WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and PULLMAN, Wash. – Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) announces plans to build a 100,000-square-foot facility for electric power research in the Purdue Discovery Park District designed to support up to 300 new high-tech jobs.
In addition, Purdue alumnus, Edmund O. Schweitzer III, and his wife, Beatriz Schweitzer, will donate funds to support the pipeline of innovation at Purdue, with $1.5 million going to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering or ECE to endow a professorship, and another $1.5 million to support the school’s power and energy systems research area.
The SEL corporate expansion, called SEL Purdue, will conduct electric power research and development in the new facility. The space is designed to hold up to 300 employees; the numbers and types of employees will increase as the company’s business needs evolve and grow.
“We are excited to establish a larger presence in the Midwest,” said Schweitzer, who is the founder of the 100 percent employee-owned Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. “The Discovery Park District, adjacent to the Purdue Airport, is a convenient location for our business aviation needs and company’s future expansion. This new facility will enable us to enhance the service we provide to our customers in the area, and we will benefit from the proximity to Purdue by both research and the talent pool the university provides. There is a high demand for power engineering, and this initiative will help us meet those demands.”
The SEL Purdue building will be built on 10 acres of a 20-acre plot on the northwest corner of U.S. 231 and Newman Road, near the new Rolls-Royce facility in West Lafayette. Groundbreaking for SEL Purdue is expected to take place this summer. The site is designed to hold a second building depending on company growth and needs.
“Here in Indiana, we’re committed to making our state a hub for innovation and a magnet for jobs,” Gov. Eric J. Holcomb said. “Working with one of Indiana’s leading universities, SEL will continue to advance breakthrough technologies that support electric power grids around the world. We look forward to watching the company succeed, grow and provide more great jobs for Hoosiers.”
“This is the breakthrough moment we’ve hoped for in making the Discovery Park District dream real. High-quality jobs and internships for our students; new research opportunities for our faculty; and new homebuyers and customers for the residential and retail components,” Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said. “Greater Lafayette can become one of the high-tech economic centers of the country, with the Discovery Park District at its core.”
The $1 billion Discovery Park District is a 30-year plan to transform the west side of the Purdue University campus.
“The SEL Purdue announcement, combined with the Discovery Park District master plan and Convergence building announced earlier this week, are clear indicators of the economic growth and quality of life advancements that can be anticipated in the coming years through the rapid developments taking place at Purdue and surrounding areas,” West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said.
“Greater Lafayette is poised to become one of the high-tech centers of the country, with the Discovery Park District as its core,” said Gary Henriott, chair of Wabash Heartland Innovation Network. “I believe we have the right leadership and resources to make it happen.”
A Northbrook, Illinois, native, Schweitzer earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1968 and 1971.
“Purdue, of course, is dear to me and my family. My grandfather, the first Edmund Schweitzer, earned his degree in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1898,” Ed Schweitzer said. “Supporting education is important to Bea and me, and we’re pleased our gifts to Purdue will provide current and future students with the educational and life skills needed for future success. And, with SEL Purdue there is no doubt that many will become SEL employees.”
The Purdue School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is one of the largest in the United States and is consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally.
“It is the generosity of alumni and friends like Ed and Beatriz Schweitzer that makes Purdue’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering what it is today by supporting the outstanding research and educational opportunities we provide for students,” said Venkataramanan Balakrishnan, the Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “In particular, ECE’s power and energy systems faculty and students will benefit greatly from philanthropic funding and research connections made possible by the university’s partnership with SEL. We are grateful to Ed and Beatriz and are delighted to be forever connected with the Schweitzer name in such a fitting way.”