CRANE, Ind. –
The Indiana Research Consortium (IRC) convened top researchers from Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame, and subject matter experts from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane, at the Emerging Manufacturing and Collaboration Center (EMC²) for an ideation session centered on hypersonics—an area of increasing importance to U.S. national security. The IRC hypersonics session took place in Indianapolis on June 5.
“The IRC is committed to leveraging Indiana’s world-class research institutions and federal partnerships to address national security challenges,” said Dr. Jonathan Dilger, NSWC Crane Director of Research. “This session on hypersonics marks a key milestone in aligning our state’s scientific talent and infrastructure to accelerate breakthroughs in critical defense technologies.”
The session brought together multidisciplinary teams to explore emerging technologies, identify research priorities, and strengthen cross-institutional collaboration around hypersonic systems, materials, and testing capabilities.
At the IRC’s latest meeting, the event reinforced Indiana’s growing role as a leader in defense innovation. This collaborative gathering is an initial step of building a strategic plan for hypersonics that will continue deepening Indiana’s contributions to national security and enhance the regional innovation ecosystem.
Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame are founding members of the IRC, which began last year. They are also some of the state’s leading Research 1 (R1) institutions, which is a designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education for doctoral-granting universities with the highest research activity and doctorate production.
All three institutions are home to world-leading graduate engineering and science degree programs that advance fundamental principles into real-world applications through basic and applied research. The IRC has some of the nation’s most advanced capabilities and when combined, strengthen the consortium’s ability to solve complex national security challenges.
Indiana University is renowned for its cutting-edge programs in resilient microelectronics, cyber security, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and secure data analytics.
“This latest workshop is a prime example of how the Indiana Research Consortium is bringing together Indiana’s three R1 universities to meet our country’s most critical defense needs,” said Scott Bullock, director of national defense research and development relations and director of the Applied Research Center at Indiana University. “While we focused specifically on hypersonics, the proposed capabilities being created by the consortium have the potential to support many other programs within the Department of Defense.”
Purdue University is a national leader in aerospace, energetics, materials, chemical, and electrical engineering programs, as well as leading microelectronics, nanotechnology, and cyber security research capabilities.
“This meeting marks an important step forward in bringing Indiana’s world-class research universities together with NSWC Crane to address some of today’s toughest national security challenges,” said Dr. Lawrence Buja, chief program development officer in the Office of Research at Purdue University.
The University of Notre Dame is esteemed for its research in hypersonics, nuclear physics and radiation research, microelectronics fabrication, wireless and spectrum, and advanced materials science.
“I’m very pleased that this workshop attracted so many topic experts from the leading research universities right here in Indiana," said Dr. Ed Maginn, associate vice president for research at Notre Dame and Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Engineering. "We are excited about these connections and are looking forward to them sparking new, innovative research ideas and partnerships that will benefit both Hoosiers and the nation."
NSWC Crane, a key partner through a multiparty Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the IRC, brings decades of expertise in Fleet Readiness and Modernization, Hypersonics, Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations, and Autonomous Systems.
NSWC Crane’s participation ensures that the IRC’s work is informed by the urgent needs of the warfighter and aligned with U.S. defense priorities. NSWC Crane prioritizes hypersonics research, advanced concepts, design, development, and test and evaluation. NSWC Crane is home to the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office System Engineering Field Activity, where the team does technology road mapping and national workforce development initiatives.
“NSWC Crane places emphasis on building collaborative ecosystem partnerships to accelerate the development and transition of technology to our DOD end users,” said Dr. Kyle Werner, the Deputy Technical Director at NSWC Crane. “We are pleased to partner with the IRC across multiple critical defense technology areas with an aim to catalyze innovation at the intersection of academia and government. Throughout the hypersonic ideation session IRC members demonstrated a collection of capabilities that represent significant potential for hypersonic research advancement.”
The IRC is designed to position Indiana as a national hub for defense research and development. By coordinating collaborative efforts across the state’s leading R1 universities and Department of Defense stakeholders, the consortium plays a vital role in advancing defense technologies while positioning Indiana as a national leader and critical hub for defense research, which in turn will promote economic growth and attract top-tier talent to the region.
Additional ideation sessions are planned to take place this year, covering topics such as cyber-physical systems. These regular sessions are a way for the IRC to collaborate on research proposals at the federal level.
About NSWC Crane | NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electromagnetic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi-spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today's Warfighter.