On Saturday, September 26, the College of Science hosted a panel discussion entitled, “Science, Religion, and Environmental Change" as part of its annual Science Exploration Series. The discussion focused on the Pope’s encyclical on climate change and the importance of recognizing our obligations based on the message of the encyclical.
On Friday, September 11, 2015, the 7th Annual Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) Meeting and Watanabe Prize Lecture took place in Indianapolis. This year’s theme was “Immune and Cell-based Therapies.”
The day-long, annual conference highlights advances in the clinical and translational sciences from the three partner universities, which include Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame.
The XVth International Workshop on Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plasminogen Activation began this week at the University of Notre Dame Global Gateway in Rome. Held every other year since 1985, this year’s workshop will host more than 85 scientists from 16 countries.
Anyone who happens to glance up at the sky a few hours before midnight on Sept. 27 may be startled to see a huge red moon.
University of Notre Dame faculty members — Timothy Beers and Prashant Kamat from the College of Science and Bertrand Hochwald and J. Nicholas Laneman from the College of Engineering and — have been named to the Thomson Reuters’ list of Highly Cited Researchers for 2015. Hochwald, Beers, and Kamat were named in the 2014 list. All four faculty members have also appeared on previous years’ lists.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, announced Monday (Sept. 21) that the University will cease burning coal entirely within five years, and cut its carbon footprint by more than half by 2030.
“In recognition of both Pope Francis’ encyclical and his visit this week to the United States, Notre Dame is recommitting to make the world a greener place, beginning in our own backyard,” Father Jenkins said. “Of greater importance, however, are the contributions our faculty and students are making across disciplines to find sustainability answers, especially for poor countries in most need of development and the most vulnerable to climate change.”
Father Jenkins also said Notre Dame was planning the investment of $113 million in renewable energy sources and projects, including a hydroelectric project, solar power and geothermal fields both on and off campus, which collectively will reduce CO2 emissions by 47,500 tons.
The inaugural symposium “Global Breast Cancer Research at Notre Dame… and Beyond," jointly hosted by the Eck Institute for Global Health and the Harper Cancer Research Institute, highlighted the expansive scope of breast cancer research active on campus. Following faculty research presentations and a keynote speaker, an interactive poster session and reception focused on the work of trainees at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral levels conducting innovative breast cancer research. Drawn from six departments in the College of Science and College of Engineering at Notre Dame, and Indiana University School of Medicine – South Bend, poster presenters showcased a comprehensive approach to breast cancer research.
Two innovative projects that address climate change in developing countries — an imaginative program in Mozambique that produces starch for craft beer from cassava and another that helps cities worldwide develop resiliency to disaster — have won the coveted 2015 Corporate Adaptation Prize awarded by the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index.
The annual honor underscores the growing movement by multinational and local corporations to develop resourceful contributions to climate adaptation in countries that rank in the bottom 50 of the ND-GAIN’s 180-country index. The index summarizes a country’s vulnerability to global climate challenges in combination with its readiness to improve resilience.
Dr. Patricia Curtin White, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at Notre Dame in 1980 and went on to become a medical doctor, has volunteered with the Notre Dame Haiti Program for many years and recruited her family to join the trips in support of a mobile medical service to help Haitians in remote villages. Her daughter, Mary White, a junior science preprofessional and psychology major with a minor in poverty studies, went on her first trip when she was in high school and returned in the summer of 2014
The University of Notre Dame has received $133.7 million in research funding for fiscal year 2015. This is an all-time record for the University and $20 million more than last year.
The Notre Dame Linked Experimental Ecosystem Facility (ND-LEEF), a unique environmental research collaboration between the University of Notre Dame and St. Patrick’s County Park, will host its third annual public Science Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 20).
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most prevalent cancer worldwide. Although the overall incidence of HNSCC has decreased over the years due to public health efforts to promote smoking cessation, the incidence of oropharyngeal (tonsillar area) squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), which is associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), has increased over 200% from 1984-2004.
Mary Galvin, the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science, sat down for a brief question-and-answer session about her experience, her passion for scientific research and her new role at the University of Notre Dame.
When asked what drew her to Notre Dame, Galvin is quick to answer: alignment with the University’s mission, and the chance to work with students again.
The iLocater instrument being developed by Justin R. Crepp, the Freimann Assistant Professor of Physics at Notre Dame, has been featured by the SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, in a paper describing the detection of planets around other stars. The article by Crepp, entitled “Renaissance of the Doppler technique for exoplanet studies,” was published online on Sept. 10 by SPIE and describes how new hardware will enable breakthroughs in instrumentation performance that could lead to the discovery of nearby worlds that might resemble the Earth.
For a third consecutive year, the University of Notre Dame’s Advanced Diagnostics & Therapeutics (AD&T) initiative announced grant awards for a range of research projects that have the potential to solve significant problems in human and environmental health. The awards foster interdisciplinary research and promote new commercialization activity. Technologies developed through previous grants have been licensed by start-up companies, such as Contect and Enlightened Diagnostics, and spurred collaboration with external partners, including the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend, Saint Mary’s College, and Central Michigan University. This year’s projects show similar promise, and for the first time one was selected for joint funding by both AD&T and Notre Dame’s Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI).
Each year the Dr. Tom Dooley Society awards stipends to a group of current Notre Dame students or alumni in medical school to cover funds for international medical missions. This past Saturday (Sept. 5) before the Notre Dame vs. Texas game, several of the students convened in the Jordan Hall of Science to present their medical mission experiences to the Dooley Society and the Notre Dame community.
Notre Dame Research has opened its annual competition for faculty research grants. Currently there are two types of grants open for applications. Applications are due Monday, October 26th, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, Notre Dame Research will host its annual Core Facility Fair from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Jordan Hall of Science Galleria.
