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Engineering in Photos: Summer 2026

A collage of photos with the words "Engineering in Photos Summer 2026" overlaying them.

For this edition, we’re trading our usual Month in Photos for a look back at an entire season: Summer in Photos. From classrooms and labs to camps, research experiences, and destinations around the world, the summer brought plenty of activity across Notre Dame Engineering.

Our Summer 2026 photo collection captures some of those moments, including local high school students exploring engineering, undergraduates taking part in hands-on research, and new graduate and transfer students beginning their Notre Dame experience. The collection also features photos shared by students studying abroad, offering a glimpse of engineering experiences beyond campus.

Engineering Exploration High School Summer Camps

Two high school students assemble small robotic cars at a workbench in the Engineering Innovation Hub.
A high school student operates a robotic car as other students watch it cross a wooden bridge.
High school students watch as an instructor demonstrates weight on a wooden bridge.
An instructor tests a student-built wooden bridge while high school students look on.

Local high school students spent part of their summer exploring engineering through the Engineering Innovation Hub’s free Engineering Exploration High School Summer STEM and Robotics camps. During the week-long programs, students worked through design challenges, experimented with robotics and structural systems, and tested how engineering principles can be used to solve practical problems.

Notre Dame Morphogenetic Bioengineering Initiative (ND-MBI)

Researcher holds a laboratory vial toward the camera while working in a bioengineering lab.
Students work on laptops together during a bioengineering research session.
Students and researchers work together on laptops around a conference table.
Students and faculty gather around a table with laptops during a collaborative research session.
Researcher uses a pipette while working with samples inside a laboratory biosafety cabinet.
Two students examine microscopy images on a laptop during a research session.

The University of Notre Dame has launched the Notre Dame Morphogenetic Bioengineering Initiative (ND-MBI), a cross-disciplinary program that links artificial intelligence and mechanistic bioengineering to better understand how cells communicate with each other to build, maintain, and repair our bodies. By creating “digital twins” that predict how cells will behave, this research aims to advance the development of treatments for wounds, cancer, and other diseases.

Intro to Engineering Program (IEP) Summer Camp

Introduction to Engineering Program participants pose for a group photo on the Notre Dame campus in front of a fountain.
Students gather around a small robot during a hands-on engineering activity.
Students watch a model bridge test during a hands-on engineering activity.
Students gather around a tabletop course to watch a small robot in action.
Students gather around a table to watch robots during a hands-on engineering activity.
Students watch as a model bridge is tested in an engineering lab.
Students watch a small robot navigate a course during a robotics activity.
A student examines a model bridge during a structural engineering activity.
Students react as a robot completes a task during a robotics activity.

Rising high school seniors got a firsthand look at engineering and life at Notre Dame through the two-week Introduction to Engineering Program (IEP). The summer program combines hands-on projects and field trips with exposure to engineering design, computer programming, and a range of engineering disciplines.

Electrical Engineering Pre-College Summer Camp Slot Car Race

Electrical engineering pre-college summer camp students and instructors pose for a group photo inside Stinson-Remick Hall.
Students watch as an instructor demonstrates a slot car race on a model track.
An assortment of electrical components and circuit-building materials is arranged on a Notre Dame Electrical Engineering mat.
Students watch slot cars race around a model track during a hands-on electrical engineering activity.
Two students race slot cars on a model track during the electrical engineering summer camp.

High school students explored emerging technologies through Engineering and Inventing the Future: Making Things Smarter for a Better World Summer Scholars, hosted by Notre Dame’s Department of Electrical Engineering. Through a mix of classroom learning and hands-on activities, students encountered topics ranging from alternative energy and photonics to quantum computing, communications, and embedded systems, before putting their skills to the test in the program’s signature timed slot car race.

Concrete Casting in the Structural Systems Lab

Researchers pour concrete into a wooden form in the Structural Systems Laboratory.
Two researchers work together to prepare freshly mixed concrete for casting outside the Structural Systems Laboratory.
A researcher works with freshly poured concrete in a form during specimen casting.
A researcher prepares cylindrical concrete test specimens in the Structural Systems Laboratory.
A group of researchers gathers around a concrete mixer during casting in the Structural Systems Laboratory.

Professor Yahya Kurama, Ph.D. student Ahmad Abu Abah, and postdoctoral research associate Muhammad Haroon are helping develop a new buckling-restrained braced frame system for precast concrete structures in earthquake-prone regions. Working with researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Clemson University, the Notre Dame team recently tested a brace specimen in the Structural Systems Laboratory with laboratory technician Frank Severa. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the precast concrete industry, the project aims to qualify the system for use under U.S. building codes.

GE Aerospace Innovation & Discovery Camp

Students and instructors from the GE Aerospace Innovation & Discovery Camp pose for a group photo with the Main Building at Notre Dame in the background.

GE Aerospace Innovation & Discovery Camp is a week-long STEM day camp funded by GE Aerospace and hosted by the University of Notre Dame. It is completely free for 50 South Bend middle schoolers, and the mission is to excite and retain an interest in STEM prior to class selection in high school. This past summer was the 13th summer, and to date there have been over 450 campers from South Bend schools!

Electrical Engineering Faculty Group Photo

Electrical Engineering faculty members pose for a group photo outdoors on the Notre Dame campus.

Faculty from the Department of Electrical Engineering gathered outside Fitzpatrick Hall of Engineering for their annual group photo, marking the start of a new academic year.

A Newly Renovated Advising Office

Newly renovated academic advising office with a reception desk and comfortable seating area.

The College’s Academic Advising Offices in Cushing Hall 205 received a major transformation this summer. The expanded and renovated suite features updated offices and welcoming shared spaces, creating a warm, cohesive environment where undergraduate students can meet with their academic advisors, ask questions, explore their goals, and find support throughout their Notre Dame Engineering experience.

Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Students walk among research posters during the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.
A student presents research on drug delivery to an audience in a lecture hall.
A student discusses her research poster with another symposium attendee.
A student explains a research poster to two attendees at the symposium.
A student presents research findings to an attendee beside a research poster.

REU students from across campus gathered for the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium to present the results of their research. Held in Jordan Hall of Science, the event featured four poster sessions throughout the day and the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition during the lunch break. The day’s 140 student presenters from across campus represented 23 summer programs. Students from Engineering’s E-SURE and SpectrumX REU+ programs joined peers from other REU programs to present research in fields ranging from robotics and wireless systems to sustainability and healthcare.

First-Year Grad Student Welcome Lunch

Incoming graduate students collect College of Engineering welcome materials during a reception.
Graduate student takes a photo of another student posing with an “ND Engineer” sign.
Graduate student poses for a photo with a College of Engineering “ND Engineer” sign.
Incoming graduate students attend a welcome presentation during lunch.

The College of Engineering welcomed its incoming fall 2026 graduate students with a welcome lunch highlighting the many ways they can connect and get involved at Notre Dame, from opportunities within their departments and the College to activities across the University.

Attendees also learned about free events planned throughout the year specifically for first-year engineering graduate students, including athletic, cultural, and dining experiences. The gathering offered an opportunity to meet fellow students, learn what’s ahead, and begin building a sense of community in the College.

Inaugural Notre Dame Innovation Challenge Kickoff Event

Students gather in the Dahnke Family Ballroom for the kickoff of the Notre Dame Innovation Challenge.
Students work together on an activity during the Notre Dame Innovation Challenge kickoff.
Students pose with Notre Dame Innovation Challenge signs during the kickoff event.
Patricia Culligan, dean of the College of Engineering, addresses students during the Notre Dame Innovation Challenge kickoff event.
Students work together at a table during the Notre Dame Innovation Challenge kickoff.

Nearly 320 students filled the Dahnke Family Ballroom for the kickoff of the inaugural Notre Dame Innovation Challenge, a semester-long competition focused on reducing, replacing, recycling, or reimagining plastics used at Notre Dame athletic events. Students heard from experts about the scope of the challenge, connected with fellow participants, and began thinking about the ideas and solutions they’ll develop throughout the semester.

Fitzpatrick Hall and Cushing Hall of Engineering Green Roof Installation

Newly installed green roof vegetation covers Fitzpatrick Hall with the Golden Dome and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart visible in the distance.
Workers use a crane to lift trays of plants onto the green roof of Fitzpatrick Hall.
A worker carries trays of plants across the green roof during installation.
A kneeling worker installs vegetation on the green roof of Fitzpatrick Hall.
Close-up of vegetation in trays being installed on the green roof.

A new green roof was installed on Fitzpatrick Hall and Cushing Hall this summer, adding approximately 27,100 square feet of vegetation to the two-building complex. The planted roof helps reduce heat gain from solar radiation and protect the roof membrane from UV deterioration, potentially extending its lifespan. The new installation brings Notre Dame’s total green roof area to approximately 265,000 square feet, or about six acres, across campus.

Engineering Summer Study Abroad

Engineering students pose for a group photo along the coast in Dublin.
Dublin Program
Engineering students and faculty pose for a group photo during the London CBE program.
London CBE Program
Engineering students pose in front of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice during the Rome program.
Rome Program
Engineering students pose for a group photo during the Japan study abroad program.
Japan Program
Engineering students pose for a group photo in front of a sculpture in Berlin.
Berlin Program
Engineering students pose together at a scenic overlook during the Alcoy, Spain, program.
Alcoy, Spain Program

Notre Dame Engineering students took their learning around the world this summer through study abroad programs in Dublin, Japan, London, Berlin, Rome, and Alcoy, Spain. Along the way, students experienced engineering in new academic, industrial, and cultural settings while learning alongside classmates and faculty. These photos, shared by students and program leaders, offer a glimpse of their summer experiences—from exploring cities and historic sites to building connections with communities around the world.

Welcome Weekend

First-year engineering students attend a College of Engineering welcome event in an auditorium.
First-year engineering students learn about student organizations at an outdoor information fair.
First-year engineering students attend a Welcome Weekend session in a classroom.
Students staff a hydration station during Welcome Weekend.
Engineering Leadership Council members pose together during Welcome Weekend.
Students from an engineering organization pose at an information table featuring international flags.
Notre Dame Robotic Football student organization members pose at their information table.
Student organization members showcase a project at the Welcome Weekend activities fair.
Members of the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter pose at their Welcome Weekend table.
National Society of Black Engineers members pose at their Welcome Weekend table.

During Welcome Weekend, first-year engineering students had the opportunity to dive into campus life and begin building connections within the College. They attended their first lecture, met faculty and College leadership, explored a wide range of student organizations, and learned about engineering resources available to them. From professional organizations like the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers to project-based design teams like Design-Build-Fly and the Robotic Football Team, students got an early look at the communities that will shape their Notre Dame experience both inside and outside the classroom.

(Photos by Niki Lee ’29)

This photo collection was produced by the Notre Dame Engineering Communications and Marketing team. Photos by Wes Evard, Notre Dame Engineering, unless otherwise credited.