Scott Nicholas
Rolls-Royce
has opened a facility at the Purdue Research Park Aerospace District in West Lafayette, Indiana, where the company will research and develop jet engine components for customers globally.
The Purdue Technology Center Aerospace will house a Rolls-Royce group that aims to design, build and test engine parts, collaborate with Purdue University researchers via corporate partnerships and recruit student interns and graduates, the university said Thursday.
The university and the company signed a $33 million agreement last year to collaborate on the development of aircraft propulsion systems and offer students an opportunity to work for the engine manufacturer.
The 980-acre Purdue aerospace district is built through a $1 billion partnership between the Browning Investments and the Purdue Research Foundation.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels said that Rolls Royce’s arrival at the aerospace district builds on a long history of collaboration that supported both parties including students at Purdue.
The district covers the Purdue University Airport, Purdue Aviation, Mach 6 Quiet Flow Ludwieg Tube Wind Tunnel and the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories.
An MV-22 Osprey aircraft was showcased at the Purdue University Airport during a public event held Thursday.
Rolls Royce designed, engineered and manufactured AE 1007C engines that currently power the Osprey transport aircraft Bell Boeing built for the U.S. Marine Corps.
