The Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI) is a non-profit, tax-exempt (501(c)(3)) wholly owned subsidiary of Purdue University (PU) in W. Lafayette, Indiana. PARI is unique in offering both the advantages of an agile global development organization, as well as access to the wide range of resources of a Tier 1 public research university. Formed as a strategic initiative of a land-grant university, PARI understands the importance of building cross-sectoral global development and national security interventions that engage academia, government, and the private sector. PU has successfully built a productive ($1 billion) university-industry ecosystem, including relationships with ~250 top 500 U.S. corporations as well as small and medium enterprises. It is one of FastCompany’s top 20 most innovative companies, and the most innovative university in the US. To support global cyber capacity building, PARI leverages myriad resources from across the university ecosystem:
- The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) is a cross-cutting institute that includes faculty from six different colleges and 20+ departments across campus. CERIAS is the world’s foremost interdisciplinary center for cyber and cyber-physical systems with 100 instructors, practitioners, and researchers addressing issues of security, privacy, resiliency, trusted electronics, autonomy, and explainable artificial intelligence. CERIAS brings together world-class faculty, students, and industry partners to design, build, and maintain trusted cyber/cyber-physical systems, and serves as an unbiased resource to the global community.
- Purdue cyberTAP was initially developed under a US Department of Labor grant to develop innovative models to meet the growing demand for cyber services and education globally. Guided by best practices and systems thinking, cyberTAP partners with public and private sector organizations to develop efficient, reliable cybersecurity and support IT practices designed for sustainable change. Our core team of security professionals comes with a wide range of educational and technology backgrounds and industry certifications from (ISC)2, SANS Information Security & Research, and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). cyberTAP also houses a state-of-the-art cyber range, offering a series of live-fire exercises that simulate real-life experiences ranging from defending against common network attacks through advanced penetration testing scenarios.
- PU’s Discovery Park District houses multiple institutes and centers that directly address global security and development, supporting research and innovation on cross-cutting themes such as Internet of Things sensor development; the future of quantum computing; artificial intelligence and data science applications; cybersecurity; autonomous systems/mobility; and policy and ethics research. In the field of cybersecurity, Discovery Park’s ongoing partnerships with national laboratories, international institutions, industry, and foundations provide opportunities for long-term collaboration.
- Purdue’s Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, a bipartisan initiative under the Purdue Research Foundation, is designed to build on the expertise of the university and diplomatic leaders to bridge the knowledge and experience gaps between innovators and policymakers. The institute’s objective is to provide research, training, and policy recommendations on technology security in critical sectors that are vital to US foreign policy and national security interests.
