Luna Lu appointed vice president of Office of Industry Partnerships
Luna Lu, Purdue’s Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, has been appointed vice president of the Office of Industry Partnerships. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University announced Monday (Nov. 25) the appointment of Luna Lu, the Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, as vice president of the Office of Industry Partnerships, or OIP. Lu, who will report to the senior vice president for partnerships and online with a dotted line to the executive vice president for research, begins this new role Jan. 1, 2025.
The OIP facilitates collaboration between businesses and university faculty, staff and students to create mutually beneficial relationships that drive innovation, research and economic impact. It directly executes on:
- Research partnerships
- Online learning and workforce development
- Corporate philanthropy
Additionally, the OIP collaborates closely with the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and the Office of the Provost to refer industry partners for:
- Economic development (PRF)
- Intellectual property and startups (PRF)
- Talent recruitment/internships (Office of the Provost)
The OIP also serves as a one-stop shop, providing internal support to all units and acting as a concierge for external industry partners. All master research agreements with industry will continue to be negotiated by the Office of Research in partnership with the OIP and PRF.
Dimitrios Peroulis, senior vice president for partnerships and online, said he’s excited that Lu is part of Purdue’s leadership team.
“Professor Lu’s extensive experience as an academic leader, researcher, educator and entrepreneur, as well as her visionary leadership, will be instrumental in driving impactful partnerships that advance research, enhance collaboration opportunities and contribute to economic growth. We are confident that her appointment will further strengthen Purdue’s position as a leader in industry engagement and innovation,” Peroulis said.
With the appointment, Lu will step down as associate dean of faculty in the College of Engineering. She will remain as Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering with a courtesy appointment in the School of Materials Engineering.
Lu assumes this new role at a time when Purdue is witnessing unprecedented growth in the research ecosystem and creation of strategic partnerships, both domestically and abroad.
“I’m equally humbled and thrilled to contribute to Purdue’s remarkable journey of discovery and collaboration,” Lu said. “Industry partnerships are at the cornerstone of many of the university’s successes in research, innovation and product creation. I look forward to working with our dedicated faculty, staff and partners to drive forward our shared mission.”
In addition to her academic and research expertise, Lu is the founder and CEO of Wavelogix, a Purdue-rooted startup that developed the REBEL concrete strength sensing system. The sensors are embedded into fresh concrete and can measure the concrete’s strength levels in real time, conveying when highway pavement is strong enough for traffic.
Wavelogix’s sensor system has garnered national industry recognition:
Cristina Farmus paused her responsibility as vice president for special projects to serve as interim vice president of OIP earlier this year. She now resumes as vice president for special projects.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Cristina Farmus for her exceptional leadership and dedication as the interim vice president for industry partnerships over the past several months. Her efforts have laid a strong foundation for future partnerships that will continue to benefit our students, faculty and the broader community,” Peroulis said.
Lu’s research centers on the discovery and engineering of functional nanomaterials and devices to enable smart infrastructure systems. She has authored two books, six book chapters and more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, and holds 10 published and provisional patents.
Her research has garnered several prestigious awards and honors, including the 2014 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 2019 Purdue Faculty Scholar, the 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers Gamechanger recognition, the 2022 ASCE Alfred Noble Prize, the Fellow of Royal Society of Arts in 2022, and a 2024 R&D 100 finalist.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
