Boilermaker Engineering Engenuity Podcast

At Purdue, classroom, lab and seminar learning is the springboard for a student’s deep dive into their passions. Purdue students are not only excelling in foundational tenets taught in that traditional academic setting — they are spilling out after class to join or start clubs and organizations, collaborating across disciplines with other students and faculty, entering national and international competitions, and hosting national expos in their fields. They are developing professionally by learning hands-on at industry level via internships and experiential Co-ops, and launching research and startups to take their pursuits to a whole new level. This episode of Engenuity features two students, Haddy Alchaer and Zoe Slatkin, who are taking part in the intellectual and innovation ferment — in their case, in space and robotics — that is bubbling across the Purdue campus.

Semiconductors and chips are at the heart of everything we do. They are some of the most fiendishly complex engineered devices ever built, and are getting even more complex as we race to develop chips with mind-boggling power to fuel artificial intelligence. Chips are also a national security priority, which is why the CHIPS Act aims to onshore, or near shore, semiconductor manufacturing. This is all in Purdue’s wheelhouse, as America’s “Semiconductor University.” Mark Lundstrom, Purdue’s chief semiconductor officer, draws upon his 50 years in the field to discuss technologies like advanced packaging that are driving sector innovation forward; the challenges to building out an enduring semiconductor ecosystem in the United States; and how Purdue is tackling the No. 1 industry challenge — workforce development — by leading an urgent, ambitious effort to educate engineers and skilled technicians for the most sophisticated and foundational technology we humans manufacture.

It’s widely agreed by all that United States infrastructure is in dire need of improvement, getting low grades like C- and D- in various studies. Luna Lu wants to make our aging infrastructure “smarter.” She’s leveraging the Internet of Things via her smart, materials-based sensor technology and novel, interpretive data-processing methods, enabling infrastructure to monitor and wirelessly communicate its condition with current and actionable information so we can detect problems earlier and mitigate them. This can vastly improve infrastructure maintenance and modernization, so our roads and bridges can keep commerce and people moving safely and efficiently and the American economy humming.

And Lu, the Reilly Professor of Civil Engineering in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue, isn’t done with her innovation journey — her sensor-based testing technology is gaining wider use across other sectors, and next on her agenda is investigating the manufacture of plant-based cement to provide not only carbon neutrality but a carbon-negative construction material that can absorb CO2 in permanent storage.

In this episode, we’ll have a conversation with Dr. Donna Riley, the Kamyar Haghighi Head of Engineering Education and discuss the origin of the first School of Engineering Education in the world, the transformation of our First-Year Engineering program, and how we adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Riley shares about the founder of Purdue's School of Engineering Education, Kamyar Haghighi and his vision for the first School of Engineering Education in the world.  She also discusses the research based approach used to transform the First-Year Engineering program to increase student engagement and retention. 

Prior to becoming Head of the Purdue’s School of Engineering Education Dr. Riley was Professor and Interim Head in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. From 2013 to 2015, she served as Program Director for Engineering Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Riley spent thirteen years as a founding faculty member of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, the first engineering program at a U.S. women’s college.  Riley earned a B.S.E. in chemical engineering from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Engineering and Public Policy. She is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education.  See full bio.

Eric Nauman, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University discusses his work to reduce head injuries in sports.

Nina Mahmoudian, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University shares about her work with controlling individual and multiple autonomous vehicles in harsh dynamic environments, addressing challenges that currently limit the use of autonomous vehicles in unknown complex situations.

Greg Shaver, a mechanical engineering professor at Purdue University discusses his work with connected Class 8 trucks and autonomous truck platooning.

Ran Dai, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics discusses her research on controlling autonomous systems in unmanned ground/aerial vehicles

Carson Slabaugh, assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University, discusses his advanced propulsion and combustion research at Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories.