Explore research stories on Purdue’s The Persistent Pursuit

Purdue’s thriving culture of innovation dates to its earliest days

As a land-grant institution, Purdue University was created in part to conduct research that improves the lives of people in Indiana and beyond. Whether feeding the hungry, healing the sick or introducing the next great technological innovation, researchers remain persistent in their pursuit of knowledge that will change the future.

Discover why we’re one of the world’s top-ranked research facilities and learn about life-changing breakthroughs.

Top 10

Most Innovative School in the U.S. Six Years Running U.S. News & World Report, 2024

$613M

Secured in Research Funding

in the U.S. for Patents U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2023

Purdue scientist reflects on her passion for studying Mars’ geology, landscape

Briony Horgan grew up in Portland, Oregon, where, enjoying the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded the region, she developed a love of geology. A long-standing interest in space made Horgan realize she wasn’t confined to study rocks simply on Earth.

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The whitest paint is here – and it’s the coolest. Literally.

In an effort to curb global warming, Purdue University engineers have created the whitest paint yet. Coating buildings with this paint may one day cool them off enough to reduce the need for air conditioning, the researchers say.

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Engineering professor Andrew Whelton contributes to recovery efforts at communities impacted by wildfires like Maui, Hawaii.

Purdue professor ‘brings the world’ to help after Maui, Hawaii, wildfires

The sense of purpose that initially inspired Andrew Whelton still pushes him to help at disaster sites today.

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Imaging agent illuminates
lung cancer tumors

Surgery, especially surgery to remove cancerous tumors, relies on a range of tools and techniques, as well as on the skill of the surgeon. Now, new imaging agent Cytalux will make surgery to remove lung cancer tumors a little more exact.

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The Podcast Ep 85: Purdue Research Series | A Look Into Semiconductors With Mark Lundstrom

In this episode of “This Is Purdue,” we’re featuring the first guest in our Purdue Research Series, Mark Lundstrom, Purdue University’s chief semiconductor officer.

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‘Talking’ concrete could help prevent traffic jams and cut carbon emissions Read Article

Training computers to tease out the subtext behind the text Read Article

Podcast Ep. 87: Purdue Research Series | A Look Into Food Safety, Security and Sustainability With Amanda Deering and Haley Oliver Listen to Podcast

Science enabling heat and air conditioning for long-term space habitats is almost fully available Read Article

Podcast Ep. 89: Purdue Research Series | A Look Into NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Boilermaker Ties to Space with Danny Milisavljevic Listen to Podcast

Purdue has developed a culture where discovery is the first step, not the final destination. Industry partners and entrepreneurs are aware of Purdue resources to bring innovations to the marketplace.

Mung Chiang

President, Purdue University

Research is about innovation. It’s the innovation engine that drives the country. That’s why it’s important. It is the thing that continues to give the U.S. a competitive advantage as a country, because we’re the ones on the leading edge making new discoveries that make a difference across the world.

Karen Plaut

Executive Vice President for Research, Purdue University

This MOU (memorandum of understanding) signed with Purdue University holds great significance for imec. It provides us with a unique opportunity to act as a major catalyst of worldwide semiconductor R&D in collaboration with a world-class American research university. This collaboration between these two R&D powerhouses from the U.S. and Europe underscores my strong conviction that international collaboration in semiconductor research and development is imperative for expediting progress by building on our strengths and innovating faster together.

Luc Van den hove

President and CEO, imec

Universities aren’t just places that present new knowledge; they’re places that create new knowledge, and students are essential to that. One of the things you see here at Purdue is that students at all levels — PhD, graduate and undergraduate students — are involved in research directly and will be involved directly in the activities at HARF (Purdue’s Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility).

Mark Lewis

CEO, Purdue Applied Research Institute