A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Rolls-Royce will expand its research and development footprint at Purdue University in a multi-million-dollar partnership with the university and the Purdue Research Foundation. The aircraft engine manufacturer has conducted jet engine component analysis in the 55,000-sq-ft Purdue Aerospace Technology Center since 2017. There it employs hundreds of the U.S. university's engineers focused on direct engine controls and advanced technology engine research.
The enhanced partnership announced on August 2&nbsp;calls for Rolls-Royce to expand its facilities in the Purdue Aerospace District, adjacent to the university in West Lafayette, Indiana, to develop high-altitude and hybrid-electric engines to power new aircraft for the U.S. military. The company is also working on new electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for potential civil applications and is partnered with UK-based eVTOL aircraft developer Vertical Aerospace.
“We look forward to having deeper engagement with Rolls-Royce as part of Purdue’s rapidly-growing defense research and technology ecosystem,” explained Theresa Mayer, the university’s executive vice president for research and partnerships. “The researchers working in these facilities will be able to leverage the deep expertise of our faculty and staff as well as our new and existing facilities for research, design, testing, and evaluation.”
“Rolls-Royce has a proud history of supporting our U.S. military and commercial customers, and this new significant investment will continue to grow our capability to serve our customers,” added Tom Bell, the engine manufacturer’s North American chairman and CEO. “This reflects yet another major investment in Indiana, and we are also planning significant upgrades to test facilities at our Indianapolis manufacturing campus, which has benefitted from a recently completed $600 million modernization program to grow advanced manufacturing and technology capability.”
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Curt Epstein

Rolls-Royce is stepping up its investment in hybrid-electric propulsion research for future military aircraft at Purdue University. (Photo: Purdue University)

Rolls-Royce To Expand Research Footprint at Purdue University

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