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Category: Innovation and Impact

Notre Dame Innovation Challenge

Notre Dame launches inaugural Innovation Challenge with plastic waste as first-year focus

When the echoes of the marching band fade and the last of more than 77,000 fans depart, the memories remain—but so does the trash, an average of 51 tons of it. Plastic cups, wrappers and cans spill from overflowing trash receptacles, collect along pathways, and, carried by the wind, scatter …

A mother holds a newborn baby

Notre Dame researchers to develop wearable tech to improve childbirth safety  

The University of Notre Dame is a critical partner in a new multi-university research consortium selected by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Making Obstetrics Care Smart (MOCS) program to eliminate …

A female professor talks in front of a classroom with students. A projector screen is behind her.

Computer science students tackle human trafficking with tech

While the internet has provided sex traffickers with sophisticated tools for recruitment and exploitation, University of Notre Dame computer science students are learning how to marshal technology-based tools to stop it.  To do this, Shreya Kumar, an associate teaching professor in computer …

Blue-gloved hands use a pipette to precisely manipulate liquid in a small clear lab dish with a square well.

Douglas and Diana Berthiaume make groundbreaking gift to support strategic investment in biomedical research infrastructure

Douglas and Diana Berthiaume have made a transformational gift to the University of Notre Dame to advance biomedical research through strategic investments in critical infrastructure. The gift, totaling $35 million, establishes the Center for Biomedical Discovery. It includes $5 million in seed …

Three men work on scientific equipment in a lab. A man in a blue plaid shirt holds a black conical object, while another with a beard inserts a black tube into a large silver metallic apparatus. A man in a blue polo observes the process.

Alumni founder of carbon-capture start-up receives NSF funding to collaborate with Notre Dame researchers

Alec Houpt, who earned his doctorate from the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (AME) at the University of Notre Dame in 2020, will collaborate with Sergey Leonov, research professor in AME, to pursue the development of a supersonic nozzle designed to freeze and …

A man with glasses and white hair, wearing a dark suit, light blue shirt, and striped tie, speaks at a podium. He holds up a spiral-bound booklet from the PRISM-ERA Annual Meeting, University of Notre Dame that thanks industry members.

EARTH: A New Way to View the Blue Sky

Academics and HVACR professionals say innovation is equal parts imagination and science. When Irish physicist John Tyndall was conducting research on why the sky is blue, he explored the notion with awe, for the pure sake of the idea. As he performed his experiments at The Royal Institution in …

Two men stand in the foreground in orange vests. There are wind turbines in the background.

Luis Montestruque, Ph.D. ’04, uses smart water systems to teach old infrastructures new tricks

Luis Montestruque, ND Ph.D. ’04 (electrical engineering), is a pioneer in the field of smart water systems. For more than two decades, he has helped utilities improve water resource management, reduce flooding, and minimize combined sewer overflows. He is the founder and CEO of HydroDigital—a …

Arun Agrawal, a man with a gray beard and glasses, wearing an orange vest over a light blue shirt, speaks at a wooden podium with a microphone. He gestures with his hand.

Bridging the gap between people and planet: Notre Dame hosts National Sustainability Conference

More than 375 sustainability professionals gathered at the University of Notre Dame on October 20–23, 2025 for the second annual conference of the National Sustainability Society. The theme running through every session, informal conversation and keynote address was clear: a just and sustainable …

Two smiling men in suits, one with a gray beard and one with glasses, sit at a white table. They both hold pens over documents in blue folders, prepared to sign. Bright windows are in the background.

Notre Dame, Beacon Health System announce new, multiyear research collaboration

Today, the University of Notre Dame and Beacon Health System announced a new, multiyear research collaboration. Through this agreement, Notre Dame and Beacon will jointly develop collaborative, health-focused research projects that are of interest to both organizations, particularly in the areas …

A group of people pose for a photo on the steps in front of a Strathmore University building entrance. They are dressed in a mix of business and business casual attire.

Professor organizes symposium focused on food insecurity and climate resilience in East Africa

For Assistant Professor Gabriel Burks, orienting his work and study around human needs isn’t just a hopeful ideal, it’s a priority. It’s why he spent years in STEM education. It’s why he co-founded a company that developed a sustainable option for farmers to protect their crops from frost. …

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