Cristina Farmus is a management professional working on various initiatives spanning technology and diplomacy. At the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue she engages in the bilateral tech dialogues with allied nations, explores the future of communications through 6G mapping, and bridges the Purdue tech community with the diplomacy community.

Ms. Farmus also serves as Vice President, Special Projects at Purdue University. In this role, she is engaged in projects critical for the University and the state of Indiana, such as semiconductor degrees and industry engagement, advanced manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, the READI grant for the Greater Lafayette Region, and the study of nuclear energy to meet the West Lafayette campus long-term energy needs.

Ms. Farmus previously served as Managing Director for the Purdue-led Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR), one of the flagship Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) funded by the National Science Foundation. ERCs bring together industry, academia, and government to cultivate engineering discovery and education in research areas critical to our nation’s strength. She also served as Administrative Director in the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, taught several graduate courses on finance and project management in the Chemical Engineering Professional MS program, and led many cohorts of students on study abroad programs across the world.

Ms. Farmus serves on the Board of Directors for the Purdue Federal Credit Union, the top ranked credit union in Indiana, according to Forbes 2022. She has co-founded the Heart of a Child U.S. Foundation, the U. S. extension of the Inima de Copil Romanian Foundation that helps hundreds of children and parents in difficult and at-risk situations with educational, medical, and economic support to have hope for a happy childhood and successful future.

Ms. Farmus holds a BS from Transilvania University, Romania, an MBA from Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, and a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

The has never been a better time to analyze the implications of technology on diplomacy and vice versa. Purdue’s expertise in critical areas such as semiconductors, hypersonics, 5G/6G, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity is a fundamental block in understanding how technical advancements constantly reshape national and world strategy, and how well-informed policies can enable a free, safer world, based on democratic values.