High schoolers from all over Indiana recently converged at Allison Transmission's Demonstration Track in Indianapolis for an all-electric go-kart test session. For many of the teams joining Purdue's evGrandPrix "Test and Tune" events this season, this is their high school's first experience with electric vehicle design, and they have no plans of slowing down.

Purdue Polytechnic and the College of Engineering celebrated the dedication of Dudley and Lambertus Halls, the Engineering & Polytechnic Gateway Complex. The state-of-the-art $140 million complex, built during the last three years, opened in January 2023. It is now home to new laboratories for the Polytechnic’s School of Construction Management Technology, School of Engineering Technology, Department of Computer and Information Technology and Department of Computer Graphics Technology, plus faculty offices and numerous labs and offices for the College of Engineering.

Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute and the School of Mechanical Engineering are collaborating to offer Purdue Motorsports’ evGrandPrix program for Indiana high schools, a STEM-rich experience that uses a race competition with electrically powered go-karts to encourage students to consider pursuing either an engineering technology or engineering degree. The season’s first “Test and Tune” event at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis will give high school students a chance to test their electric go-karts and learn firsthand from Allison engineers about future career opportunities.

Come to class, build a guitar. In Purdue Polytechnic, a college that strongly emphasizes hands-on learning, is it any wonder that Professor Mark French’s “guitar lab” course is a student favorite?

Angel Price, senior manager of engineering services at Walt Disney World Resort, dreamed of a career in the entertainment industry working in special effects. She found her way into our Mechanical Engineering Technology major and then to an internship at Disney — leading to a full-time career after graduating in 2007. Today, Angel leads a team of over 90 people at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, including engineers, mechanics, ride show technicians, computer experts and others.

Purdue Polytechnic’s Brittany Newell and Jose Garcia-Bravo and their colleagues created a novel wet-mixing method that allows for embedding sensors within the structure of 3D-printed parts. Their patent-pending method will aid industry in manufacturing functional parts.

Veronica Brems, Blaise King, Raul Molina and Autumn Yang, Purdue Polytechnic students majoring in construction management technology, have been named as inaugural Kiewit Scholars.

Purdue Polytechnic’s Jason Ostanek is collaborating with colleagues at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) on research to establish laboratory testing capability, enhance performance and improve the safety of lithium-ion batteries.

Purdue Polytechnic and Purdue Motorsports partnered to host “Test and Tune,” an event for high school students to test and improve their electric go-karts, last month at Purdue Polytechnic South Bend. The event provided high school go-kart teams a chance to practice for the Purdue evGrand Prix.

Mike O’Gara, director of operations for Chip Ganassi Racing and a 1994 Purdue mechanical engineering technology graduate, helped coach race car driver Marcus Ericsson to victory in the 2022 Indianapolis 500.