Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six campuses within the Purdue University System. Purdue currently ranks 9^th among America's Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, sharing the spot with Carnegie Mellon University according to U.S. News & World Report. Purdue also makes the list of the Top 100 Global Universities. Though Purdue offers many diverse majors, it is perhaps best known for the Purdue University College of Engineering. With its highly competitive engineering curriculum and its leading programs in aviation and aerospace, Purdue is often regarded as one of the top technology schools in the world. The university was responsible for developing several innovations, such as the Wiki, and produced pioneers of robotics and remote control technology .

Purdue has claimed many notable accomplishments since its founding. It was the first university globally to have ever offered an aeronautics program. Currently, the university's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is ranked 4th within the United States. The school has also secured a #1 ranking for being recruited the most by employers of the aerospace and defense industries in America. Purdue's Krannert School of Management is another highly regarded school at the university, ranked as one of the best management schools in the country according to U.S. News & World Report. Politically, Purdue University has been connected to U.S President Benjamin Harrison, who served on Purdue's board of trustees from July 1895 to March 1901.

Purdue University was founded on May 6, 1869 as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and money from Lafayette businessman John Purdue to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name.http://www.purdue.edu/purdue/about/history.html The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with three buildings, six instructors, and 39 students. Today, Purdue enrolls the largest student body of any university in Indiana and the largest international student population of any public university in the United States. The university's Discovery Park and Purdue Research Park are home to hundreds of medical, biotechnology, and nanotechnology laboratories and companies.

Purdue offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in over 200 major areas of study. The university has been influential in America's history of aviation, having established the first college credit offered in flight training, the first four-year bachelor's degree in aviation, and the first university airport (Purdue University Airport). In the mid-20th century, Purdue's aviation program expanded to encompass advanced spaceflight technology giving rise to Purdue's nickname, Cradle of Astronauts. Twenty-two of Purdue's graduates are astronauts, including Gus Grissom (one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts), Neil Armstrong (the first person to walk on the moon), and Eugene Cernan (the last person to walk on the moon).