Stacey Naughton (9:04)

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Maria Varmazes (9:35)

Our guests today are Stacey Knotton and John Ferency from Purdue University. I caught up with Stacy and John during Commercial Space Week to find out more about the new courses that are available at the university and about their plans for the Space Policy, Science and Technology Symposium and at Purdue coming up in March.

John Ferenczy (9:55)

My name is John Ferencine. I lead Economic development for the Purdue Research Foundation. And our goal and mission is to advance the mission of Purdue University.

Stacey Naughton (10:02)

I'm Stacey Kanan, the director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute. And on behalf of our whole team here, thank you so much for having us on today. We're delighted to talk with you about what's happening at Purdue.

Maria Varmazes (10:14)

Let's get into that, and let's do that today. So we are at spacecom, and y' all are here. To me, it makes a whole ton of sense. Purdue's name is so well spoken of, so well known in the space industry. But I'm curious, from your perspective, why are you here?

Stacey Naughton (10:28)

Well, we are here to touch base with our many, many alum who are here. We are known as the cradle of astronauts. We are now up to 30 astronauts. In fact, I heard a statistic that I think maybe it's about one third of US Space flights have had a Purdue grad on does not surprise me at all.

John Ferenczy (10:48)

Y. Yeah.

Stacey Naughton (10:49)

I mean, I find it remarkable, but knowing our students, I also, I believe it 100%. Our student body is incredible. And so we're here to celebrate that legacy. We're here to celebrate not only the legacy, but what we have coming up in the future. And one of those very exciting things related to space is that we have a virgin flight that will be going up within the next year. That is an all Purdue crew.

Maria Varmazes (11:16)

Wow.

Stacey Naughton (11:17)

Led by Professor Stephen Colicutt, who's a professor in our College of Engineering at Purdue. So a lot of good things. And in addition, as we'll talk about today, we're here to interact with colleagues in the space domain who share our love of research, of economic development in the domain, and then in training the next generation of space scientists, engineers, and professionals.

Maria Varmazes (11:42)

That's wonderful. Is there anything you want to add to that, John?

John Ferenczy (11:44)

We have a wide breadth of expertise in the space vertical, so we're looking to partner with all those companies that are trying to innovate and advance their business in their industries. Because what Purdue University really stands for is national security and national defense. Northern University has the focus on that as much as we do.

Maria Varmazes (12:06)

Yeah.

John Ferenczy (12:06)

So we work with companies all across the spectrum, nationally and internationally, to advance that security of. Of our war fighter and of our nations.

Podcast Announcer (12:16)

Yeah.

John Ferenczy (12:16)

So all the companies that have any innovative products, we would love to incorporate them into what we do to add value to their business. We've got over 58,000 students. 35,000 are STEM students. So across the board, we have over 500 research centers on campus. Some of those are one faculty and one research grad student. But some of them, like Zucor, has over 400 postdocs and researchers working for them. So we're able to apply our expertise to many, many companies. So it's just exciting for us to be able to add value to startups or existing Bellworths of companies.

Maria Varmazes (12:57)

Absolutely. Yeah. Y' all are a research powerhouse. I'd love to hear a little bit about your thoughts on, you know, the economic development, like regional economic development, but also workforce development. Again, you both touched on it a little bit, but sounds like there's some specific goals you're trying to achieve here.

John Ferenczy (13:11)

So, yeah, I can easily speak about the economic development. So what we have done in the state of Indiana is create a hard tech corridor from West Lafayette, Indiana, down to Indianapolis and then further south to Crane, which is the nswc, which is the Naval Surface Warfare center in Crane, Indiana. We actually have a facility there, and I manage that facility so that we can be a strong collaborator between the Navy and the University and then all the corporate partners that are involved in. In Purdue and in Crane. So with that hard tech corridor, we are supporting the warfighter, all warfighters. But because of the Navy aspect, we really focus on the naval warfighter and the army because our president is a colonel in the Army National Guard. So we have a real strong tie to hard tech.

Maria Varmazes (14:06)

Yeah.

John Ferenczy (14:06)

And now. And that's with missiles and other defense systems. So what we're now is really just lifting that ceiling and going into space. So we are working on systems for space hard tech and then advancing that from an innovative perspective. Excellent.

Maria Varmazes (14:24)

Anything you want to add?

Stacey Naughton (14:24)

You know, one of the things we are so proud of is that in 2021, I believe it was, John, our then president, Mitch Daniels, entered into one of the first MOUs with US Space Force.

John Ferenczy (14:36)

Oh, wow.

Stacey Naughton (14:36)

Yeah. And the partnership. And so, you know, we are dedicated Right. To. To serving Guardians and to collaborating with guardians all along the way. In today's news, this is not directly related to Guardians, but I think speaks to what John was talking about, about in. In space manufacturing and. And this is something we'll be covering at our upcoming symposium.

Maria Varmazes (15:00)

Yeah.

Stacey Naughton (15:01)

But it says Purdue is accepted. Expanding the scientific footprint of 2027's all BoilerMaker suborbital flight mission with the addition of onboard autonomous experiments in quantum technology and in space chip manufacturing. And that's coming out of three.

Maria Varmazes (15:18)

And.

Stacey Naughton (15:19)

Wow. Yeah, I mean, it is extraordinary. Our colleague, AJ Malsha is leading that effort along with many others and importantly students. So at Purdue, you will find, you know, if you're an undergraduate, a graduate student working in those spaces, you're integrated into all of this fantastic research and innovation.

John Ferenczy (15:39)

Yeah. And we have the world's largest academic propulsion laboratory, and we have the world's largest academic clean room at Class 1, which is unheard of in university space. So from the chip manufacturing, from design through fabrication, through usage, we can offer that to undergrads. And then also from the propulsion perspective, again, that's where we have over 400 researchers and those students are the cream of the crop and get jobs with every major prime that's involved in anything from engine manufacturing.

Maria Varmazes (16:14)

That's remarkable. And I wanted to also ask about. So we were talking a bit about the hard manufacturing, the corridor. Right. But also more broadly about the space industry, how you all interface with the space industry, which again, feels like one of those extremely obvious things because, like, you guys are everywhere. But tell me about that. Seriously. That would be great.

John Ferenczy (16:32)

We have the first man on the moon and the most recent man on the moon, and then there are some females in the astronaut program because I want the first man and the first woman on the moon to be from Purdue.

Maria Varmazes (16:43)

There you go.

John Ferenczy (16:44)

So again, with all the companies with SpaceX and all those companies are going in there, we're working on them on research projects because of all the research centers we have. So we're advancing that innovation and a lot of it besides. We're very much experts in propulsion and systems, but it's about the habitat. So we're creating some research centers where we're going to simulate the habitat of lunar and other space systems so that people learn how to live and educate and work while in space. So that's where the innovation is coming with the, you know, more of a human factors perspective. So our industrial engineering, our school of industrial engineering has a big human factors division. They're involved in the space habitat. That makes a lot of sense as well.

Maria Varmazes (17:32)

Yeah.

John Ferenczy (17:32)

Because, you know, when we're going there, unlike when you're on a, you know, in the military, you're on a ship for six months or a year, they're going to expect these people that, you know, families are going to be going and they're going to have to be able to live, work and play in space. Yeah. So we want to be ready for that as well.

Maria Varmazes (17:49)

You mentioned a symposium of some kind, an upcoming symposium. Is that something you want to talk about?

Stacey Naughton (17:53)

The symposium, actually really, I think, celebrates what we've all been talking about here today. And that is kind of the, the integration the needed integration of private sector, government, academia, venture capitalists. Right. In moving forward what should be us and is us space superiority. So the symposium is the brainchild of those of us at Purdue along with Brigadier General Kristen Panzenhagen of Space Force, who is a Purdue alumnus and a steering committee that consists of other Purdue alum from Lockheed Martin and other colleagues on campus. And what we aim to do is each year take a theme that is a priority issue for Space Force. So this year the theme is around space debris, Mitigating national security risks of space debris. And so you'll see if you go to, if you, if you google the Space Policy, Science and Technology symposium at Purdue, you will see the all star lineup of speakers. But importantly, this symposium is output driven, meaning that we produce from very rich conversations using an innovation science methodology produced by Joe Sinfield, a professor of engineering at Purdue. These rich conversations yield policy briefs and issue briefs that go to Brent Blevin's team on the Science, Space and Technology committee.

Podcast Announcer (19:24)

Wow.

Stacey Naughton (19:25)

So we are certainly interested in rich conversations, but at present, Purdue, we are output driven. Right. And we are very much interested in capturing. Right. Those that, that, that information that can then be translated potentially into informing policy conversations. So I will say something else about the symposium March 23rd through 25th on the West Lafayette campus. It is a wonderful time to be in West Lafayette and a wonderful time for anyone who would like to come to not only see the things that John and I have talked about today, but to interact with our students. The students are integral to everything that happens at that symposium. I'll give you an example. Last year we had colleagues from RAND there. One of the students landed an internship at rand.

John Ferenczy (20:14)

There you go.

Maria Varmazes (20:15)

That's the way to do it.

Stacey Naughton (20:16)

Really wonderful opportunity and open to everyone.

Maria Varmazes (20:19)

That's wonderful.

John Ferenczy (20:19)

Did you speak to who the speakers are this year from the companies?

Stacey Naughton (20:22)

I'd be happy to. So we've got again colleagues from Lockheed Martin, from Blue Origin, from Astroscale, us from Auburn University. Derek Tourneer is coming back from his time at STA to spend some time with us at Purdue. He's now of course with Auburn. We hopefully if all things are approved, we'll have Brigadier General Panzenhagen back along with Major General Chris Povak, the top, well, the research scientist lead for US Space Force, Stacy Williams will be with us partnering with afrl. I mean really just a dynamic, dynamic group and an all of university effort.

Maria Varmazes (21:09)

That sounds like a can't miss. Honestly that is a powerhouse lineup of speakers there. So that's Pretty cool.

John Ferenczy (21:14)

And those are all our partners at.

Maria Varmazes (21:15)

The university and we work with all.

John Ferenczy (21:17)

Those companies and agencies. And then there's one other thing I want to talk about. The Kroc Institute of Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. It's a Washington D.C. based think tank and what their mission is that technology advances freedom. So we work with like minded countries around the world to make sure there's diplomatic efforts in place so that technology advances freedom. Excellent. And that is going to go again. We're raising that ceiling on our tech corridor to include space, but it's an absolutely phenomenal organization.

Maria Varmazes (21:52)

Wonderful.

John Ferenczy (21:52)

Headquartered out of D.C. and working with like minded countries around the world to advance freedom through technology.

Maria Varmazes (21:59)

Wonderful. Is there anything about the educational side of things that you want that we wanted to drive home? Yes.

Stacey Naughton (22:03)

At Purdue, we believe very strongly that education happens at any point in life.

Podcast Announcer (22:09)

Yes.

Stacey Naughton (22:10)

And so while some people may prefer to learn in person on our residential campus where we can offer highly ranked programs in engineering of all sorts, including aeroastro and industrial engineering, et cetera, as well as in so many of the science domains, planetary science, as well as many others, we also believe very strongly that learners are at every, every age.

Maria Varmazes (22:38)

Right.

Stacey Naughton (22:39)

And that oftentimes learning, really good learning happens online. And so at Purdue, we have a comprehensive portfolio that seeks to meet students where they are.

Maria Varmazes (22:51)

Right.

Stacey Naughton (22:52)

So we will have students literally from all around the world at different phases of their careers engaged in our undergraduate master's programs. Everything from AI. Right. To different kinds of STEM areas that we at Purdue are known for and expert in. And so wherever. And this very, very much includes our members of the military. So whether you're a guardian or someone in the Air Force or someone in the Navy or somewhere in someone in the Army. Right. The Coast Guard, wherever you happen to be in the world, we at Purdue would love to journey with you as you continue your education. In addition to the residential and online programs that I mentioned, we also have a fully online doctorate in technology and engineering. And so absolutely, we are committed to. To meeting students where they are.

Maria Varmazes (23:56)

That's fantastic that you all offer that. And as I said, I will probably be looking into that later when I get home. So that's really fantastic. So I'm excited to hear about that. Well, I want to be sensitive to time, but I want to also make sure that you both get the last words. Any final thoughts that you want to leave people with? By all means, yeah.

John Ferenczy (24:13)

When you think Purdue, think innovation. And when you think national security and national defense, think Purdue.

Stacey Naughton (24:20)

Absolutely. Cutting edge research. Right. That again spans the university ecosystem, engineering and science. Absolutely. But also policy, ethics, political science and beyond.

Maria Varmazes (24:47)

We will be right back.

Podcast Announcer (24:52)

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Maria Varmazes (25:25)

And finally today, February 11th marks the UNESCO International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This year's theme is From Vision to Impact. Redefining STEM by Closing the Gender Gap and the Pipeline. Conversation is important, and it's always important to help get more girls interested in science. That is for sure. But I'm glad to see some of that conversation shifting attention to what happens after those girls arrive in stem. Certainly across the space industry, women are launching rockets, leading missions, building spacecraft, running labs and shaping policy. But we've talked about it a lot on this show over the years, and the data backs it up consistently. Recruitment is truly only half the battle, and efforts cannot stop with recruitment. Retention is where the real messy work begins. A lot of times this is where there might be a call to action for more mentorship of women in the sciences, but I would like to maybe put that idea to pasture. We have a plethora of mentors very happy to give career advice to women. Advice is free, after all, and boy, do people have a lot of it. But you can be the most mentored woman in an organization and still get nowhere. What women need is not more mentorship, but championship. Champions advocate for others. They put names forward for flight assignments, principal investigator slots, board seats, and executive roles. They speak up in rooms where the decisions are made. Champions attach their reputations to someone else's potential, and that is how we truly move the needle here. You cannot move upward in your career on individual excellence alone. To go beyond good intention to real impact in not just getting, but keeping women in stem, we need champions out front for the cause, not just a lot of advisors cheering on in the sidelines. So space folks, as we look towards Artemis 2 and beyond commercial stations and a more crowded and competitive space ecosystem, we gotta remember that closing the gender gap is not just a measure of fairness or niceness, it is a competitive advantage. Building the future of space needs a lot more than just vision. We need people making sure that the men and the women already doing the excellent hard work. Have someone actively championing training them to the next level. And that's T minus Brought to you by N2K CyberWire we'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like this show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or send an email to space2k.com we are proud that N2K Cyberwire is part of the daily routine of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector. From the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies, N2K helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection, we bring you the people, the technology and the ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how@n2k.com N2K's senior producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ibin. Peter Kielpe is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thank you for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

John Ferenczy (29:18)

T minus.

Podcast Announcer (29:34)

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