it before that. Once I visited campus, I fell in love right away and knew it would be my second home.”

Written by Tom Dienhart, who has worked with GoldandBlack.com since 2019.

Purdue senior is turning an Eli Lilly internship into a career improving health care accessibility

Solving problems has always come naturally to Jordan Reynolds. In elementary school, you could find her tackling Sudoku in the mornings. As a Purdue senior majoring in data science and applied statistics with minors in Spanish and bioinformatics, she’s presented with some of today’s toughest challenges. Medicine is being made more effective through her work with the Eli Lilly and Company and Purdue University Research Alliance Center. After she graduates, she’s joining Lilly full time as a software product engineer.

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What excites you about your major?

While my skills are more math- and stats-based, my interests lie in health and pharmaceuticals. Data science is versatile and can be applied to any industry. If you’re coming out of school with a degree like mine, you can go into finance, tech, energy, sports, anything. I’m looking forward to using what I’ve learned to advance medicine.

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How has your internship influenced the way you think about the future?

Between the work I contributed to and the time I spent in Indianapolis, my internship completely set the course for what I’m going to do after college. I helped with a patient-facing platform that was inspiring. I had so much fun in Indy — being from the East Coast, I didn’t know what to expect, but I met the most amazing people.

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What’s been something that’s surprised you in college?

Before this, I wasn’t really into sports, and now I’m a die-hard Purdue basketball fan. Being in Paint Crew has brought unforgettable memories. I never thought I would get that into it, and now I’m the person going to every game and getting my heart rate all the way up.

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What are you most excited for next?

A: It’s just getting better and better. Two of my best friends joined the HEAL research generator with me when we were sophomores, and now we all have full-time offers from Lilly. I’m ecstatic to get back to Indy and see where my next steps take me.

Where else but Purdue would researchers use aerospace-grade materials to make a sports mascot’s head?

What’s more Purdue than having a mascot whose head is constructed from the same materials as a rocket or a space shuttle? 

Such is the case with Purdue Pete, the Boilermaker athletics mascot whose head is unique for several reasons. For one thing, it’s made on the Purdue campus — not outsourced to an external vendor — with contributions from current Boilermaker students. But the bigger difference is the carbon-fiber material that separates Pete’s incredibly lightweight and durable head from the costumes of his mascot compadres. 

“Most of the mascots out there are made out of cotton or fabric, something like that,” says Garam Kim, an assistant professor in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology who has helped make Pete’s head for the last 12 years. “Purdue Pete is definitely unique. We make it out of aerospace-grade composites — the same material as we’d make a Boeing 787.” 

That represents a massive upgrade from the primitive getup that Boilermaker student Larry Brumbaugh wore when Purdue Pete debuted at the Sept. 28, 1956, pep rally before the Purdue-Missouri football game. Back then, the outfit featured foam rubber padding, long black pants, a sweater adorned with a block P and football shoulder pads, with Pete’s papier-mâché head attached using chicken wire. 

Kim estimates that ensuing iterations of Purdue Pete’s head weighed around 40 pounds. Today, it weighs less than 2 pounds — thanks in part to advancements Kim and his colleagues have made at Purdue’s Raisbeck Advanced Composites Laboratory in the Composites Manufacturing & Simulation Center, where Pete’s head is one of many products created using the latest materials technologies. 

“What we learned and what we found and what we developed with this technology, we directly applied to making the mascot. That’s how the mascot technology gets developed,” Kim says. “We have continuously worked to optimize the material system and manufacturing process for Purdue Pete and continue refining the design as new technologies become available.” 

Purdue Pete is definitely unique. We make (his head) out of aerospace-grade composites — the same material as we’d make a Boeing 787.

Garam Kim

Assistant professor in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology

Taking pride in Pete 

Believe it or not, the guy who makes Purdue Pete’s head has never attended a Boilermaker sporting event. 

And yet it would be difficult to find anyone who cares more about Purdue Pete than Kim (BS aeronautical engineering technology ’15, MS aviation and aerospace management ’17, PhD technology ’21), a triple Boilermaker who first started working on the mascot head as an undergraduate student in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. 

“I received an email from my advisor, Dr. Ronald Sterkenburg, asking if I was interested in working in the composite lab. It sounded like a good opportunity, so I got involved at the lab at that time — and one of the jobs was making Purdue Pete,” Kim says. “I’m not very into sports, but I just made it because it was my job. But after I made it over and over and started to learn about the history and studied the manufacturing method, I started to have affection for Purdue Pete. And now I think it’s the best mascot in the U.S. It’s very fascinating, and I’m very proud of what we’re making and how we make it.”  

Sucheol Woo (BS aeronautical engineering technology ’25) learned about the Pete project in similar fashion — and he takes similar pride in the work after joining Kim in 2024 as an undergraduate research assistant. 

“Honestly, every part of the work is enjoyable,” says Woo, who is pursuing a master’s degree in aviation and aerospace management. “Cutting the plies to fit the shape and laying them onto the mold piece by piece, then watching all those small parts come together into one giant Purdue Pete gives me a sense of pride. It feels like I am contributing to my school not just academically, but also in an obvious and meaningful way.” 

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Working on such projects in the composites lab was also a fun way to build essential hands-on skills in his chosen field. After making Purdue Pete heads, Woo says it was a breeze to pass the composites course he took as part of his aeronautical engineering technology curriculum. 

“It felt like one of the easiest classes for me because I already had so much hands-on experience,” he says. “Through designing the new Pete head, I’ve also gained valuable skills in CAD (computer-aided design), CNC (computer numerical control) machining, 3D printing and 3D scanning. This project has given me a strong foundation for the research I am doing now and the career I hope to pursue in the future.” 

The next iteration 

Speaking of new (and not yet seen) Purdue Pete heads, the project also gives students like Woo an opportunity to innovate. 

By transitioning from the heavier materials previously used to make the head, Kim and his predecessors have helped make it an increasingly wearer-friendly getup. 

“It really wasn’t that bad. It was like wearing a bicycle helmet that was extra heavy,” says Bo Pratt (BA elementary education ’07), a former Purdue Pete (2005-07) who estimates that the head’s weight had decreased to about five pounds by the time he served as mascot. “The biggest thing, in the sense of being uncomfortable to wear, is it was hot because you’d get no airflow at all. Football is kind of rough sometimes if it’s a really sunny, warm day. And there were a couple summer events where if the sun was beating down, it got really hot in there. 

“I always had to wear a sweatband because you can’t wipe sweat from getting in your eyes,” Pratt says. “Otherwise, my eyes would be burning all the time, because even when you’re at a basketball game or at volleyball, it’s still warm enough that you’re going to have sweat running down your forehead.” 

Through reverse engineering and digital assembly techniques, Kim and company have set out to add breathability to future iterations of Purdue Pete’s head. Instead of using expandable adhesive foam, customized to fit each individual wearer and hold the head in place, the researchers plan to introduce new designs that will fasten the external carbon-fiber shell to a detachable bicycle helmet worn internally, improving the ventilation inside the head and allowing the wearer to switch to a fresh, clean helmet as necessary. 

“They sweat a lot, and that sweat will soak into the helmet, so it would be much better if they could change helmets when needed. That’s why we are working on new designs to replace the adhesive foam,” Woo says. “With these designs, we can reduce the overall weight, make the helmet replaceable, and also integrate a vent system inside to make it more breathable and comfortable to wear.” 

Watching all those small parts come together into one giant Purdue Pete gives me a sense of pride. It feels like I am contributing to my school not just academically, but also in an obvious and meaningful way.

Sucheol Woo

BS aeronautical engineering technology ’25 and graduate research assistant

Improvements like these have influenced Purdue Pete’s evolution ever since the mascot project landed on the aviation technology department’s doorstep in 1989. 

The upgrades have made wearing the head less physically demanding for the handful of Boilermaker students who represent their university each year at countless campus and community events. And while most who see Pete at an event don’t realize it, the cutting-edge methods used to create the mascot’s head are also a perfect example of the technological innovation that takes place each day at the university Pete represents. 

“We’re not using something totally different from what we study,” Kim says. “We actually use the same material and technology we use for research, and we adapt it to the mascot manufacturing. 

“I have so much affection for it, and I’m very proud of Purdue Pete,” Kim says. “I think it delivers the message to the world that Purdue is passionate, strong and tough. There’s no reason not to love Purdue Pete.” 

Welsh wants to help bridge the gaps between industries to increase innovation

Meet Nicole Welsh, who knows that progress is possible when business-minded and engineering-minded people work together. She’s loved her time on campus as well as an insightful internship.

Q+A

What’s unique about your major?

Industry today requires people who have both a technical and corporate mindset. Integrated business and engineering (IBE) is at the forefront of meeting this need. I enjoy taking classes ranging from industrial design to construction engineering management.

Q+A

How was the transition from California to Indiana?

People in the Midwest are so nice! I love Purdue; it feels like home. I appreciate that it attracts diverse individuals with goals and the drive to achieve them.

Q+A

Thoughts for your future?

Racing! I interned at a digital marketing agency in Indianapolis that works with IndyCar teams on branding and storytelling. I was also the marketing and sponsorship lead for the IBE evGrandPrix go-kart racing team. Having in-depth, hands-on experiences has been huge for my future career.  

Megan Casey develops hydrologic models to help restore ecosystems

When Boilermakers begin to dream of what’s next — for themselves, for their communities, for the world — they build a brighter tomorrow together. Read the real stories that inspired our video and find out what happens when you dream bigger at Purdue.

Before Megan Casey was studying post-wildfire flooding, she was a teenager at camp, learning how ecosystems work and imagining how they could be protected. 

“I realized I wanted to go into agricultural engineering when I was around 16 years old,” she says. “That was really my first experience that this could be something that I could do.” 

That curiosity led to a career tackling one of today’s toughest challenges: understanding how landscapes change after disruption. 

Heading into the unknown    

After earning her bachelor’s in agricultural engineering from Purdue in 2021, Casey moved across the country to Sacramento, California, where she joined cbec eco-engineering as an ecohydrology technician. It was her first time in the West, stepping directly into the kind of work she had once only imagined. 

The transition wasn’t easy. COVID-19 reshaped the experience she expected, turning an in-person role into a hybrid of remote work and frequent field visits. Everything felt new, but she made the decision to just dive in.  

“You can’t be shy,” she says. “Start saying yes to things.” 

That mindset carried her through long days and into meaningful work with colleagues. She worked extensively on habitat restoration projects, seeing firsthand how ecosystems respond to human impact and environmental stress. 

Over time, her role evolved. As her technical skills grew, she shifted from fieldwork to more project-based and analytical work, gaining a broader perspective on how to design and implement engineering solutions. 

Working in California during major wildfires, she saw how deeply these events affect communities. She kept returning to one question: What happens after the flames are extinguished?  

Pioneering solutions 

That question led her back to school. Now a master’s student at Utah State University, Casey studies how watershed hydrology changes after wildfires — specifically, why flooding becomes more intense and unpredictable.  

After a wildfire, even a small rainstorm can cause major flooding. There isn’t as much vegetation absorbing the rainwater, which doesn’t soak into the soil as well. Instead, burned soil can behave more like pavement, sending water rushing downhill and increasing the risk of dangerous floods. 

Casey’s work focuses on untangling the many variables that contribute to this phenomenon. She uses that data to help inform better decision-making. 

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Her research brings teams of people together, including engineers, ecologists and water managers. The goal is not just understanding, but action.  

“The Earth is interconnected,” she says. “Humans are just as much a part of the world as any other species. We rely on natural resources. We play a role in ecosystems, but I do think it is our responsibility as the only species that can influence the world on such a large scale to be good stewards of the environment.” 

Focusing on what matters  

“I was really interested in how we could preserve both our natural resources and also account for the needs of our human population,” Casey says.  

Initially, she considered environmental engineering but ended up in agricultural engineering because of its focus on resources. That consideration traces back to her years in Girl Scouts, where she spent time at an outdoor camp and later returned as a counselor. 

In her hometown of Mason, Ohio, there’s a small park that she remembers well. It’s a quiet green space surrounded by development. As she grew up, it represented the importance of protecting these places.  

Those experiences shaped how she sees the world: interdependent and full of possibility.  

At Purdue, she found the No. 3 agriculture program in the U.S., according to the 2025 QS World University Rankings. She also found a close-knit community within agricultural and biological engineering. With a small graduating class, relationships came naturally.  

She got involved as an undergraduate researcher and started to identify the problems she wanted to solve.  

We play a role in ecosystems, but I do think it is our responsibility as the only species that can influence the world on such a large scale to be good stewards of the environment.

Megan Casey

Agricultural engineering ’21

Collaborating on solutions 

For Casey, the work she does today is grounded in both realism and hope. She understands the scale of environmental degradation. But she also sees something else: the people working to solve it. 

“My work has given me a lot of hope in how I view the world,” she says. “There are so many intelligent, caring people who really believe in the power of small actions having a big impact.” 

That belief echoes the mindset she’s carried since those early days of curiosity. Helping save the world doesn’t happen all at once. 

It starts with a place. A question. An idea. 

And then, step by step, it becomes something more. 

NASA’s recovery team includes three alums aboard the Navy ship that will retrieve the space voyagers from the Pacific Ocean

When the crew of Artemis II splashes down in the Pacific Ocean just after 8 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10, it will be the end of a 10-day journey where they traveled farther away from Earth than anyone in history. 

But the work will be far from complete for the members of the Landing and Recovery Operations team — a group that includes Purdue alumni Emily Spreen, Jason Endsley and Rob Lantz — who have spent years preparing for this moment. The team has been aboard the USS John P. Murtha all week, preparing to retrieve the four astronauts and spacecraft and safely transport them to the Navy ship. 

“I’d describe the recovery process as a carefully coordinated ballet,” says Spreen (BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’15, MS astrodynamics and space applications ’17, PhD aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’21), a NASA aerospace engineer who leads a team that will pinpoint where the spacecraft and jettisoned hardware will land, ensuring the safety of the waiting recovery crews. “There are a lot of moving parts and interfaces between NASA and the DOD (Department of Defense) that all must work smoothly together. We practice each piece of the recovery process many times in order to be prepared for anything on game day.” 

Purdue Polytechnic alum Endsley (BS aeronautical engineering technology ’19, MS aerospace and aviation management ’20) will share real-time data that can help the team account for weather and water conditions and make decisions on how to proceed with recovery. As the lead instrumentation engineer for the Landing and Recovery team, Endsley has installed sensors on the recovery equipment and naval vessel that will provide critical information about factors such as wave heights; water depth; line speed and tension; and the ship’s pitch, roll and yaw.

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“Prior to splashdown, the recovery team will already be working hard to prepare for our operations and will jump into action right away,” Endsley says. “The first objective will be to swiftly and safely get the astronauts on board the ship to be medically evaluated, and the second objective will be to recover the crew module.” 
 
After splashdown, projected to occur between San Clemente Island and Catalina Island off the coast of San Diego, the Department of Defense and NASA’s Johnson Space Center will share the responsibility of getting the astronauts out of the water. Four helicopters will be waiting — two for recovery, two for imaging — with the recovery helicopters alternately retrieving astronauts one at a time and carrying them to the John P. Murtha. 

“The most incredible part to me is how well prepared the recovery team is to handle this part of the mission,” Spreen says. “We practice and rehearse till the real thing feels like another simulation, albeit with much more excitement and electricity in the air.” 

Once the astronauts have been retrieved, the recovery team will turn its attention to the Integrity crew module. Endsley and Lantz (BS aeronautical and astronautical engineering ’88) are part of the team responsible for recovering it and floating it into the well deck of the Navy ship. Then they will prepare it for truck transport back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

“It will be a great pleasure to see the years of practice and coordination between NASA, contractors and the military come together to safely recover the Artemis II crew and flight hardware, while also making history,” Endsley says. “While there will still be more work to do after recovery operations are complete, I think we will all breathe a sigh of relief once the astronauts are safely on board and the crew module is secured in the well deck of the naval vessel.”

‘The vibe for this one is off-scale high’ 

The Artemis II mission has been historic for many reasons. On Monday, April 6, crewmates Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen eclipsed the Apollo 13 crew’s record for the farthest distance of a human spaceflight. The Orion spacecraft eventually reached 252,756 miles from Earth, beating the Apollo 13 record by approximately 4,000 miles. 

The Artemis II lunar voyage also marked the first time humans traveled to the moon since December 1972, when Boilermaker astronaut and Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan (BS electrical engineering ’56) took the most recent steps on the lunar surface. The significance of this trip was obviously not lost on those who dedicated years to ensuring that NASA could successfully send a new collection of astronauts to the moon and back. 

“I can tell you that the vibe for this one is off-scale high,” says Lantz, who has supported 108 launches since 1989 while working for NASA or government contractors with the space shuttle program. “Low earth orbit is cool, but going to the moon is awesome. Especially since I was only 8 years old in 1972 when we had the last moon mission, and I honestly do not remember it at all. I am nearing the end of my career, and I can honestly say this is one of the greatest highlights of it, along with being able to deliver each of the retired space shuttle orbiters to their retirement homes: Discovery to Washington, D.C., Enterprise to New York City, Endeavour to Los Angeles, and Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.” 

That is a common sentiment among his colleagues who, like many Americans, watched the April 1 liftoff with a combination of excitement, awe and sentimentality. 

“Honestly, it was an emotional experience for me,” says Spreen, who watched the event at Kennedy Space Center. “My journey to NASA started when I saw a space shuttle launch in high school with my family — I wanted to be a part of human spaceflight. Now it feels like my journey is coming full circle. I am a part of it!” 

As members of the Expedited Recovery Team (ERT), Endsley and Lantz were already in San Diego at liftoff. If the crew experienced any complications that forced them to abort the mission and splash down prematurely in the Pacific, the ERT was on standby to mobilize and quickly rescue the astronauts. 

Fortunately no such issues arose, so the ERT members were able to enjoy the occasion together at a high-spirited watch party. 

“To be completely honest, we were all literally amazed that we launched on the first attempt,” Lantz says. “There was a lot of hooting and hollering, high-fives and quite a few tears shed. You work on a vehicle for years assembling and testing it, and it launches on the first attempt. It was magical for sure.” 

During the mission, the Artemis crew has tested life-support and other critical systems and capabilities of the Integrity spacecraft, such as its ability to execute docking maneuvers for future flights. 

Their work has helped set the stage for a new era of space exploration, advancing NASA’s plans for new moon landings, lunar settlements and voyages deeper into space in the coming decades. And when they return to Earth from this historic mission, the Boilermaker alums will be there to welcome them home. 

“I am most excited to see the crew module come down under parachutes and splash down,” Endsley says. “That is a sight not many people get to see with their own eyes, and I feel very fortunate to get to do that.”

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‘It feels like the first time, still’ 

The Boilermakers on the Landing and Recovery team have already participated in numerous training exercises in preparation for Friday’s splashdown, including many Underway Recovery Tests as well as the recovery of the uncrewed Artemis I capsule in 2022. 

Spreen leads the “Sasquatch” recovery team, which projects the capsule location and helps to safely position the NASA and naval recovery crews to avoid the descending capsule and items that are jettisoned off during the parachute sequence. 

If you’re wondering what the recovery process has to do with Bigfoot, allow Spreen to explain the tracking process. 

“The positioning of those (jettisoned) items is predicted as ‘footprints,’ hence the team name, ‘Sasquatch,’” she says. 

Perhaps it’s a silly name, but the software’s accuracy during the Artemis I landing was no joke. 

“The performance of the ‘Sasquatch’ team was incredible, and our predictions on Artemis I were very accurate. I was thrilled,” Spreen says. “I expect similar accuracy for Artemis II. My team works very hard to make sure that we can get recovery forces as close as safely possible to expedite crew and capsule recovery and obtain engineering imagery for flight test objectives.” 

Lantz, NASA’s lead engineer for the handling and access subsystem, shares responsibility with the lead engineer of a contractor crew for recovering the crew capsule into the ship’s well deck. They have conducted training runs aboard Navy ships numerous times since the Artemis I splashdown. 

Endsley worked in launch operations before, during and after the Artemis I launch — he is also lead ground instrumentation engineer for Artemis — but did not begin working in recovery until after watching its awe-inspiring return on video. The self-described lifelong space nerd noticed the similarity between the Artemis recovery process and that of the Apollo years and immediately lobbied to add recovery responsibilities to his job description. 

“I worked hard to learn as much as I could, continually expressed my interest in joining the team, and really just did not give up until I got the chance,” he says. “Every time I have gone out to sea since then, it feels like the first time, still, and is easily my favorite part of my job.”

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‘Purdue was setting me up for great things’ 

Those familiar with Purdue’s extensive space legacy will not be surprised to learn that the three alums are among many Boilermakers working on the Artemis program. 

“It’s always enjoyable to hear ‘Boiler Up!’ while at work or see Purdue gear while walking out of the Vehicle Assembly Building,” Endsley says. “There are quite a few Purdue alumni that work on the Artemis program, and this is evident by the fact that on this small recovery team there are multiple of us on the Navy ship. Every time I see another Purdue alum, I am reassured that I made the right choice in attending Purdue, which started me on a path to arrive where I am today.” 

Lantz agrees, noting that “it is quite special to share these special moments with fellow Boilermakers.” 

Supporting NASA’s goal to return astronauts to the moon, with the next footprints potentially being left in the lunar dust by 2028, gives their work added purpose. 

“I wanted to be a part of history in the making,” Spreen says. “I also really enjoy the adventure of getting to go underway on a U.S. Navy ship and interface across many different teams at NASA and the DOD. It is a lot of fun to be a part of, and I’ve met so many brilliant people along the way. I like feeling like my work makes a difference and is important, and I most definitely get that feeling from the work I do with Landing and Recovery at NASA.” 

The work is indeed pivotal — and their Purdue training has uniquely prepared them to do it well. 

“I still remember the day I got my acceptance letter; I knew then that I was on the right path to achieve my dreams,” Endsley says. “While I was very aware that Purdue was setting me up for great things in my future, I still would never have dreamed of being able to do the job I do. 

“Purdue has a storied history with spaceflight, and I was keenly aware of that,” he continues. “I am honored to be a small part of continuing that legacy by not only helping to build the vehicle returning humans to the moon for the first time since 1972 but also being there to recover the astronauts out of the ocean. As I sit here preparing for recovery, it reminds me that every night studying at the Purdue University Airport, Hicks Library or in my dorm was worth every moment. Those long nights, homework and final exams laid the foundation of the path that led me to this moment.”