, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been selected for the ’s , an initiative that brings emerging leaders into NASEM’s advisory work. Selected through a merit-based, open competition, Colón is one of just 20 early- and mid-career scientists, engineers and medical professionals nationwide chosen for the 2026-28 cohort.

Operating under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, the National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering and medicine.

NASEM’s New Voices program was created to incorporate emerging experts into the National Academies’ efforts to address pressing global challenges. During his two-year term, which began Jan. 30, Colón will contribute to the Academies’ policy-relevant studies and convenings, develop interdisciplinary projects and collaborate with a national and international network of rising STEM leaders shaping the future of science and engineering.

“I’m honored to be selected for the New Voices program,” Colón said. “This opportunity allows researchers to help inform decisions on critical issues, and I hope to use my expertise in computational modeling and artificial intelligence to address issues in energy and sustainability. I also hope to promote global collaborations in science, as I believe these are necessary to address some of humanity’s most pressing issues.”

works at the intersection of the molecular sciences and artificial intelligence, focusing on the study, discovery and design of porous materials for targeted applications. Because fluids confined within microscopic pores exhibit complex, dynamic interactions, these materials offer opportunities to address challenges in water, energy and environmental sustainability. By developing computational and data-driven tools to predict how gases and liquids move, are stored and interact within these pores, his work accelerates the discovery of materials for applications including water harvesting and humidity control, efficient gas storage and separation, and ion transport.

His lab also develops efficient algorithms to understand how material structure influences performance, allowing researchers to quickly identify the most promising materials for real-world use without relying on costly calculations.

In 2022, Colón received a to develop a universal model that accurately predicts gas adsorption. The project has resulted in multiple publications showcasing how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be combined with molecular modeling of adsorption in porous materials. The project has also resulted in curricula around machine learning and artificial intelligence for middle and elementary schools.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2009, Colón spent a year at the University of Santiago de Compostela doing research with a Fulbright scholarship. He completed his doctorate at Northwestern University in 2015 and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory. Colón joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2018.

Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu

Stanisic joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1988 after earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from Purdue University. An expert in robotics, he authored and co-authored textbooks and numerous papers in leading journals on kinematics, a branch of mechanics that deals with mathematical descriptions of motion. He also invented and patented new types of robotic joints.

He is best known for his legendary teaching and received numerous awards for instruction and advising, including Notre Dame’s Joyce Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2001, 2007 and 2022.

Among his former students are numerous members of the College of Engineering faculty.

“As a junior, I took Professor Stanisic’s kinematics course,” Mike Seelinger, the Dunn Family Teaching Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said. “He had a great sense of humor and exuded enthusiasm. His course lit the fire of my passion for engineering.”

Craig Goehler, associate teaching professor of mechanical engineering and Stanisic’s former graduate student, described his adviser’s approach to mentoring as empowering. “He encouraged us to figure out on our own the research questions that most needed answers,” Goehler said.

Stanisic encouraged students to use the mechanical principles and mathematical tools they learned in the classroom to build functioning machines — something they did with enthusiasm in the clubs he led.

Hundreds of student-built robots and off-road vehicles came to life during the 30 years that “Doc,” as the students affectionately called him, served as adviser for Baja SAE, the intercollegiate engineering design competition,��and the 12 years that he led the Robotic Football Club.��

“Doc believed that good engineers need practical experience,” Kevin Alvarez, mechanical engineering major and Notre Dame Baja Club president, said. “If it weren’t for Doc, I wouldn’t have learned how to weld, use a mill or a lathe, or how to properly do CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) or run FEA (finite element analysis) on parts. Doc was not just our faculty adviser, he was the No. 1 member of our team.”

Stanisic was as caring with his colleagues as he was with his students.

“He was an amazing chef who enjoyed sharing his talents in the kitchen and love of food with his colleagues,” said Jim Schmiedeler, professor of mechanical engineering, who recalled Stanisic as his first mentor. “He also loved his job. He would often tell new hires that this was the ‘greatest job in the world’ to teach engineering to such talented students on such a beautiful campus.”

Stanisic’s infectious laugh and his fixed-gear bike, his preferred mode of transportation, will be greatly missed by his colleagues and students.

“Mike was put on this earth to be an educator,” Goehler said. “There is no way that an individual could interact with Mike and not be changed for the better by the experience.”

Stanisic is survived by three daughters, two sisters and a brother.

A funeral service was held Tuesday (April 18) at Sts. Peter and Paul Serbian Orthodox Church in South Bend.

Located on the first floor of Cushing-Fitzpatrick Halls of Engineering, the EIH features modern ideation and project space, fabrication and machining technology, advanced manufacturing stations, 3D printing stations, metrology and computing resources, and assembly space.

The EIH is a component of , which forges partnerships among the region’s leading industries, the University and other colleges and universities to support a more prosperous South Bend-Elkhart region. iNDustry Labs is an anchor of the LIFT (Labs for Industry Futures and Transformation) Network, established with a 2019 grant awarded to Notre Dame from Lilly Endowment Inc. The EIH was made possible with generous support from this grant and investments from industry partners and individual benefactors.

Students will benefit from the EIH either through classwork and research or as members of student clubs and organizations engaged in everything from robotics and satellites to biodesign and assistive technology. With access to EIH resources, students will consider new solutions to practical and meaningful engineering challenges, taking products from concept to realization.

The new facility will help ensure that students graduate with the experience and skills needed to remain competitive in a wide variety of careers, said Daryl Peterson, managing director.

“This EIH is game-changer for our students,” he said. “This remarkable facility will help prepare future engineers who are not only technical experts, but also people who harness creativity and innovation throughout their careers and to serve a world in need.”

Peterson recently joined Notre Dame from Deere & Co., where he served for more than two decades in operations. He oversees the EIH’s technology, programs and outreach in support of its dual mission of academic and industry engagement.

The new facility also will serve as a fabrication and test facility for graduate and undergraduate research and as a resource for local and regional manufacturing industry partners and startup businesses.

“We’re excited that this new facility is not only a powerful resource for our students, but also an opportunity to partner with others in supporting our region’s economic development,” said , the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering. “Forging closer ties among industry and other colleges and universities benefits all of us. We’re grateful to the many who helped turn the dream of this facility into a reality.”

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Contact: Jessica Sieff, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-3933, jsieff@nd.edu

Joan Brennecke, the Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the University of Notre Dame Energy Center, was presented the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. Given by the United States Department of Energy, the Lawrence Award honors scientists and engineers at mid-career for their exceptional contributions in research and development supporting the DOE and its mission to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States.