Notre Dame Research

Students at the University of Notre Dame - Keough School of Global Affairs are supplying key evidence to policymakers. ????? Findings from a number of research projects — which center on global conflict prevention — will inform the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) within the U.S. Department of State. From interviewing local leaders in Guinea to analyzing how bureaucratic processes affect policy outcomes, addressing these research inquiries has taken a variety of forms. In a new article from Josh Stowe, learn more about what the Keough students have been up to, the potential applications for their findings, and the faculty mentorship that defined the journey. As a partner in the?Academic Centers of Conflict Anticipation and Prevention, the University of Notre Dame - Keough School of Global Affairs has a unique opportunity to engage with officials and specific policy priorities. The University of Notre Dame was selected for membership, in part, because of the Keough School’s proven track record of policy-relevant conflict prevention work, most notably through the?Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) — a key initiative of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. PAM houses the world’s largest existing collection of implementation data on intrastate peace agreements. Its database serves as a valuable source for analysis, which the Kroc Institute uses to support the negotiation and implementation of peace accords, including the historic?Colombian peace accord. Learn more about the student contributions that are unfolding: https://lnkd.in/ehH6QtXc

In 1882, Notre Dame student Albert Francis Zahm built one of the world's first wind tunnels on campus. Throughout the years, the University's excellence in aerospace innovation has paved the way for new milestones, including the recent opening of a Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel. The facility — the first and only of its kind in the world — supplies a unique environment for exploring hypersonic flight dynamics, turbulence, flight control, and propulsion. In addition to advancing aerospace technology, it will play a crucial role in training and workforce development, bringing substantial benefits to both Indiana and the broader United States. “Our new Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel embodies Notre Dame’s commitment to boundary-breaking research in aerospace engineering and fluid dynamics,” said Jeff Rhoads, vice president for research and professor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at Notre Dame. Learn about the critical need that this facility responds to, the opportunities this research can empower, and more: https://lnkd.in/ew9sH8Zs Photo credit: Angelic Rose Hubert

Since the 1950s, federal law has protected Oak Flat, a sacred space for the Apache people. But now, a mine has the potential to destroy the land, rendering it unsafe for humans. In the legal battle to protect Oak Flat for the Apache, Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Clinic works with a coalition of Indigenous groups. Toward that end, the clinic has filed five amicus curiae briefs — most recently, to the U.S. Supreme Court. “You don't have to be a member of a group to recognize the harm that can come to other groups,” Marcus Cole, Dean of the Notre Dame Law School, said. That premise has been foundational for the Religious Liberty Clinic, which represents individuals and organizations from a diversity of faith traditions —including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, and Sikh. In a new installment of the “What Would You Fight For?” series, discover more about the outcomes of this approach, the defense of fundamental freedoms, and the Apache people's continued efforts.

“One of the biggest challenges for researchers is how to specifically target diseased cells while leaving normal cells unaffected.” —Katharine White of the Harper Cancer Research Institute Better treatment can emerge from knowing how intracellular pH (pHi) changes cell behavior. But so far, gaining this comprehensive molecular understanding has been a laborious and elusive process. New research from the University of Notre Dame introduces a more efficient method to narrow therapeutic targets — opening the door to more selective and effective treatments. Learn more about the process of identifying these pHi-dependent pathways, the outcomes of increasing pHi, and the new advances that this approach can fuel: https://lnkd.in/exZX6wki The authors include Katharine White, Ricardo Josué Romero-Moreno, Ph. D., Brandon Czowski, Lindsey?Harris, and Jessamine Kuehn.

With the EARTH center, Notre Dame Research is working to build a greener, more sustainable refrigerant economy and future. ???? Last week, Edward Maginn, Jennifer Schaefer, and our own Jill Pentimonti joined National Science Foundation (NSF) Director the Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan for a convening of universities involved in EARTH (Environmental Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub), a NSF Gen-4 Engineering Research Center. As one of six partner universities, ND is teaming up with 80 institutions to transform the refrigerant economy through sustainable solutions to challenges in air conditioning and refrigeration. Read more about EARTH here: https://lnkd.in/gRtUGwmB

With 10 to 15 percent of infants in the U.S. requiring time in a?neonatal?intensive care unit (NICU), every detail of those fragile first few moments matters. For more than 30 years, researchers at the?University of Notre Dame have worked to identify the features that foster successful patient and family outcomes. From cycled lighting to silent alarms to couplet rooms for mothers and newborns, these recommendations have informed the design of NICUs around the world, and those close to home. As a neonatologist at?Beacon Children's Hospital?in South Bend, Dr. Bob White works to translate research into visible standards. In the process of gathering evidence about newborns' outcomes, White originally partnered with Tom Whitman?— now professor emeritus of psychology — decades ago. Along the way, many leading researchers also supplied critical insights:?Kathleen Kolberg, James McKenna, Lee Gettler, and?Dominic Vachon, among others. Beyond influencing babies and families, this comprehensive approach makes a difference to Notre Dame students — and to their potential future patients. As a clinical professor in the?Compassionate Care in Medicine minor in the?University of Notre Dame - College of Science, White engages undergraduates in key conversations about the social and environmental factors of medicine. He also invites students to volunteer in the NICU and to experience firsthand what families undergo. Tune in to NBC during halftime of this Saturday's football game to see how Beacon is partnering with Notre Dame to improve outcomes for NICU babies and their families, while shaping current and future generations. https://lnkd.in/ebBbEENa

As the Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health pursues new discoveries, data, and technologies for all, the 2024 awardees of its Technology Development Fund will turn cutting-edge ideas into innovations. Consistent with the Institute’s translational spirit, the four funded projects will apply new knowledge at the frontier of science and engineering for health. Read on to learn more about what this approach will make possible. ?? Yamil J. Colón and Yichun Wang, both assistant professors of ND Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will leverage machine learning technology alongside sensor development to create fast, effective ways to identify street drugs. ?? Jingcheng Ma and Emily Johnson, both assistant professors of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at Notre Dame, will design a new compact sensing platform to identify airborne markers of disease. ?? Yichun Wang and Kaiyu Fu will design a 3D liver cell culture model for testing pharmaceuticals and will pair this model with a special microfluidic system to help it more accurately replicate the conditions of a liver in the human body. Wang is an assistant professor of ND Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Fu is an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. ?? Yanliang Zhang, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Collegiate Chair and associate professor of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at Notre Dame, will create a wireless device that can be implanted in a patient’s body for programmable delivery of a wide range of therapeutics, enabling personalized medical interventions to respond to chronic health conditions. Congratulations to these awardees, who will bring expertise and creativity to pressing challenges in health. Learn more about what's to come: https://lnkd.in/eWskN9sY

“Notre Dame has an opportunity and an obligation to marshal our expertise across the disciplines to advance sustainability solutions that will not leave behind the most vulnerable.” — John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost To guide that approach, Arun Agrawal — a renowned scholar of environmental politics and sustainable development — will join the University of Notre Dame as the inaugural director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative. As a key priority in the University’s?strategic framework, this Initiative will coordinate and amplify sustainability research, education and engagement efforts across Notre Dame’s eight colleges and schools, as well as a wide array of centers, institutes and programs. This work will also produce new knowledge and experts, as the Initiative develops an agenda for leading-edge research and trains a new generation of sustainability champions. Learn more about Agrawal's leadership, new avenues for multidisciplinary research and more: https://lnkd.in/egqSYd_F

As we gear up for the ? Notre Dame vs. ? Navy game this weekend, it's a great time to remember that the Fighting Irish and the Navy share more than a football rivalry. We are also partners in research efforts in a wide variety of areas, with key collaborations in global health! Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health welcomed Capt. Franca Jones and Dr. Jill Phan from the Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) to explore new ways to work together on cutting-edge research. Thank you Capt. Jones and Dr. Phan for your visit and for sharing your?expertise with our students and faculty! https://lnkd.in/gjnUBMrT #NotreDame? #NavyFootball? #GlobalHealth

“This project has literally been career-transformative for me.” With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, researchers will ensure that Mary Wollstonecraft’s treatises about human rights continue to inform scholarship across disciplines. Toward that end, Eileen Hunt will collaborate with Nancy Johnson to annotate and track variations in different editions of Wollstonecraft’s interrelated books:?A Vindication of the Rights of Men?(1790) and?A Vindication of the Rights of Woman?(1792). This work will compose Vol. 4 in?Oxford University Press’ six volume?“Collected Works of Mary Wollstonecraft.” Hunt is a professor of political science in the University of Notre Dame - College of Arts & Letters, and a fellow in the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Nancy Johnson is a SUNY New Paltz?associate dean and English professor. Learn more about the pathways this research stream will create: https://lnkd.in/gmZhcYcA