Texas A&M’s Turbo Lab Broadens Education with Industry Partnerships, Symposiums

Greg Gammon, Director of Global and Corporate Partnerships at Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station, gave us a detailed and historical account of College Station’s Turbomachinery Laboratory and its associated programs during our tour in mid-February.

Gammon addressed the Lab’s extensive industry partnerships and research consortia, as well as the role of symposia and short-course programs in shaping students’ and professionals’ education.

TURBO: What external relationships/partnerships does the lab have with the industry?

Gammon: The laboratory has numerous external industry partners through our sponsored research, which also includes government entities. We run two research consortia, including the Turbomachinery Research Consortia, which has industry and government partners. We’re also establishing the Energy and Propulsion Research Consortia. That’s on our research side.

On the workforce development side, we have the Turbomachinery & Pump Symposium (TPS), which brings together all major players and support companies in rotating equipment to Houston every year. We have Asia TPS (ATPS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—another set of industry partners.

We also have partnership agreements with the Global Power and Propulsion Society, the Hydraulic Institute, and the Vibration Institute so that we have a holistic ability to engage with industry through those avenues.

TURBO: How do the symposia and short-course programs translate into the real world?

Gammon: We always say that our principal product at the Turbomachinery Lab is educating students. Not only the master’s and PhD students here at the laboratory, but everyone is a lifelong student, and continuing education is extremely important. Coming to TPS in Houston, ATPS in Kuala Lumpur, or the various multi-day short courses allows people to continue their education path and improve their knowledge across various avenues and topics.

Check out our interviews with Dr. Adolfo Delgado, Dr. Eric Petersen, and the March/April 2025 issue, featuring a tour of Texas A&M’s Turbomachinery Laboratory.