Innovation at Purdue University Northwest
Global Excellence, Right at Home...That's Powering Onward
Purdue University Northwest serves as a hub for innovation, supporting significant advancement on campus and transformative opportunities in the community.
PNW Innovation in Action
- PNW was elevated by the Higher Learning Commission to a doctoral-granting institution, coinciding with the approval of PNW’s third applied doctoral program, a Doctor of Psychology.
- PNW helps power our region. Our impact includes $745.9 million of total income: 2 percent of gross regional product.
- PNW researchers are playing major roles in the advancement of the Quantum Corridor, particle physics and steel decarbonization.
- PNW is working toward the opening of the Roberts Impact Lab, which will contribute to regional commercialization and business expansion.
- With nearly 20 research and specialty centers, PNW is committed to deepening our understanding of the world around us.
- All these factors contributed to PNW being named the third Innovation and Economic Prosperity University in Indiana.
PNW is an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University, an acknowledgment for public research universities with strong evidence of collaboration with public and private sector partners to support economic development, innovation, community development and other areas.
The PNW Design Studio, has a wide variety of equipment for engineering students to use in their projects.
The Roberts Impact Lab is a commercialization center and regional hub for business growth under development by Purdue University Northwest. Featuring PNW’s quantum computing lab, it will be the centerpiece of a new $40 million-plus downtown innovation district in Hammond, Indiana.
With nearly 20 research centers and institutes students, faculty and staff can collaborate and deepen their understanding of the world around them.
The additions of the Nils K. Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building, the PNW Design Studio, and the Dave Roberts Center for Innovation and Design provide students, faculty and staff with opportunities to work in fully updated, modern facilities.
I am excited to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation to ensure PNW remains a leader in regional economic development and workforce development.
PNW Chancellor Chris Holford
Innovation Updates
Magesh Chandramouli, professor of Computer Graphics Technology, spent three weeks during December 2025 as a U.S. Fulbright Specialist at Politecnico di Torino (Polytechnic University of Turin) in Turin, Italy.
PNW has once again received the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consults’ Academia Circle of Excellence Award in recognition of high-quality teaching that effectively prepares students and professionals to enter needed areas of the national cybersecurity workforce.
Purdue Northwest’s Roberts Impact Lab to start hosting innovation and research initiatives in 2026
Purdue University Northwest (PNW) leaders look forward to opportunities for innovation and workforce development enterprises to begin in 2026 at the university’s highly anticipated Roberts Impact Lab.