Make science part of your football weekend 

Learn a bit about a science during your gameday weekends this fall! Our Friday talks are geared for general audiences. Delivered by dynamic Notre Dame faculty, postdocs, and guests, the topics will spark your interest in a variety of scientific fields.

2025 Science Exploration Series

We look forward to seeing you at the College of Science’s 2025 Science Exploration Series!

This year we will be joining the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association at the Eck Visitors Center on Notre Dame Avenue for our events, with the exception of our Friday, Oct. 17 planetarium show that will be held in Jordan Hall of Science.

Hands-on presentations from 12-3 p.m. each Friday! 

Friday, Sept. 12 | Restoring Our Roots: Can tallgrass prairie restoration make us more human?

Presenter: Ryan Sensenig, professor of the practice, Department of Biological Sciences

11:30 a.m.

Explore how evolution of humans in grasslands shape us. What does it mean that in the U.S. we have lost 95% of our native grasslands? Can restoring prairie habitats make us more human?

Event Details

Friday, Sept. 19 | Finding Earth 2.0: The Search for Worlds Like Ours

Presenter: Lauren Weiss, assistant professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy

3 p.m.

Humanity has the resources to discover potentially habitable worlds around the nearest stars . . . but where are they, and what clues can we use to find them? Join Professor Weiss to learn about her work in discovering patterns among the planets that accelerate our search.

Event Details

Friday, Oct. 3 | Beauty Is Truth, Truth Beauty: The Intersection of Chemistry and Art

Presenter: Bahram Moasser, teaching professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

3 p.m.

In many ways, art and chemistry enrich each other, and at a deeper level, share a common approach to inquiry. Explore the intersection of art and chemistry, examining how these two disciplines are connected.

Event Details

Friday, Oct. 10 | Burned, Bitten, and Booming: Why Savanna Plants Love Disturbance

Presenter: Emily Wedel, postdoctoral researcher researcher, Department of Biological Sciences

3 p.m.

African savannas depend on fire and the relationship between plants and herbivores to maintain the coexistence between trees and grasses. Explore the remarkable resilience of savanna plants and examine the threats that could disrupt their balance.

Event Details

Friday, Oct. 17 | Catching Starlight and Seeing it All

*In 100 Jordan Hall of Science / Digital Visualization Theater (planetarium on north side of building)*

Presenter: Keith Davis, director of the Digital Visualization Theater

3 p.m.

Join us in our newly renovated digital visualization theater! Astronomers teach astounding phenomena about the cosmos, but how do they know what's out there? Take a dynamic flight through the latest data from space, and learn what the interplay of light and matter reveals about the universe and beyond.

Event Details

Friday, Nov. 7 | How to Create Life . . . from Scratch

Presenter: Saurja DasGupta, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

3 p.m.