Texas A&M’s Dr. Eric Petersen Highlights Industry Focus, New Developments at TPS 2025

The 2025 Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS 2025) kicked off yesterday in Houston, TX, and Turbomachinery International got a chance to speak with Dr. Eric Petersen of the Texas A&M Turbomachinery Lab about the conference’s overall focus and new programs. Petersen said that the primary focuses are the basic practical aspects of turbomachinery, with some specific subtopics concerning compressors and diagnostic capabilities.

In terms of new aspects at TPS 2025, Petersen discussed two new short courses held on Monday – one on screw compressors and another regarding diagnostics and condition monitoring. Also, for the first time in TPS history, John Crane sponsored the opening keynote address which covered the energy trilemma: affordability, security, and sustainability.

TURBO: What is the overall focus of TPS 2025? What are the most prevalent topics?

Petersen: If you start at the top, there’s been a focus on reliability, maintenance, and the basic practical aspects of the turbomachinery industry. This applies to pumps that put work into fluid flow and turbines that extract work from the fluid flow – our primary focuses. Some detailed aspects include centrifugal compressors, vibration and reliability, and advanced diagnostic techniques. These have been a main focus of the existing symposium.

TURBO: Has the Texas A&M Turbo Lab installed any new programs for TPS 2025?

Petersen: In terms of courses, what comes to mind are two relatively new short courses we offered on Monday. We had a short course on screw compressors and then another on diagnostics and condition monitoring, both of which came into play during Monday’s event.