Purdue University Mechanical Engineering

NO DRIVER REQUIRED: Watch Purdue's autonomous race car challenge the corkscrew! The Indy Autonomous Challenge returns to Laguna Seca on the final IndyCar weekend of September 3: https://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com/laguna-seca-2026

Aakash Gupta earned his Doctorate degree entirely online while working full-time at Cummins. Find out how he did it: https://www.purdue.edu/online/for-these-two-purdue-university-graduates-an-online-degree-was-the-key-to-innovation-discovery/

Ajay Malshe will be testifying to the US Senate today about innovation in small businesses, specifically about his company focused on in-space manufacturing. You can watch the testimony here: https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=353ADA36-C5AA-4B7B-88BA-3B2410824900

Congratulations to Xiulin Ruan, recipient of the 2026 ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/News/2026/xiulin-ruan-receives-asme-heat-transfer-memorial-award

WHAT WE DID ON OUR SUMMER VACATION: Nationwide, only 5% of engineering students study abroad. At Purdue, it’s closer to 40%. This global influence enables both students and staff to see the world from a brand-new perspective, as evidenced by this year’s five different Maymester trips: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/News/2026/my-summer-abroad-overseas-trips-enrich-both-staff-and-students-

Bill Link (BSME 1969, MSME 1970, PhD 1973) went from slopping hogs on a farm, to studying supersonic flows at Purdue, to becoming a pioneer in ophthalmology. Read about Bill's amazing journey: https://www.ocbj.com/oc-homepage/the-birth-of-ocs-ophthalmology-industry/

Most agricultural tractors use petroleum-based diesel fuel — even though a significant amount of the corn they are harvesting goes toward making ethanol. Could tractors start using ethanol as fuel? That’s the project being tackled by Purdue University, John Deere, Cummins, and a consortium of biofuel producers: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/News/2026/purdue-biofuels-consortium-to-bring-biodiesel-and-ethanol-blends-to-diesel-engines

Will people pay for a battery-powered stove? Rebecca Ciez lists the upsides and downsides in this Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/07/28/stove-with-batteries-inside-can-transform-your-kitchen-energy-bill/

Congratulations to Jay Gore, recipient of the 2026 Holley Medal from ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), recognizing outstanding and unique acts of an engineering nature, accomplishing a noteworthy and timely public benefit. Jay was cited for "lifelong discoveries and teaching in sustainable energy, gas turbines, internal combustion engines, and power plants efficiency; and for advancing fire safety using fundamentals of scientific engineering measurements and computations augmented with artificial intelligence." https://www.asme.org/about-asme/honors-awards/achievement-awards/holley-medal

FUN IN F1: Roberto Figueroa (BSME 2012) got his start in motorsports at the Purdue Grand Prix. Now he is Aerodynamics Project Leader for McLaren Racing, the current Formula 1 World Champions: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/News/2026/from-purdue-grand-prix-to-formula-1-roberto-figueroa-helps-mclaren-win-a-world-championship