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Purdue University partners with U.S. Space Force

Purdue President Mitch Daniels and Gen. David D. “DT” Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, sign an agreement making Purdue one of the founding members of the new Space Force University Partnership Program. (Purdue University photo/Rebecca McElhoe)

Purdue University, known as the “Cradle of Astronauts,” established a new partnership with the U.S. Space Force on Wednesday, Sep. 29, to utilize university research, innovation and talent development as the latest member of the Space Force’s University Partnership Program.

Purdue President Mitch Daniels and Gen. David D. “DT” Thompson, USSF vice chief of space operations, signed a memorandum of agreement on the Purdue campus.

The signing was part of a two-day campus visit for Thompson, who received his master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the university in 1989. Thompson said the UPP will leverage the internationally renowned research and educational opportunities available at Purdue to take on the engineering, science and technology issues facing the Space Force.

While on campus, Thompson met with Air Force ROTC cadets training for Space Force, as well as officers in the Purdue Military Research Initiative.

Thompson also talked with university leaders, heard from faculty at Maurice J. Zucrow Labs and took driving tours of Purdue’s Discovery Park and the Aerospace District, a university-affiliated aerospace business hub for public and private research collaborations on research and commerce.

Purdue is one of 11 universities initially selected to join the UPP. Establishing strategic partnerships with this select set of nationally renowned universities allows the Space Force to recruit and educate a diverse, high-caliber workforce, offer opportunities to advance research in specific areas of interest, and develop a 21st-century, technology-savvy military service. Research is the largest component of the program, with Purdue and other universities each having its own research component.

Purdue was selected on criteria including the quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) degree offerings and space-related research laboratories and initiatives; a robust ROTC program; a diverse student population; and degrees and programming designed to support military, veterans and their families in pursing higher education.

Following Wednesday’s signing, Purdue and the Space Force will begin working together to meet the program’s major goals, including establishing research assistantships, internship agreements, opportunities for Guardians to pursue advanced degrees and both ROTC and civilian scholarship programs.

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Purdue University partners with U.S. Space Force – Wolly Mammoth News October 2, 2021 at 2:16 am

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