With the global population estimated to top 9 billion people by 2050, researchers estimate agricultural output must double to meet the impending demands. A comprehensive, coordinated effort to address this challenge was recently announced by an Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) national commission, which included three Purdue University leaders. The commission also highlighted the importance of establishing various transdisciplinary efforts, such as the one being forged between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Purdue University, home to one of the world’s leading Colleges of Agriculture.

It has been a long month for us, HPE’s Spaceborne Computer engineers, as we waited for an update from NASA on when we would be scheduled to power on the system in space. With much of my team and one of NASA’s main command centers based in Houston, we have all been tied up with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. We finally received confirmation that all systems are a go for Thursday, September 14.