Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly released the following statement Thursday on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) recent announcement that Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame have been awarded merit-based funds to support state-of-the-art national defense-related scientific and engineering research.
Donnelly, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee said, “These awards are a reflection of the leading role of Indiana universities in high-tech R&D. Our Hoosier students and faculty are making significant contributions to our national security, and I have no doubt our nation will get an excellent return on the investment in their energy and creativity.”
Suresh Garimella, Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships at Purdue University said, “We appreciate the ongoing support of Sen. Donnelly as Purdue University researchers continue to partner with the U.S. Department of Defense in addressing the nation’s key science and technology needs. These new grants will add to our high-end instrumentation capabilities to assist with cutting-edge imaging research and our work in energetic materials.”
Robert J. Bernhard, Vice President for Research, University of Notre Dame, said, “The University of Notre Dame is very pleased to receive Department of Defense support for the development of our hypersonics and wireless communications facilities. These facilities are national resources and very important for research programs that enable basic discovery and research to support the security of our country.”
The Department of Defense is increasingly emphasizing the need to build partnerships across public, private, and academic institutions to advance the scope and pace of innovation in military systems and maintain America’s technological edge over advanced adversaries, like Russia and China. Donnelly has worked to raise awareness among military leaders of the cutting edge research at Purdue, Notre Dame and other Indiana colleges and universities, including growing the partnerships between these institutions and Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, a Navy laboratory in southwest Indiana.
