Notre Dame Research | News

As an interdisciplinary academic institute, the Institute for Social Concerns leverages research to respond to the complex demands of justice and to serve the common good. This series, ReSearching for the Common Good, highlights some of the scholars in our community.

What is one of the greatest threats to American democracy? According to a recent study from the University of Notre Dame, voters who neither agree nor disagree when asked about substantive issues relevant to upholding democracy might be the largest group to blame for democratic decline in the United States. These “democratic neutrals” could be considered some of the most dangerous voters in the c…

The University of Notre Dame and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC Chile) held the first ND-UC Chile Winter School for Scientific Artificial Intelligence (SAI) in Santiago in January 2026, launching a new international training model to develop research and training opportunities at the…

Paul Niehaus, co-founder of GiveDirectly and an economics faculty member at University of California San Diego, will receive the 2026 Ford Family Notre Dame Award during an April 24 event hosted by the Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity at the University of Notre Dame.

As the Vatican seeks to bring Pope Francis’s vision to life, it has asked the University of Notre Dame—an institution that has also sought to enact the principles of Laudato si’ in its teaching, research, and operations—to serve as an academic partner.

Fourteen current or former University of Notre Dame students have been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, with an additional 12 selected as alternates for the award.

Nathan Swenson, the Gillen Director of the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center (UNDERC) and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre…

Institute expands Enacting CST book series April 15, 2026   When Leo XIII promulgated Rerum novarum in 1891, he could not have imagined the advancements…

As a cornerstone of Notre Dame’s vision to become a preeminent global Catholic research university, the 2033 Strategic Framework identifies "investing in people" as central to the University's mission. A vital component of this investment is the expansion of our postdoctoral community—the "research engine" responsible for driving innovation and mentoring future scholars. To accelerate this growth…

The University of Notre Dame Alumni Association honored several outstanding alumni and staff at its annual board of directors meeting in April. Throughout the year, the association presents awards in six key areas that reflect the University’s commitment to excellence: the arts, athletics, service to the Alumni Association, service to the country, service to humanity and service to the University.

Editor’s note: During the spring 2026 semester, Rare Books & Special Collections (RBSC) will highlight examples of survival, contemplation, competition, protest and learning in their exhibition, “Cultivating…

A visualization of the Hybrid Multi-material and Multi-scale Autonomous Printing technique, which produces 3D complex and hierarchical vascular structures. While scientists have successfully printed small patches of human tissue, scaling those tissues into full-sized organs has remained elusive. In natural organisms, every cell must be within roughly 100 to 200 micrometers—about the thickness of…

For Ryan Juskus, assistant professor of the practice at the Institute for Social Concerns, the true cost of our global energy systems is best seen not in atmospheric charts but in the mines, extraction sites, and waste pits of marginalized areas like Appalachia or the Amazon.

From crafting a memorable first five minutes of class to evaluating wearable AI, the topics covered by 10 members of the Notre Dame Learning team across eight presentations at the 2026 Midwest Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning offered a window into the wide range of the organization’s pedagogical work.

The University of Notre Dame’s Division of Student Affairs recognized seven graduating students at its 40th annual Student Leadership Awards banquet on April 13. These annual awards honor current student leaders for their exceptional contributions to the Notre Dame community.

David Campbell, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers. Campbell was one of the 252 leaders in academia, the arts, journalism, policy, and science announced today as members of the newest Academy class. Othe…

“The study of language is only fully realized when we step out of the academy and into the streets, transforming markers of otherness into bonds of friendship,” says Alison Rice, sitting in the living room of a Francophone refugee family in South Bend, Indiana.

The increase of antimicrobial resistance over the past decades poses a great threat to global health. Without new strategies to understand and combat resistance, routine medical procedures and treatments could face growing risks in the years ahead. This is the central focus of the research…

Third-year Notre Dame Law student Erin Hiestand has been named one of the American Constitution Society’s 2026 Next Generation Leaders (NGLs)—a national cohort of law students recognized for exceptional public interest commitment and chapter leadership.

The Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Common Good hosted its inaugural Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton Culture and the Public Good Symposium on April 10. Named for two of the foremost socially engaged Catholic thinkers of the 20th century, the signature annual event culminated a year of themed research support at the institute. This year's speakers were Vauhini Vara, journalist and a…