March 29, 2024

Bayer to open space in Purdue University’s Discovery Park District

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University announced June 18 that Bayer, a global life sciences company, intends to open Bayer at Convergence in Purdue’s Discovery Park District.

When fully staffed, the Bayer space in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration will employ students who will enhance and augment a robust agricultural innovation portfolio with additional enabling capabilities like information technology, data science and engineering.

Students will focus on cutting-edge, real-world and social scientific challenges in areas like advanced analytics, operations research, phenomics, genomics, plant science and precision breeding technologies.

The Bayer space will employ students who are studying various disciplines including agriculture, electrical engineering, user experience design, mechanical engineering, software engineering and imaging sensor science.

Bayer at Convergence will use digital tools and data to drive agricultural innovations, which can increase the efficiency and reduce the amount of water, land, and energy necessary to meet the world’s food, fuel and fiber needs.

“As a life science company, we strive to live up to our vision ‘Health for all, Hunger for none.’ Through agricultural innovations, we can help provide farmers improved tools and solutions to sustain our growing world,” said Mike Graham, head of Bayer’s Breeding, Crop Science Division. “We are excited to become members of the Purdue University campus and enhance our efforts in agricultural innovation.”

With the new space, Bayer intends to partner with Purdue faculty and researchers from across campus, representing different colleges and multiple disciplines.

It is focused on fostering a collaborative, entrepreneurial and solution-based framework where students will engage with innovative projects designed to enable novel innovation in crop sciences and agriculture.

Bayer has recently named Susana Diaz, a Purdue alumna, to lead the new Bayer at Convergence space. As current circumstances permit, Bayer plans to open the new space in the next several months.

The $1 billion-plus Discovery Park District is a Purdue Research Foundation entity adjacent to the Purdue University campus and is a transformational center of innovation.

“Bayer’s interdisciplinary approach is what we envisioned for the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration,” said David Broecker, chief innovation and collaboration officer for the Purdue Research Foundation. “This type of partnership fuels innovation for Purdue students, faculty, staff and our industry partners.”