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Purdue University — FO Mega-Cluster

Last updated: Session 23, 2026-04-06

Summary

Purdue University has 21 FO projects across 4 research groups — the largest institutional FO footprint by project count. Three PIs (Collicott, Mudawar, Alexeenko) dominate, connected by co-PI relationships and shared infrastructure. Combined, Purdue represents a continuous 14-year FO research program (2012–2027) spanning propellant slosh dynamics, cryogenic heat transfer, micropropulsion, and space surgery.

This is not a single-technology cluster like Carthage MPG — it's a multi-PI, multi-technology university research ecosystem that uses FO as its primary reduced-gravity testing infrastructure.

PI Projects Focus Period Key Outcome
Steven Collicott 15 (13 PI + 2 co-I) Propellant slosh, zero-g fluid dynamics 2013–2027 Virgin Galactic crew 2027; connects to GRC RFMG; AAE 418 course
Issam Mudawar 4 Cryogenic heat transfer 2012–2026 STTR Phase III; ISS FBCE; 400+ publications
Alina Alexeenko 1 (+ Collicott co-I) FEMTA water microthruster 2019–2025 NS-29 flight Jan 2025; open-source potential
Collicott + others 1 Space surgical suction 2021–2024 Extends Orbital Medicine arc

Total: 21 FO projects. No commercial outcomes. Outcome archetype: Knowledge Payload — pure science, engineering data, and academic training pipeline.

Group 1: Collicott Slosh Dynamics (15 projects)

Steven Collicott (Purdue AAE) is the most prolific PI in the entire FO portfolio with 15 projects spanning 2013–2027. His work addresses a fundamental engineering problem: how liquid propellant behaves in spacecraft tanks during maneuvers in zero gravity.

Project List

# ID Title TRL Period Role
1 106651 Spacecraft Pointing Control + Zero-G Slosh 4→5 2019–2025 PI
2 106602 Cryo Bubble Nucleation in LADs 7→7 2021–2026 PI
3 106630 Zero-g Slosh Model Technology 4→6 2019–2025 PI
4 106718 Green Propellant Zero-G Control 4→5 2022–2027 PI
5 106664 Lander Plume-Structure Heat Transfer 4→6 2021–2025 PI
6 106582 Cryo Gauging Technology Geometry (Surface Evolver for RFMG) 4→6 2018–2020 PI
7 91665 Low-G Flow Boiling Textured Surfaces 4→5 2015–2017 PI
8 89309 Zero-g Condensation Droplets/Flow 4→6 2016–2019 PI
9 91656 Zero-g Green Propellant Management 4→5 2018–2020 PI
10 91657 Advancing Diaphragm Modeling for PMD 4→6 2015–2017 PI
11 106643 Automated Hi-Def Video Systems (Suborbital) 4→6 2020–2024 PI
12 106672 Small-Sat Propellant Management Tech 4→6 2020–2024 PI
13 91424 Stratospheric Parabolic Flight Tech 4→5 2013–2018 PI
14 106637 FEMTA Micropropulsion 4→6 2019–2025 Co-I
15 106655 Medical Suction + Surgical Facility 4→6 2021–2025 Co-I

Key Downstream Connections

  • [106582] → GRC RFMG [12177] → IM-1 Moon: Collicott provided Surface Evolver modeling that supported GRC's RF Mass Gauge. RFMG flew on IM-1 Odysseus. This is an indirect but real connection between Purdue slosh work and a technology on the Moon.
  • [106602] → ISS experiment follow-up: Knowledge payload resolving anomalous vapor bubble nucleation observed on ISS.
  • Virgin Galactic Galactic 07 (June 8, 2024): Collicott flew an FO experiment on the last VSS Unity commercial flight.
  • "Purdue 1" crewed mission (2027): An all-Boilermaker Virgin Galactic suborbital mission with Collicott as crew — the first university research crew on a commercial suborbital flight.
  • AAE 418 course: ~10 students per semester fly parabolic experiments. FO funds the research infrastructure that supports academic training.

Why No Commercial Outcomes?

Collicott's work is foundational fluid dynamics — it produces correlations, models, and engineering data that spacecraft designers use. The "product" is knowledge, not hardware. This data feeds into every propellant management system design (Orion, Gateway, commercial landers) without being directly attributable. It's infrastructure-level research.

Group 2: Mudawar Cryogenic Heat Transfer (4 projects)

Issam Mudawar runs the Boiling and Two-Phase Flow Laboratory (BTPFL) at Purdue — the leading academic lab for microgravity heat transfer research. His FO work addresses cryogenic pool boiling and flow boiling in reduced gravity, directly supporting Artemis propellant system design and Mars ISRU cryogenic processing.

# ID Title TRL Period
1 12243 Flow Boiling + Condensation in Reduced-G 3→5 2012–2015
2 184140 Cryo Pool Boiling Reduced Gravity 3→4 Sep 2025 (1-month)
3 155235 Spray HTC for Cryo Chilldown 4→5 2023–2026 (active)
4 106638 Cryo Two-Phase Heat Transfer Coefficients 4→6 2021–2026 (active)

Key Connections

  • ISS FBCE (Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment): Mudawar's major ISS experiment, operational since 2021–2022. Multiple 2025 publications in International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. FO parabolic flights are the precursor data collection for ISS experiment design.
  • STTR Phase III ($366.6K, April 2026): Triggered by 1-month FO flight [184140]. Fastest FO → follow-on funding conversion in the portfolio (7 months).
  • Co-I Jason Hartwig (NASA Glenn): On 2 of 4 Mudawar FO projects. Hartwig is also co-I on Aerospace Corp [106642] and others in the cryogenic cluster. This is the GRC-Purdue pipeline.
  • Mudawar Thermal Systems Inc.: SBIR/STTR vehicle for translating BTPFL research into federal contracts. Not a "real" company in the venture sense.

Group 3: Alexeenko FEMTA Micropropulsion (1 project)

Alina Alexeenko developed FEMTA (Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array) — a water-based microthruster using surface tension and micro-heaters. Flew on Blue Origin NS-29 (January 2025) — the final New Shepard FO flight.

ID Title TRL Period
106637 FEMTA Micropropulsion 4→6 2019–2025
  • Co-I: Collicott — connecting Groups 1 and 3
  • Open-source potential: FEMTA design could become a freely-shared CubeSat attitude control system for university teams
  • No commercial partner or SBIR found — pure academic maturation
  • 2,742 TechPort views — highest of any Purdue FO project

Group 4: Space Surgery (1 project, Collicott co-I)

106655 Medical Suction + Aqueous Immersion Surgical Facility extends the Orbital Medicine 12196 arc. Collicott contributes fluid dynamics expertise to a multi-institution team (Purdue + Louisville + Orbital Medicine). TRL 4→6 (2021–2024).

Network Map

                    GRC RFMG [12177] ← Surface Evolver modeling ← [106582]
                         ↓
                    IM-1 Moon (Feb 2024)

    Collicott (15 projects) ←── co-I ──→ Alexeenko (FEMTA)
         |                                    ↓
    co-I on [106655]                    NS-29 Jan 2025
    Space Surgery
         |
         ↓
    Orbital Medicine arc

    Mudawar (4 projects) ←── co-I Hartwig (GRC) ──→ Aerospace Corp [106642]
         |                                               ↓
    ISS FBCE                                    Nature npj Microgravity 2025
    STTR Phase III

Purdue vs Other University Clusters

University FO Projects PIs Years Commercial Outcome?
Purdue 21 4 14 (2012–2027) No — knowledge payloads
UCF (regolith) 13 5 14 (2012–2026) No — science data
Carthage (MPG) 9 1 13 (2014–2027) Yes — IM-3 lander + Airbus
Montana State (RadPC) 3 1 4 (2013–2017) Yes — lunar surface + spinoff
UMD (Kim heat transfer) 4 1 8 (2011–2019) No — ISS data pipeline

Pattern: Purdue's size comes from having multiple PIs each running large arcs. Carthage and Montana State had single PIs with commercial focus. The knowledge-payload archetype dominates large university clusters; commercial outcomes come from focused, single-technology arcs.

Summary Statistics

  • 21 total FO projects (highest institutional count)
  • TRL distribution: 12 projects at TRL 4→5 or 4→6 (typical). No TRL 9 achieved.
  • Mean TRL gain: +1.6 (close to portfolio average of +1.7)
  • Views: 15,000+ cumulative across all Purdue FO projects
  • Publications: 400+ (Mudawar alone); Collicott + Alexeenko add ~50+
  • Downstream $: STTR Phase III ($366.6K Mudawar) only tracked direct follow-on. No commercial contracts from Collicott or Alexeenko FO work.
  • Flight platforms used: Zero-G parabolic, Blue Origin New Shepard, Virgin Galactic VSS Unity, balloons, sounding rockets

Cross-references