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Senior Cassidy McDonald awarded Luce Scholarship

2017-02-24T11:20:00-05:00

Cassidy McDonald

Cassidy McDonald, a University of Notre Dame senior from Madison, Wisconsin, is one of 18 future leaders to be named a 2017-18 Luce Scholar.

The Luce Scholarship is a nationally competitive fellowship program created by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974 to enhance understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. Luce Scholars are provided stipends, language training and individualized professional placement in Asia.

“The Luce is a professional, rather than academic, scholarship, so I’ll spend the year working as a journalist,” McDonald said. “Over the next few months, the foundation will custom-tailor a placement, helping me to find a location and a job in journalism.”

Ultimately, she plans to work as a reporter, telling the stories of marginalized voices as they interact with powerful policies and systems.

McDonald will graduate in May with a business degree in marketing and a minor in journalism, ethics and democracy. In fall 2016, she traveled alongside columnist Nicholas Kristof to report on American poverty for the New York Times; she wrote about alternatives to incarceration, drug problems in Native American communities and a billionaire who is quietly donating his fortune to Oklahoma’s social programs. Her New York Times work can be found here: https://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/author/cassidy-mcdonald/.

At a summer internship with CBS News in New York City, she worked in the shooter-producer unit and spent many of her days “in the field,” booking interviews, shooting video and solving last-minute problems. At an earlier internship with “60 Minutes” in Washington, D.C., she researched a variety of topics including Russian military capabilities, gun death statistics and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. She was its first intern to travel out of town for two shoots, coordinating interviews at FBI headquarters and in Chicago, and independently producing a shoot in West Virginia.

McDonald began her career in Madison as an intern at the local NBC affiliate, WMTV NBC15, and at Wisconsin’s second-largest newspaper, the Wisconsin State Journal. At the State Journal, she reported on gang violence, higher education and city government, and wrote seven front-page articles in her first month on the job.

At Notre Dame, she is editor-in-chief of the student newsmagazine, Scholastic, and manages a team of 24 (in addition to about 30 regular contributors) to produce a monthly glossy magazine. Recent issues have focused on the school’s sexual assault disciplinary procedures, campus-wide reactions to Donald Trump’s victory and homelessness near campus. She also worked for Notre Dame’s sports broadcasting division, Fighting Irish Media, where she co-hosted an online sports-highlight show and produced live softball broadcasts. She anchors during Notre Dame’s 24-hour webcast on Notre Dame Day and is an emcee of the school’s Advisory Council dinners, hosting dinner events for about 250 of the school’s top decision-makers.

McDonald first discovered her passion for journalism at age 17, when she got a job making videos at her local police department. This semester, she’s raising money to fund a Liberian primary school class by training for her first marathon.

The Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement provides undergraduates opportunities for research, scholarship and creative projects. More information on CUSE is available at cuse.nd.edu. The Luce Scholarship is open to graduating seniors and alumni up to age 30. For more information about applying for the Luce Scholarship through CUSE, visit cuse.nd.edu/luce.

Notre Dame again ranks among the top-producing Fulbright universities

2017-02-21T10:00:00-05:00

Click for larger image

Twenty-seven University of Notre Dame students were awarded Fulbright grants in the 2016-17 program, placing the University among the top-producing universities in the nation. These 27 students are currently working on their Fulbright projects abroad. Preliminary results for the 51 students who are semifinalists in the 2017-18 competition will be available by May.

The Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It awards a one-year postgraduate fellowship for research, study or teaching English abroad. During their fellowship, scholars will work, live and learn in their host country.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program Top Producing list appears in the Tuesday (Feb. 21) edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Notre Dame was tied with Georgetown University in second place on the doctoral institution list, trailing only Brown University. This is the first time Notre Dame has appeared on the list for three consecutive years, and this is the University’s highest ranking.

“The unprecedented prominence of the University of Notre Dame on this year’s list of Fulbright U.S. Student Program Top Producing Institutions is a testament to the exceptional students admitted through the Office of Admissions and the Graduate 91��Ƶ, the excellent globally oriented education that Notre Dame provides, and the outstanding programs and mentoring offered by units such as Notre Dame International, the Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, Notre Dame Research, the Center for Social Concerns and the many faculty members who engage with international research and education in their work,” Jeffrey Thibert, associate director of Notre Dame’s Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, said. “On behalf of the Flatley Center and the Graduate 91��Ƶ Office of Grants and Fellowships, I can say that it is a pleasure to work with our Fulbright applicants, and we hope that our applicants’ successes will encourage more students and alumni to consider applying for the Fulbright and other nationally competitive fellowships.”

Notre Dame’s 2016-17 U.S. Fulbright Students are:

Lauren Antosz, Chicago; Spanish, Class of 2016 — study and research grant to Chile.
Elizabeth Baker, Wheaton, Illinois; history graduate student — study and research grant to India.
Whitney Bellant, Rosemount, Minnesota; psychology and German, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Germany.
Catherine Brix, Ankeny, Iowa; literature graduate student — study and research grant to Chile.
Andrea Castonguay, Chicago; history graduate student — study and research grant to Morocco.
Genevieve Crum, Louisville, Kentucky; Engineering, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Master’s Program Class of 2016 — study and research grant to Italy.
Raymond Drause, Simpsonville, South Carolina; history graduate student — study and research grant to Russia.
Prinz Jeremy Dela Cruz, Sacramento, California; French and philosophy, Class of 2015 — English teaching assistantship to Andorra.
Rose Doerfler, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Chinese and chemical engineering, Class of 2016 — study and research grant to Taiwan.
Charlie Ducey, Portland, Oregon; English, theology and German, Class of 2016 — study and research grant to Germany.
Aletha Duchene, Northfield, Minnesota; Alliance for Catholic Education Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Brazil.
Garrett Fontenot, Lake Charles, Louisiana; history graduate student — study and research grant to Canada.
Bridget Galassini, Northbrook, Illinois; international economics, peace studies and journalism, ethics and democracy, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Spain.
Adam Henderson, Cary, North Carolina; political science, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Malaysia.
McKenzie Hightower, Fort Worth, Texas; film and creative writing, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Poland.
Zachary Horne, Plano, Texas; finance and Korean, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to South Korea.
Savannah Kounelis, Mattawan, Michigan; neuroscience and behavior, Class of 2016 — study and research grant to Belgium.
Kirsten Kozlovsky, Sunnyvale, California; mechanical engineering graduate student, — study and research grant to New Zealand.
Angela Lederach, El Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia; peace studies and anthropology graduate student — study and research grant to Colombia.
Joseph Massad, Oakdale, Connecticut; political science and Arabic, Class of 2013 — English teaching assistantship to Bahrain.
Emily Migliore, Granger, Indiana; political science, peace studies and poverty studies, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Mexico.
Sean Sapp, Vestavia, Alabama; history graduate student — study and research grant to Belgium.
Brandon Sepulvado, Calhoun, Louisiana; sociology graduate student — study and research grant to France.
Christopher Shuck, Glassport, Pennsylvania; chemical engineering graduate student — study and research grant to Russia.
Luke Wajrowski, Crystal Lake, Illinois; philosophy, psychology and Medieval studies Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Argentina.
Kyle Witzigman, Springdale, Arkansas; political science and Middle Eastern studies, Class of 2016 — English teaching assistantship to Vietnam.
Danae Jacobson, South Bend, Indiana; history graduate student — study and research grant to Canada.

The Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement provides undergraduates opportunities for research, scholarship and creative projects. More information on CUSE is available at cuse.nd.edu. More information about applying for the Fulbright through CUSE is available at cuse.nd.edu/fulbright.

Graduate students interested in applying for a Fulbright grant should contact the Graduate 91��Ƶ’s Office of Grants and Fellowships at http://graduateschool.nd.edu/professional_development/research/.

Contact: Jeffrey Thibert, 574-631-0372, jthibert@nd.edu

Senior John Huber awarded Gates Cambridge scholarship

2017-02-10T13:00:00-05:00

John Huber

John Huber, a University of Notre Dame senior majoring in applied and computational mathematics and statistics, has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.

Huber is one of only 36 students in the U.S. to be selected for the scholarship, which drew approximately 800 applicants.

This prestigious postgraduate scholarship program, which fully funds postgraduate study and research in any subject at the University of Cambridge, was established through a $210 million donation to the University of Cambridge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000; this remains the largest single donation to a U.K. university. In addition to outstanding academic achievement, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship places emphasis on social leadership in its selection process, as the mission of the program is to create a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.

Huber, a native of Gainesville, Florida, will pursue the M.Phil. degree in veterinary science in Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine. During his undergraduate studies, he developed a strong passion for infectious disease research, which he considers the intersection of his interests in global health, mathematics and social justice. To date, his research has focused on constructing mathematical models for the transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens, principally malaria and dengue. He has conducted his research under the guidance of Alex Perkins, Notre Dame’s Eck Family Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and member of the Eck Institute for Global Health, and Erin Mordecai, an assistant professor of biology at Stanford University. His most recent research project, which was published in Malaria Journal, focused on quantifying serial and generation intervals, important epidemiological metrics, for Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

At Cambridge, he will broaden his research interests by applying mathematical and statistical methods to capture heterogeneity in bacterial division rates. This project will expand our understanding of how antimicrobial resistance arises from slow-replicating bacteria in vivo.

“At a time when drug resistance is rapidly outpacing the discovery of new antibiotics, I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the body of research on such a time-sensitive matter,” Huber said. “I feel honored to join the Gates Cambridge community and look forward to an enriching year at Cambridge in the Department of Veterinary Medicine.”

Huber was a participant in a competitive National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) at Stanford University and received a James F. Andrews Scholarship, which is awarded to select students who participate in a Center for Social Concerns Summer Service Learning Program. His Andrews scholarship funded his participation in the InnerRoads Wilderness Therapy Program in Missoula, Montana, which offers affordable wilderness therapy to underserved Montanan youth. He served as a clinical volunteer at South Bend’s Sister Maura Brannick Health Center and as a volunteer with Diabéticos Saludables in South Bend.

Huber intends to complete an M.D.-Ph.D. program and pursue a career in academic medicine.

“I am interested in serving as a clinician and conducting epidemiological research in the field of infectious diseases, where I would make clinically relevant contributions in the interest of global health,” he said. “Further, I aim to teach at the graduate or postgraduate level to educate the next generation of physician-scientists.”

Huber worked closely throughout the application process with Notre Dame’s Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE), which assists undergraduate students and alumni with fellowships applications. Current Notre Dame undergraduates and recent alumni who are interested in applying for national scholarships and fellowships can contact the center at http://cuse.nd.edu.

University community urged to consider ‘What’s Your Next Step?’ at second annual Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon

2017-01-25T14:10:00-05:00

Three thousand members of the University community gathered Monday (Jan. 23) to reflect on the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and what they mean for America today in the midst of national division. The second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Luncheon, sponsored by the Office of the President and the President’s Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, marked the start of the University’s “Walk the Walk Week” observance.

Judge Ann Williams

The luncheon program featured remarks by President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and a conversation with U.S Court of Appeals Judge Ann Claire Williams, a Notre Dame alumna and trustee, with Luis Fraga, co-director of the Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ and professor of political science, as convener.

In his opening remarks, Fraga discussed King’s emphasis on the importance of conscience and what it means for our individual and national consciences today. Fraga noted that among the most significant ways that King enlightened, and in this way, empowered us, was through his call that we use our faith, our reasoning, and our actions to become people of conscience.

“At this celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy, may we all open our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit to allow our individual and our nation’s consciences to grow. I can only think that he would agree that if we do this, as individual children of God and as a nation of high aspirations and ideals, we would grow in our abilities to allow love and its consequent goodness to guide our deepest beliefs, thoughts, and actions. We will grow in our individual and national consciences. What a gift Dr. King gives us once again on this day of celebration.”

Senior Sara Abdel-Rahim offered the invocation. A video featuring University students, faculty and staff responding to the questions, “What does Walk the Walk mean to you personally and as a community?” and “How do you Walk the Walk?” was then aired.

In his remarks, Father Jenkins noted that King was not just the leader of a movement for political and social reform.

“He was at his core a pastor who challenged us morally and spiritually,” Father Jenkins said. “That is why his life, his words and his actions are so important for us at Notre Dame, where we reverence both faith and reason, strive to live with moral purpose and cultivate habits of true service.”

He said that Notre Dame’s efforts for a more diverse and inclusive community are guided by three key principles:

Respect the dignity of every person
Build a Notre Dame community in which all can flourish.
Live in solidarity with all people, and particularly the most vulnerable.

He also indicated that the attendees would find a card outlining these principles at their seats. The principles were first articulated by Father Jenkins during his address to faculty last fall.

These principles, he said, emerge from Notre Dame’s mission and its history:

“Make no mistake: these commitments are not a nod to political correctness nor to some passing fashion. They are not imposed on us from the outside. They emerge, rather, from the very heart of Notre Dame’s mission and history. As our mission statement says, our “aim is to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as leaning becomes service to justice. Our principles of diversity and inclusion are part of what define us as a Notre Dame community. We are ND only if we are guided by them."

Following Father Jenkins’ remarks, Williams, class of ’75, was interviewed by alumna Erin McGinley, class of ’96, who is the judge’s senior law clerk in a conversation titled “Walking the Walk: Saying Yes.”

McGinley asked Williams to reflect on a series of King quotes, such as “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward,” and “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.” In response, Williams discussed her upbringing, Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ experiences and her judicial career.

Williams described her upbringing in Detroit and the influence her parents played in her life. Although both of her parents held college degrees, jobs in their fields were not open to them at the time and her father worked as a bus driver and her mother as an aide in school for juvenile delinquents.

“My parents realized they had to take it one step at a time and they had to keep moving forward and that’s what they told us,” she said. “They also emphasized how important education was, that education was the key and that we could be whatever we wanted to be.”

Williams also discussed her experiences as a federal judge and her service on behalf of the legal profession, including organizations such as the Just the Beginning Foundation, which encourages legal careers for African Americans and other underrepresented groups. The most important part of her job as a judge she noted is to provide equal justice.

“Those vulnerable populations are the ones we have to worry about and I think that’s what Dr. King was saying: it’s not just that you’re safe and you can afford justice,” she said.

Following her remarks, Williams, accompanied by the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir, sang the Elvis Presley song “I Believe,” inviting the audience to hold hands while joining her on a final verse.

The celebration closed with a benediction by senior JesusisLord Nwadiuko.

For photos, videos, and remarks from Monday’s luncheon and for more information about Walk the Walk Week, please visit http://diversity.nd.edu/walk-the-walk/.

Father Jenkins, students, faculty, staff and alumni to attend March for Life

2017-01-23T14:50:00-05:00

More than 700 University of Notre Dame students, faculty, staff and alumni will be among the participants in the 2017 March for Life on Friday (Jan. 27) in Washington, D.C., which this year observes the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Notre Dame priests will perform a “Blessing and Sending” before buses carrying the Notre Dame contingent depart from Stepan Center on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Notre Dame march participants will include the University’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. Father Jenkins also will preside at a Mass for the Notre Dame marchers at 10 a.m. Friday in St. Agnes Church, 1910 N. Randolph St., Arlington, Virginia.

A reception for Notre Dame students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends will take place Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the National Press Club, near the Metro Center Station on F Street NW. The free reception is cosponsored by the Center for Ethics and Culture and the Notre Dame Alumni Association. Registration is required and the reception is limited to guests age 21 and older. RSVP by Monday (Jan. 23) at: https://docs.google.com/a/nd.edu/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScR8XSlnw5a8mkFnOF6Xzfyi2kij1taJXpKgRpnnFtuzeaF6Q/viewform.

As the March takes place in Washington, D.C., the Alumni Association, students, staff and faculty will gather on campus at the Grotto at 1 p.m. to pray in solidarity for all life. Intentions for the prayer service can be submitted through Wednesday (Jan. 25) at https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebSpnOy0muGVLWB.

Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Service reflects on King’s life and work, looks forward with determination

2017-01-17T15:00:00-05:00

More than 700 students, administrators, faculty, staff and guests gathered late Monday evening (Jan. 16) in the University of Notre Dame’s Main Building Rotunda for a candlelight prayer service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., led the group in prayer and reflection on the life and words of King.

A candlelight procession forms following the prayer service

Father Jenkins opened the service with the following prayer:

“Dear Lord, we stand together before you, as people have for countless generations in hope, in sorrow, in joy, and in pain. Help us, we pray, as we look back at the life and words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: May we also look forward with determination. May our celebration tonight and this week propel us. May it motivate us. May it energize us. May it unite us in a commitment to respect and admire and learn from what makes each of us unique, and beloved, and chosen by you, our loving and merciful God. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

The service also included songs performed by the Voices of Faith Gospel Choir, a reading from the book of the prophet Amos and remarks by University administrators, including Rev. Hugh R. Page Jr., vice president and associate provost for undergraduate affairs.

In concluding the service, Father Jenkins prayed:

“Lord our God, see how oppression and violence are our sad inheritance, one generation to the next. We look for you where the lowly are raised up, where the mighty are brought down. We find you there in your servants, and we give you thanks this day for your preacher and witness, Martin Luther King Jr.

“Fill us with your spirit: Where our human community is divided by racism, torn by repression, saddened by fear and ignorance, may we give ourselves to your work of healing.”

A candlelit procession to the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue followed the prayer service, which was sponsored by the Office of the President, Campus Ministry and the President’s Oversight Committee on Diversity.

The University has designated the week of Jan. 22-27 as Walk the Walk Week. For more information about Walk the Walk Week events, visit http://diversity.nd.edu/walk-the-walk/.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration and Walk the Walk Week

2017-01-13T16:00:00-05:00

Beginning Monday (Jan. 16), the University of Notre Dame will host a series of events to mark both Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Walk the Walk Week. The observances celebrate the diversity that currently exists on the University’s campus and offer an opportunity to reflect on how each member of the campus community can take an active role in making the University more welcoming and inclusive.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16) will be marked by a candlelight prayer service at 11 p.m. in the Main Building with Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., presiding. A procession to the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue will follow. Sponsored by the Office of the President, Campus Ministry and the President’s Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, the prayer service is open to the public.

Given that King Day falls before the start of the 2017 spring semester, the University has designated the week of Jan. 22-27 as Walk the Walk Week.

“During this week, we reaffirm our commitment to respect the dignity of every human person, to work for the common good that allows each to flourish and to live in solidarity with all, particularly the most vulnerable,” Father Jenkins said. “In celebrating Dr. King, we are reminded that the diverse gifts and backgrounds of people enrich rather than divide us, that we must not simply tolerate diversity, but embrace one another as sisters and brothers and strive to build, however imperfectly, a community of love.”

On Monday (Jan. 23) students, faculty and staff are invited to a campus-wide MLK Celebration Luncheon and program in the University’s Joyce Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The luncheon is a free but ticketed event. The luncheon program will feature “A Conversation with Judge Ann Claire Williams, Walking the Walk: Saying Yes” and remarks by Father Jenkins. Williams, a Notre Dame alumna and trustee, was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in November 1999 after previously serving as a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. She received an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1997. Luis Fraga, co-director of the Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ (ILS) and professor of political science, will serve as convener. Voices of Faith will perform musical selections before and during the program. Members of the Notre Dame community who are unable to attend the campus-wide luncheon are invited to gather with friends and colleagues for lunch in the dining halls to continue the day’s conversations. Lunch is complimentary upon presentation of a Notre Dame ID.

Other campus departments will also host events during Walk the Walk Week. Those include:

Jan. 22 (Sunday):

“Moonlight,” 3 p.m., Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Presented by the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, “Moonlight” is the tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality. Ticket information is available at http://dpactickets.nd.edu/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=8772.

Jan. 23 (Monday):

Civil Rights Photography, 1:30 p.m., Snite Museum of Art
Explore photographs of Martin Luther King Jr. and critical moments of the civil rights movement. The photographs reflect the movement’s participants’ struggle, courage and hope. King described this dynamic as having the faith “to rise from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope” in his October 1963 speech on the Notre Dame campus. Decades later, these photographs continue to resonate with, in the words of King, “the challenges we face” in the ongoing pursuit of a more just society. http://sniteartmuseum.nd.edu/visit-us/events/2017/01/23/walk-the-walk-week-event-civil-rights-photography/.

Aisha Fukushima Talk, 7 p.m., Carey Auditorium, Hesburgh Library
Aisha Fukushima, a singer, speaker educator and rap activist who has both domestic and worldwide audiences, will speak on the subject of raptivism, a project that explores the ways culture can contribute to efforts for universal freedom and justice. The raptivism hip hop project is changing lives in 10 different countries and four continents. Her talk is sponsored by Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS), the Gender Relations Center (GRC) and Notre Dame Community Relations and is open to the public.

Jan. 25 (Wednesday):

Unity Summit, 2 p.m., Oak Room, South Dining Hall
The Unity Summit, a two-hour interactive program open to Notre Dame faculty, staff and students, will give participants an opportunity to share their personal diversity and inclusion experiences, as well as to brainstorm ways to make the University more welcoming and inclusive for all. Eric Love, director of Staff Diversity and Inclusion, will serve as facilitator.

Center for Social Concerns Fair, 6 p.m., Geddes Hall, Auditorium, Room B034 and B036
Each year, the Center for Social Concerns invites local not-for-profit organizations, service and social action clubs to campus to educate Notre Dame students about the agencies’ work and ways students can get involved in outreach activities. More than 40 agencies are expected to attend the information fair. The event is open to Notre Dame students.

“Where Do We Go from Here?”: Dr. King, the 2016 Elections, and the Future of America, 7 p.m., Oak Room, South Dining Hall
Panelists will share insights from Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speech titled, “Where Do We Go From Here?” offer reflections on and analyze voting trends from the 2016 election, and provide thoughts on the future. The program will also include a question and answer period. Co-chairs of the event are Dianne Pinderhughes, chair, Department of Africana 91��Ƶ and professor of political science, and Fraga. Panelists include Timothy Matovina, co-director, Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ and professor of theology, and Christina Wolbrecht, director, Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy and associate professor of political science. Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ and Department of Africana 91��Ƶ are co-sponsoring this panel discussion, which is open to the public.

Jan. 26 (Thursday):

Fireside Chat on Leadership and Innovation, 4 p.m., Morris Inn
The Office of the Provost and the Graduate 91��Ƶ will present an evening with entrepreneur, business leader and Notre Dame alumna and trustee Celeste Volz Ford and four star Air Force Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski. The talk will revolve around reflections on each individual’s path to their current role, early influences and decision making at critical personal and career junctures, reflections on mentors and partners along the way, aspirations and advice for audience members as they navigate their way. The program will be held from 4 to 5:15 p.m. with a reception to follow. This event is open to Notre Dame faculty, staff and students and attendees are asked to register here: https://graduateschool.nd.edu/about-the-graduate-school/fireside-chat-on-leadership-and-innovation/.

Ernest Sandeen Memorial Reading with Claudia Rankine and Solmaz Sharif, 7:30-10:00 p.m., McKenna Hall Auditorium, Notre Dame Conference Center
This biannual literary event commemorates Notre Dame faculty member, poet and scholar, Ernest Sandeen. A distinguished senior poet is invited to give the reading and selects a younger poet to read alongside him or her. Poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine has selected the poet Solmaz Sharif, former managing director of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and lecturer at Stanford University, to join her for this reading. Rankine is the recipient of a 2016 MacArthur “Genius Grant” and numerous awards and teaches at Yale University as the Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry. The event, which is open to the public, is funded by the Ernest Sandeen Endowment and the Sturtevant Fund and is co-sponsored by the Creative Writing Program, the Department of English, the Office of the Provost’s Distinguished Women Lecturers Fund, American 91��Ƶ, MSPS, Letras Latinas, ILS, Gender 91��Ƶ, First Year of 91��Ƶ, Africana 91��Ƶ, the Department of Art, Art History and Design, and the Center for Social Concerns.
http://english.nd.edu/events/2017/01/26/ernest-sandeen-memorial-reading-with-claudia-rankine-solmaz-sharif/.

The University is also a co-sponsor of the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Jan. 16, presented by the South Bend Heritage Foundation and the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation of St. Joseph County. Events include a community service recognition breakfast, a memorial march, youth program and celebration concert at the Morris Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit http://sbheritage.org/martin-luther-king-jr-celebration/.

For more information about Walk the Walk Week events, visit http://diversity.nd.edu/walk-the-walk/.

Take Ten program receives Serve Indiana 2016 Award of Excellence

2016-11-30T15:00:00-05:00

The University of Notre Dame’s Take Ten program has received an Award for Excellence from Serve Indiana, the state’s volunteer service agency. The Awards for Excellence are Indiana’s most prestigious annual awards celebrating the accomplishments of dedicated volunteers and service members.

Take Ten is a research-based conflict resolution curriculum designed at the University of Notre Dame and headquartered at the University’s Robinson Community Learning Center. Take Ten’s mission is to provide youth with positive alternatives to violence and build their capacity to make more informed choices when faced with conflict. Take Ten volunteers work on a weekly basis with schoolchildren of all grades to teach them the skills needed to resolve conflict peacefully.

Serve Indiana’s award citation noted: “Take Ten is a conflict resolution, violence/bullying-prevention program that began as a slogan campaign and developed at the University of Notre Dame into a successful curriculum serving schools and other sites throughout the greater Michiana area. Take Ten reaches, indirectly, 8,000-10,000 youth during an academic year with 120 volunteers who total 7,700 hours per academic year in direct service to local schools and non-profit community sites.”

“We are very proud to be recognized by the State of Indiana for the commitment to service learning that we make with the Take Ten program,” said Ellen Kyes, Take Ten program director. “Over the years that we have served local schools, we have worked to ensure that the college students who participate gain in knowledge and experience while serving the community. Thanks to these wonderful, committed students for their work that made this award possible.”

Serve Indiana, a division of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, strives to be a statewide public champion for service, a strong local, regional and national partner, an efficient grant maker and a broker of federal and state resources allocated toward service and volunteerism.

Notre Dame’s Grace Watkins and Alexis Doyle named Rhodes Scholars

2016-11-20T09:00:00-05:00

Grace Watkins

University of Notre Dame seniors Christa Grace Watkins and Alexis Doyle have been selected to the United States Rhodes Scholar Class of 2017. Watkins, a native of Blacksburg, Virginia, and Doyle, of Los Altos, California, are two of 32 Rhodes Scholars selected from a pool of 882 candidates who had been endorsed by their colleges and universities. They are Notre Dame’s 18th and 19th Rhodes Scholars and will commence their studies at Oxford University in October. This marks the first time Notre Dame has had Rhodes Scholars in three consecutive years and the third time the University has had two in a single year. It also is the first time that Notre Dame has had two women chosen in the same year.

Watkins, a philosophy major with a minor in philosophy, politics and economics, also was selected as a 2016 Truman Scholar.

Doyle is a biological sciences and international peace studies major and is a participant in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service, the Glynn Family Honors Program and the Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program.

“We are very proud of Grace and Alexis for earning the distinction of being named Rhodes Scholars,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. "It is a tremendous honor not only for them, but for all of us here at Notre Dame.”

“I want to congratulate first of all Grace and Alexis, but also the faculty here at Notre Dame who taught them and the staff of the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement who put in countless hours assisting Grace, Alexis and our other candidates for the Rhodes and other scholars’ programs,” Father Jenkins said.

A Kellogg International Scholar and a Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE) Sorin Scholar, Watkins hopes to enroll in a joint J.D./Ph.D. program and to specialize in public interest law. She has already made a measurable impact through her activism at Notre Dame, successfully campaigning for numerous policy revisions related to Title IX and mental and physical illness.

As a first-year student, she won Notre Dame’s “First Year Urban Challenge” for her policy proposal for the student-run microloan program Jubilee Initiative for Financial Inclusion (JIFFI) to increase resources available for women with disabilities. She is now chief operating officer and head of the legal department for the organization whose goal is to reduce the prevalence of predatory payday lending in the South Bend community.

Watkins completed internships in summer 2014 and 2015 with the Children’s Advocacy Institute, which seeks to improve the child protection and foster care systems.

On campus, she is senior policy adviser to Student Government and sits on the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee. She also served as a research assistant to Jaimie Bleck, an assistant professor of political science. She is a member of the Sorin Scholars Steering Committee and the Committee on Sexual Assault Prevention, and is co-president of College Democrats of Notre Dame.

Watkins is the director of communications for Education Bridge and was recently appointed national organizing director for Rise.

“I am so grateful for this incredible opportunity to study at Oxford alongside other students who want to make a difference in the world,” Watkins said. “I attribute all credit to Jeffrey Thibert and the other advisers at Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, as well as the professors, friends and family who supported me through the process.”

She plans on pursuing a doctor in philosophy degree in socio-legal studies at Oxford. She hopes a graduate degree in law and philosophy will position her as a credible force for change and allow her to further study the “unexplored intersections” between philosophical topics such as forgiveness and moral agency and Title IX reform.

Doyle is passionate about the intersection of social justice, health, and well-being. She volunteers in the South Bend community at the Sister Maura Brannick Health Clinic. She also tutors elementary students.

Alexis Doyle

On campus, Doyle is a research assistant for a project designing low and no-cost interventions that promote better food choices in school cafeteria environments through the Architecture, Health, and Sustainability Research Group. She is a resident assistant in Ryan Hall and a teaching assistant for honors mathematics and served as co-president of the Compassionate Care in Medicine Club.

Doyle traveled to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, in 2015 for a summer service project, where she volunteered for the Primeros Pasos medical clinic, which provides residents of the rural Palajunoj Valley access to medical care. She returned to Guatemala the next summer and established a social enterprise model centered on soap making for the Palajunoj Valley. By partnering with the mothers of infected and, consequently, malnourished children, the project also has the potential to be a source of income for the unemployed women.

Doyle spent the fall 2015 semester studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico, where she had an internship in a local public hospital.

“I am deeply grateful for everyone who has supported my learning and personal growth over the past four years at Notre Dame,” Doyle said. “Receiving this scholarship is a huge honor, but one that certainly reflects the quality of the incredible support system that I have at Notre Dame – in my peers, professors, my mentors and in the South Bend community. I am very energized to use this scholarship to prepare myself better to serve as an advocate for health.”

Following her Oxford studies, Doyle will attend the Icahn 91��Ƶ of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was accepted during her sophomore year at Notre Dame.

Watkins and Doyle advanced through a rigorous multistep selection process for Rhodes Scholarship applicants.

This year, approximately 2,500 students sought their institution’s endorsement and 882 were endorsed by 311 colleges and universities. Committees in each of 16 U.S. districts then invite the strongest applicants to appear before them for an interview. Applicants are chosen on the bases of the criteria set down in the will of Cecil Rhodes.

According to the Rhodes Trust, along with academic excellence, “a Rhodes Scholar should also have great personal energy, ambition for impact and an ability to work with others and to achieve one’s goals. In addition, a Rhodes Scholar should be committed to make a strong difference for good in the world, be concerned for the welfare of others and be conscious of inequities. And finally, a Rhodes Scholar should show great promise of leadership.”

Rhodes Scholarships have been award annually since 1902 and provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England, and may allow funding in some instances for four years.

Current Notre Dame senior Corey Robinson, as well as Anna Kottkamp, a member of the Notre Dame class of 2015, and Jake Grefenstette and McKenzie Hightower, members of the Notre Dame class of 2016, were also finalists for a Rhodes Scholarship this year.

All the Rhodes finalists worked closely through the application process with Notre Dame’s Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, which assists students and alumni with fellowships applications. Current Notre Dame undergraduates and recent alumni who are interested in applying for the Rhodes Scholarship can contact the center at http://cuse.nd.edu.

Football weekend events: Notre Dame vs. Miami

2016-10-26T14:00:00-04:00

Lectures on big data and on Latinos in television’s new golden age, along with performances by the Band of the Fighting Irish and the Notre Dame Glee Club, are among the attractions for visitors coming to campus for this weekend’s football game against the University of Miami.

Friday (Oct. 28)

“Ingenious Exercises: Sports and the Printed Book in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800,” 9 a.m., 102 Hesburgh Library, Rare Books and Special Collections Exhibit, through Dec. 16.
Hesburgh Libraries Exhibit: “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness,” 9 a.m., Hesburgh Library Entrance Gallery.
The Snite Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition titled “Three from the Thirties: Classic Cars from the Heartland,” in the Mestrovic Gallery through Nov. 13.
“Should America Promote Democracy in Foreign Lands?” by Victoria Coates, national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz, noon, in Carole Sanders Hall, Remick Commons. Sponsored by the Notre Dame International Security Center.
The Notre Dame Alumni Association Football Fridays kicks off with its On the Sidelines lecture from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium. The lecture, “Fifty Years On and off the Record with Father Hesburgh,” features Robert Schmuhl, Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Chair in American 91��Ƶ and Journalism and author of the new book “Fifty Years with Father Hesburgh.”
The Alumni Association will host Alan Page, former all-American, NFL Hall of Famer and former Minnesota Supreme Court justice, on the ND Live Stage from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., as part of its “Catching Up With…” series.
Trumpets Under the Dome, 4:10 p.m. Main Building.
The Notre Dame Marching Band steps off from the Main Building at 4:30 p.m.
A pep rally takes place at 5:45 p.m. at the Hesburgh Library mall.
Women’s volleyball vs. Miami Hurricanes, 7 p.m., Purcell Pavilion.
Men’s soccer vs. North Carolina Tarheels, 7 p.m., Alumni Stadium.
Men’s hockey vs. UConn Huskies, 7:35 p.m., Compton Family Ice Arena.
Notre Dame Glee Club Fall Concert, 8 p.m., Leighton Concert Hall.

Saturday (Oct. 29)

“Blessed Frederick Ozanam: Founder of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul and Apostle of Charity,” 10:30 a.m., in the Andrews Auditorium in the lower level of Geddes Hall, with Lawrence Cunningham, O’Brien Chair of Theology emeritus, as part of the McGrath Institute for Church Life’s Saturday with the Saints series.
“Not just Flint, MI: Flawed science and loopholes in environmental policy,” 11 a.m., room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science, with Norma Kreilein, class of ’82, as part of the Dooley Society Lecture Series.
Bagpipe Band performance, 11:30 a.m. to noon, front steps, Main Building.
“Representing Latinos in Television’s New Golden Age,” 12:30 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Snite Museum of Art, with Jason Ruiz, associate professor in the Department of American 91��Ƶ, as part of the College of Arts and Letters’ Saturday Scholars Series.
Glee Club Pre-Game Concert, 12:40 p.m., Hesburgh Library Reflecting Pool.
“Privacy Déjà vu: The Era of Big Data,” 1 p.m. in room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science, with Fang Liu, Huisking Foundation Inc. Assistant Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, as part of the College of Science’s Science Exploration Series.
Player Walk, 1:15 to 1:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
Bagpipe Band performance, 1:15 to 1:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
From 2 to 2:30 p.m., the Band of the Fighting Irish will perform its Concert on the Steps at Bond Hall.
Trumpets Under the Dome will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Main Building.
Marching Band March Out will take place at 2:40 p.m. from the Main Building Front Steps.
Post-game Mass will be celebrated at approximately 7 p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

For a complete list of weekend events, visit gameday.nd.edu.

Notre Dame researchers to lead new computing paradigm effort

2016-10-20T10:00:00-04:00

University of Notre Dame researchers will lead a new National Science Foundation- and Semiconductor Research Corp.-funded effort to develop a new area of computing titled “Extremely Energy Efficient Collective Electronics” (EXCEL).

The NSF-SRC has awarded the researchers a $4.5 million grant to fund the project over three years, which is expected to uncover fundamentally new ways of harnessing coupled dynamical systems for solving computationally hard problems in an energy-efficient way. With innovations in novel materials and devices, chip-scale system implementation, and architectural innovations and critical benchmarking, EXCEL will lay the foundation for a new computing paradigm to achieve a 1,000-fold improvement in computational energy efficiency.

“With billions of devices connected to the cloud, we have officially entered the age of data deluge,” said Suman Datta, Notre Dame Chang Family Chair of Electrical Engineering and principal investigator for the research project. “It’s imperative on us to develop sophisticated and advanced software and hardware solutions to extract key insights and actionable intelligence from all forms of data, both structured and unstructured. The primary focus of EXCEL is to develop special-purpose hardware to accelerate such data analytics in an extremely energy efficient manner. With new discoveries of emergent phenomena in solid-state materials, demonstration of new device concepts, new computational algorithms, innovative integrated circuit design techniques and new architectures, we are well-poised to lay the foundation for a radically different approach to information processing.”

The center looks to leverage brain-inspired, unsupervised learning systems to enable a highly energy-efficient, scalable computing platform. In this vertically integrated proposal, the researchers will address the theory of collective computing to rigorously establish the information capacity and computation complexity of dynamical systems, pursue physical hardware demonstration and quantify their efficacy in solving computationally hard problems that are finding ever-expanding applications in high-performance data centers, real-time cyber-physical systems and computational medicine.

The grant’s multidisciplinary team will include researchers from Georgia Tech, Pennsylvania State University, the University of California at Irvine, the University of California at San Diego and the University of Chicago.

The research project is also structured to benefit from strong engagement from industry researchers, which will facilitate technology transfer in the future. Additionally, the project also includes outreach activities that are prioritized around educating future generations of engineering students to adapt to the forthcoming evolution and revolution in information processing systems.

EXCEL will build on the research being carried out by the Center for Low Energy Systems Technology (LEAST) to form an influential driver in the quest for the next generation of energy-efficient and high-performance computing devices, circuits and systems.

Contact: Suman Datta, 574-631-8835, sdatta@nd.edu

Alumni Association presents five awards

2016-10-19T14:00:00-04:00

An ambassador, the founder of the University of Notre Dame soccer team, an Air Force colonel, a longtime Morris Inn bartender and a math teacher are the recipients of five major Notre Dame Alumni Association awards given out this fall.

The Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., Award

Thomas E. McNamara, class of ’64 M.A., received the Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., Award, which recognizes an alumnus or alumna who has performed outstanding service in the field of government, patriotism, public service or local, state or national politics.

McNamara was presented with this award in recognition of his years of dedicated public service and commitment to keeping the world safe through diplomacy.

“I accept this award, not as a personal one, but as a recognition by the Notre Dame community of the importance of diplomacy in a period when diplomacy has been misunderstood and devalued in the eyes of many Americans,” McNamara said. “I am encouraged by this to continue my efforts to inform the public of the central role of diplomacy in our national security.”

A career diplomat, McNamara served as the United States ambassador to Colombia from 1988 through 1991. He also held postings in Russia, Congo and France. He left government in the late 1990s and served as president and CEO of the Americas Society and Council of the Americas in New York from 1998 to 2001.

He returned to government service following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the request of the secretary of state, who tapped McNamara to serve as senior adviser on terrorism and homeland security. From 2006-09, he was program manager for the Information Sharing Environment, a senior position reporting directly to the president of the United States. He also has served as assistant secretary of state, special assistant to the president, ambassador for counterterrorism, special negotiator for Panama, and in other senior positions.

McNamara is currently the president of the Diplomacy Center Foundation, a not-for- profit partner of the Department of State that is building the nation’s first museum and educational center completely devoted to American diplomacy.

The Harvey G. Foster Award

The Harvey G. Foster Award, conferred on an alumnus or alumna who has distinguished himself or herself through civic or University activities, was given to Joe Échelle, class of ’62.

Échelle was honored with this award for his pioneering spirit to bring soccer to Notre Dame and help it spread throughout the United States.

“I am honored and privileged to be selected by the Notre Dame Alumni Association as the recipient of the 2016 Harvey G. Foster Award,” Échelle said. “Receiving this award is such an amazing honor, which would not have been possible without the pioneering support of the Notre Dame Athletic Department, ND publications, my talented soccer teammates, ’62 classmates and family. Thank you for selecting me as a representative of the sport of soccer. To be among the roster of prestigious Harvey G. Foster Award winners is indeed an inspiration I will forever treasure.”

His family ravaged by World War II, Échelle rose from a refugee camp of displaced persons in Austria to help establish soccer at Notre Dame, where he organized, coached and captained the first soccer team. These contributions led Lamar Hunt, the longtime owner of professional football and soccer teams, to nickname Échelle the “Knute Rockne of Notre Dame soccer.”

He went on to a distinguished career as an executive in professional soccer. He served as the general manager of the Dallas Tornado, the Denver Dynamos and the Caribous of Colorado. At the national level, Échelle oversaw sales for the Bicentennial Soccer Cup, a mini-world cup in six cities. He was promoted to director of club services for 24 teams and was named president of the American Soccer League Management.

As a consultant, Échelle handled the strategic marketing plan for the U.S. Soccer Properties National Teams in preparation for the 1994 World Cup staged in the United States. He continues to offer sports and media consulting services.

The Rev. William Corby, C.S.C., Award

Retired Col. Martin Mahrt, class of ’55, received the Rev. William Corby, C.S.C., Award, which honors an alumnus or alumna who has distinguished himself or herself in military service.

Mahrt was honored with this award in recognition of his decades of distinguished military service.

“The life values I learned at Notre Dame were put to the test many times during my career,” Mahrt said. “I am so proud that my university acknowledges what the military means to our country with this special Rev. William Corby Award.”

Mahrt was raised in Custer, South Dakota. After graduating from Notre Dame, he married Colleen, his high school sweetheart, and entered the Air Force.

His first tour in Vietnam ended in a miraculous rescue after his plane had been shot down deep in enemy territory. Mahrt received the Purple Heart for his injuries. On his second tour, he participated in the evacuation of thousands during the fall of Saigon.

During Mahrt’s next assignment, he launched the prestigious realistic combat training program for American fighter pilots and our allies. He became the first Commander of Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Honorary Alumni

Rohr’s bartender Patrick Murphy was given honorary alumni status, awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to University life, for his nearly five decades of serving drinks and conversation at the Morris Inn. As an honorary alumnus, Murphy — universally known as Murf —joins a distinguished group whose ranks include Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz.

Murf started as a busboy at the Morris Inn at age 15 and continued to work there even after he was drafted and stationed in Maryland, busing tables during leave periods. After his discharge from the Army, Murf worked other jobs before returning to the Morris Inn full-time to tend bar at Leahy’s.

Leahy’s was rebranded as Rohr’s after the Morris Inn’s renovation in 2013. Murf stayed on, known to his patrons — students, faculty, coaches, alumni, fans, politicians and trustees alike — as a storyteller, listener and direct advice-giver who would not hesitate to do a friend, coworker, or patron a favor and who became for many emblematic of the Notre Dame experience.

During the fall meeting of its Board of Directors, the Alumni Association presented this honor to Murf during a surprise celebration at Rohr’s. “I think what I can say is, I’ve been blessed,” Murf said.

The Outstanding Educator Award

The Outstanding Educator Award, given to alumni who have distinguished themselves in educating students, will be awarded to John Titterton, class of ’91, later this month.

Titterton is a math teacher from Carmel Catholic High 91��Ƶ in Mundelein, Illinois.

Going into his twelfth year of teaching, Titteron is STEM department chair at Carmel Catholic, where he has taught for 11 years. He is known as Mr. T to his students and has created videos for every lesson he has taught over the last six years, attracting followers from all over the world — in addition to his own students. Titterton previously served as math department chair for six years and has coached 20 years of youth soccer.

Created by the University of Notre Dame’s Alumni Association in 1996 to honor a Notre Dame graduate in elementary or secondary education, the Outstanding Educator Award is given to alumni who have distinguished themselves in educating students. Recipients are deemed as outstanding classroom teachers and model both competency and character to students and colleagues. Additionally, award winners illustrate their commitment to education with service to their school and/or profession. In order to receive the award, recipients must be a Notre Dame graduate and active in classroom teaching for at least five years.

This year’s Outstanding Educator Award will be presented to Titteron on Notre Dame’s campus on Friday (Oct. 21) during the Alumni Association’s annual Excellence in Teaching Conference.

Notre Dame researchers to lead NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity study

2016-10-14T08:00:00-04:00

University of Notre Dame biologist Jeffrey Feder will lead a team of researchers funded by a new $2 million grant from the Dimensions of Biodiversity program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine how when one insect shifts its season it allows others to follow and generates new biodiversity.

The Dimensions of Biodiversity program is NSF’s flagship interdisciplinary endeavor aimed at filling the most substantial gaps in our understanding of the diversity of life on Earth. The program funded a total of 10 national and international grants totaling $18.9 million in 2016 that “will allow us to find new ways of understanding how organisms form, interact and change through time,” says James Olds, NSF assistant director for biological sciences, “investigating some of the least-known and perplexing innovations of nature.”

Feder, a faculty member in Notre Dame’s Department of Biological Sciences and the University’s Environmental Change and Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics initiatives, will direct a team of collaborators from three other universities examining how adaptations of insects allowing them to eat plants present at specific times of the year cascade through the ecosystem to sequentially induce the diversification of the parasite insects that attack the plant-eating insects.

The study will focus on the apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella, and the parasitoid wasps that attack the fly. Rhagoletis pomonella is a model system for understanding ecological speciation in action in our own backyards. A native of North America, R. pomonella originally laid its eggs inside the fruit of hawthorn trees. In the 1850s, however, a splinter group of Rhagoletis began laying eggs in apples, becoming a major economic pest in the United States. Apple trees fruit earlier in the season than hawthorns. The move of R. pomonella to apples required that apple flies evolve to terminate diapause, the dormant period that insects overwinter in, earlier in order for them to come out of the ground sooner as adults to lay their eggs in their new apple hosts. Because R. pomonella has only one generation a year and is short-lived as an adult, the shift in timing resulted in apple and hawthorn flies being active at different times of the year. As a consequence, apple and hawthorn flies have formed partially genetically and reproductively isolated host races, the hypothesized initial stage on the road to speciation, within the last 160 years. Feder and his colleagues have shown that several of the parasitic wasps that attack the flies have followed suit and similarly shifted their life histories to attack the new apple fly host, forming their own new host races in the process.

The four-year NSF Dimensions grant will allow Feder and his colleagues to resolve the physiological, developmental and genetic bases responsible for the changes in diapause life history and determine whether they are the same or differ between flies and wasps. The researchers will also investigate whether and how changing climates may disrupt or promote species interactions affecting the diversity of the plant, fly and wasp community in the future. The results of the study will inform many scientific fields, from basic research on the genesis of new species to applied control of agricultural pests. The project also includes workshops with high school teachers and students to build curricula supporting “learning by doing” and meeting national standards in science education, as well as providing training for graduate and postdoctoral students.

Other institutions involved in the research include the University of Florida, University of Colorado at Denver and SUNY Binghamton.

Contact: Jeffrey Feder, 574-631-4158, Jeffrey.L.Feder.2@nd.edu

Football weekend events: Notre Dame vs. Stanford

2016-10-12T11:00:00-04:00

Trumpets Under the Dome

Lectures on St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Saint of Auschwitz, and on protein folding, along with performances by the Band of the Fighting Irish and the Notre Dame Glee Club, are among the attractions for visitors coming to campus for this weekend’s football game against Stanford University.

Friday (Oct. 14)

“Ingenious Exercises: Sports and the Printed Book in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800,” 9 a.m., 102 Hesburgh Library, Rare Books and Special Collections Exhibit, through Dec. 16.
Hesburgh Libraries Exhibit: “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness,” opens at 9 a.m., Hesburgh Library Entrance Gallery.
The Snite Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition titled “Three from the Thirties: Classic Cars from the Heartland,” in the Mestrovic Gallery through Nov. 13.
The Alumni Association will host Ron Powlus, former Notre Dame quarterback and current director of player development for Notre Dame Football, on the ND Live Stage from 1:30 to 2 p.m., and Mike Brey, head coach of the Notre Dame men’s basketball team, from 3:30 to 4 p.m., as part of its “Catching Up With…” series.
The Alumni Association’s On the Sidelines lecture will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium. The lecture, “Fighting for the Moon…and Beyond,” offers a behind-the-scenes look at the popular What Would You Fight For? on-air and online campaign, including an in-depth look at work that’s literally out of this world from planetary geologist Clive Neal.
Trumpets Under the Dome, 4:10 p.m., Main Building.
The Notre Dame Marching Band steps off from the Main Building at 4:30 p.m.
The Notre Dame Glee Club will have an open rehearsal from 5 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 329, Coleman-Morse Hall.
A pep rally takes place at 5:45 p.m. at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Notre Dame women’s volleyball team plays the North Carolina Tarheels at 7 p.m. at the Purcell Pavilion.
The Notre Dame women’s soccer team takes on the North Carolina Tarheels at 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.

Saturday (Oct. 15)

Open House: Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, 9 to 11 a.m., 1045 W. Washington St., South Bend. The NDCAC will be open with tours available. Light breakfast will be served.
“St. Maximilian Kolbe: Saint of Auschwitz,” at 10:30 a.m. in the Andrews Auditorium in the lower level of Geddes Hall, with Jessica Keating, director of the Notre Dame Office of Human Dignity and Life Initiatives, as part of the Institute for Church Life’s Saturdays with the Saints series.
“Protein Misfolding: A Common Thread Connecting Many Diseases,” 1 p.m., room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science, with Patricia Clark, O’Hara Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and concurrent professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, as part of the College of Science’s Science Exploration Series.
Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team faces Stanford at 1 p.m. at Arlotta Stadium.
“Onward to Victory: The Path to Wellness,” 3 p.m., room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science, with Dr. Brian Ostick, as part of the Dooley Society Lecture Series.
Bagpipe Band performance, 3:30 to 4 p.m., front steps, Main Building.
“Flooding the Desert: Faith-based Mobilizing to Save Lives along the Arizona-Sonora Border,” 4 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Snite Museum of Art, with Kraig Beyerlein, associate professor, Department of Sociology, as part of the College of Arts and Letters’ Saturday Scholars Series.
Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and in the Crypt of the Basilica, and at 4:30 p.m. in DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. No post-game Mass will be celebrated.
Glee Club pre-game concert, 4:30 to 5 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad Reflecting Pool.
Player Walk, 5:15 to 5:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
Bagpipe Band Performance, 5:15 to 5:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
From 6 to 6:30 p.m., the Band of the Fighting Irish will perform its Concert on the Steps at Bond Hall.
Trumpets Under the Dome will take place at 6:30 p.m.in the Rotunda of the Main Building
Marching Band March Out will take place at 6:40 p.m. from the Main Building Front Steps.

For a complete schedule of events, visit gameday.nd.edu.

Notre Dame’s 16th annual Blue Mass to be celebrated Oct. 6

2016-09-30T12:55:00-04:00

The 16th annual Blue Mass for police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and their families will be celebrated at 5:15 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 6) in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., will preside, and Rev. Peter McCormick, C.S.C., director of Campus Ministry, will be the homilist. John Pistole, former head of the TSA, former deputy director of the FBI and now president of Anderson University, will be a guest speaker.

Named for the predominant color of uniforms worn by officers in police and fire departments nationwide, the Blue Mass was first celebrated at Notre Dame in October 2001 as the traditional “month’s mind” Mass for the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and for the police officers, firefighters and rescue workers who died while in the line of service. Since then, it has been celebrated annually to honor and pray for all those who serve and protect public safety on a daily basis. The mass is open to the public, and people of all denominations and faith traditions are welcome to participate.

Representatives of the police and fire departments from throughout the region will attend the Mass.

A reception, hosted by Campus Safety, Notre Dame Security Police and the Notre Dame Fire Department, will follow the Mass in the Main Building Rotunda.

Panel discussion to focus on university-city partnerships

2016-09-26T13:35:00-04:00

A panel discussion focusing on the importance of universities and cities working together to help solve pressing problems will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 29) at the University of Notre Dame’s McKenna Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley; South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Robert Bernhard, Notre Dame’s vice president for research; and undergraduate Alicia Czarnecki are the panelists participating. They will discuss the importance of city officials and universities working together to develop innovative solutions to challenges facing cities, while providing unique educational opportunities for students to work on real-world problems. The focus will be on a number of initiatives currently underway between Notre Dame and the city of South Bend, including the MetroLab Network, Smart Cities Initiative and the Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem.

The panelists will respond to a series of questions from a moderator and time will be set aside for questions from the audience.

Contact: Alisa Zornig Gura, College of Engineering, 574-631-8175, azornig2@nd.edu

Football weekend events: Notre Dame vs. Duke

2016-09-21T11:00:00-04:00

Visitors coming to campus for this weekend’s football game against Duke University will find a variety of events to take part in, from lectures to concerts to tours.

Friday (Sept. 23)

“Ingenious Exercises: Sports and the Printed Book in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1800,” 9 a.m., 102 Hesburgh Library, Rare Books and Special Collections Exhibit, through Dec. 16.
Hesburgh Libraries Exhibit: “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness,” 9 a.m., Hesburgh Library Entrance Gallery.
The Snite Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition titled “Three from the Thirties: Classic Cars from the Heartland,” in the Mestrovic Gallery through Nov. 13.
The University of Notre Dame presents in recognition of Constitution Day 2016, “Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America,” by Stephen Knott, professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. Noon Friday in the Oak Room at South Dining Hall.
The Notre Dame Alumni Association Football Fridays kicks off with its On the Sidelines lecture from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium. The lecture, “A World Full of Problems: What will the Keough 91��Ƶ Do?” features R. Scott Appleby, Marilyn Keough Dean of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs.
“Creating a Caring Culture at the Cleveland Clinic,”: with Notre Dame alumnus Dr. Brian Donley, chief of staff and chief of clinical operations at the Cleveland Clinic, at 3 p.m. at the Hesburgh Library’s Carey Auditorium.
“Hyphenated Identities: Irish-Jewish Autobiographies,” 3 p.m., McKenna Conference Center, room 100, sponsored by the Department of German and Russian, Department of History and Center for the Study of Languages and Culture.
The Alumni Association will host Dick Vitale, legendary basketball broadcaster and Notre Dame parent, on the ND Live Stage from 3:30 to 4 p.m., as part of its “Catching Up With…” series.
Trumpets Under the Dome, 4:10 p.m., Main Building
The Notre Dame Marching Band steps off from the Main Building at 4:30 p.m.
The Notre Dame Glee Club will have an open rehearsal from 5 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 329, Coleman-Morse Hall.
Todd Rundgren — Play Like A Champion Today Musical Instrument Drive, before the Pep Rally and all day Saturday at the tent inside the Joyce Center Field House (North Dome) of the Joyce Center. Legendary musician Todd Rundgren is the artist-in-residence at Notre Dame. His Spirit of Harmony Foundation is collecting used musical instruments to be refurbished and distributed to children who have the opportunity to play music but don’t have an instrument.
A pep rally takes place at 5:45 p.m. at the Joyce Center Fieldhouse.

Saturday (Sept. 24)

“St. Teresa of Calcutta: On the Occasion of her Canonization,” 10:30 a.m. in the Andrews Auditorium in the lower level of Geddes Hall, with Leonard DeLorenzo, director of Notre Dame Vision, as part of the Institute for Church Life’s Saturdays with the Saints series.
The Dooley Society presents the annual Emil T. Hofman lecture at 11 a.m. in the Raclin-Carmichael Auditorium at the Indiana University 91��Ƶ of Medicine, 1234 Notre Dame Ave. Dr. Herbert Zeh, chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, will discuss “Training the Surgeons of Tomorrow: What Robotic Surgery Has Taught Us about Surgical Education.”
“Broadcasting the Bicentennial Birthday Bash: History, Myth and Ideology in Television’s Celebration of 1776,” 12:30 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Snite Museum of Art, with Christine Becker, associate professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, as part of the College of Arts and Letters’ Saturday Scholars Series.
Glee Club Pre-Game Concert, 12:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Reflecting Pool.
“The Shape of Information,” 1 p.m., room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science, with J. Arlo Caine, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, as part of the College of Science’s Science Exploration Series.
Player Walk, 1:15 to 1:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
Bagpipe Band Performance, 1:15 to 1:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
From 2 to 2:30 p.m., the Band of the Fighting Irish will perform its Concert on the Steps at Bond Hall.
Trumpets Under the Dome will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Main Building.
Marching Band March Out will take place at 2:40 p.m. from the Main Building Front Steps.
At approximately 7 p.m., post-game Mass will be celebrated at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

For more information and a complete schedule, visit gameday.nd.edu.

Expressing the value of data science in an ROI framework

2016-09-16T10:00:00-04:00

Nitesh Chawla

Data science is rapidly becoming woven into the fabric of organizations of all sizes and types, and is driving significant societal and economic impact. Organizations are increasingly becoming data driven, investing in infrastructure, people and processes to embrace the data science journey.

In a recent paper published in EPJ Data Science, University of Notre Dame researchers study how organizations can quantify decision making in data science. Doctoral student Saurabh Nagrecha and his adviser, Nitesh Chawla, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and director of iCeNSA, advocate that data science is a process and present a solution to quantifying the value of data acquisition and modeling in a return on investment (ROI) framework.

“An ROI-based valuation means that organizations can budget for existing strategies better, readily compare vastly different data strategies, and in a budget-constrained environment even answer the tough questions like ‘To achieve the desired outcomes, should I invest money in more data acquisition or more complex modeling or both?’” Chawla said. “We have developed an ROI-based modeling framework, called NPV model in this paper, that can begin to answer such questions.”

The NPV model enables users to translate a machine learning-based predictive model’s performance over time from traditional empirical measures into dollar values by combining machine learning, data acquisition, operational costs, and investment parameters.

“Typically, success for machine learning models is expressed in accuracy, precision, recall, ROC and other such metrics,” Chawla said. “Facets of costs should be incorporated in evaluation, when available, as false negatives might be more costly than false positives, for example. Our paper expands this cost-sensitive classification framework by incorporating costs to acquire external data, modeling costs and operational costs, all of which are essential for the real-world deployment of these machine learning models. Moreover, these predictions don’t just happen at once, but instead occur over a timeline — where it is important to consider the time-based valuations under constraints.”

Chawla pointed out that a data-driven organization may make predictions on millions of instances of streaming data every day using an in-house predictive model. They have an idea of the cost of a correct prediction, a false positive, a false negative, operational costs, cost of capital for the team, etc. Using the NPV model, they can now ascribe a value to their entire data science operation and strategize for the future.

“If organizations want to investigate the possibility of tying in external data into their operations, they can use our technique, run it on their current data alongside their in-house data, and get the value of the new model,” Nagrecha said. “If this new value, minus the switchover costs, is greater than that of the current model, then it means that over time, it is worth getting external data. Using the same process, they can evaluate competing bids for external data, multiple machine learning techniques, etc., on the same strategy board — all on the basis of their respective NPVs, and select the best ones given expected outcomes and budget.”

The team’s approach is generally applicable to all organizations as they face the decision of becoming increasingly more data-driven and yet constrained for resources. This paper provides a strategy board for organizations to develop a budget and allocate resources on various activities along the data science process. It starts with answering a basic question, “How valuable is the external data that I can acquire today to my future operations?”

The paper appears in the journal EPJ Data Science and can be found here: http://epjdatascience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1140/epjds/s13688-016-0089-x.

Contact: Nitesh Chawla, 574-631-7095, nchawla@nd.edu

Football weekend events: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

2016-09-14T14:00:00-04:00

Visitors coming to campus for this weekend’s football game against Michigan State University will find a variety of events to take part in, from lectures to concerts to tours.

Friday (Sept. 16)

The Snite Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition titled “Three from the Thirties: Classic Cars from the Heartland,” in the Mestrovic Gallery through Nov. 13
The Notre Dame Alumni Association Football Fridays kicks off with its On the Sidelines lecture from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium. The lecture, “The Game of the Century: A Clash of Perspectives on and off the Gridiron,” features Clark Power, professor in the Program of Liberal 91��Ƶ and director of Play Like a Champion Today, and John Heisler, senior associate athletics director.
The Alumni Association will host Mike McCoy, class of 1970, former All-American Notre Dame defensive lineman, on the ND Live Stage from 3 to 3:30 p.m., and Nick Eddy and Jim Lynch, both class of ’67 and former All-Americans, from 3:30 to 4 p.m., also on the ND Live Stage, as part of its “Catching Up With…” series.
Kenneth Woodward book signing, 3:30 to 5 p.m., Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore. The former religion editor at Newsweek will be signing copies of his latest book, “Getting Religion: Faith, Culture, and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to the Era of Obama.”
The Notre Dame Marching Band steps off from the Main Building at 4:30 p.m.
The Notre Dame Glee Club will have an open rehearsal from 5 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 329, Coleman-Morse Hall.
A pep rally takes place at 5:45 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion.

Saturday (Sept. 17)

Open house from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, 1045 W. Washington St., South Bend. The NDCAC will be open with tours available. Light breakfast will be served.
“St. Faustina: The Divine Mercy of Vilnius and Priestly Self-Offering,” 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Andrews Auditorium in the lower level of Geddes Hall, with Sister Anne Astell, professor of theology, as part of the Institute for Church Life’s Saturdays with the Saints series.
“God’s Energy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” 1 p.m., room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science, as part of the College of Science’s Science Exploration Series.
“Social Determinants of Health: Focus on Children and Food,” 3 p.m., room 105 of the Jordan Hall of Science, with Patrick Casey, as part of the Dooley Society Lecture Series.
“How Stress Gets under the Skin: Implications for Health and Well-Being,” 4 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium of the Snite Museum of Art, with Cindy Bergeman, professor in the Department of Psychology, as part of the College of Arts and Letters’ Saturday Scholars Series.
Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and at 4:30 in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. No post-game Mass will be celebrated.
Glee Club Pre-Game Concert, 4:30 to 5 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad Reflecting Pool.
Bagpipe Band Performance, 5:15 to 5:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
Player Walk, 5:15 to 5:30 p.m., Hesburgh Library Quad.
From 6 to 6:30 p.m., the Band of the Fighting Irish will perform its Concert on the Steps at Bond Hall.
Trumpets Under the Dome will take place at 6:30 p.m.in the Rotunda of the Main Building.
Marching Band March Out will take place at 6:30 p.m. from the Main Building Front Steps.

For more information and events, visit gameday.nd.edu.

A conversation with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

2016-09-13T14:00:00-04:00

In a reflective, frank and often wryly humorous conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Monday night (Sept. 12) at the University of Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, the justice offered insights into her upbringing, judicial philosophy and hopes for the future of the court.

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Ann Claire Williams, a Notre Dame alumna and Trustee, asked Ginsburg a series of questions on a wide range of issues.

Ginsburg explained the origins of her popular nickname “The Notorious R.B.G.”

“I do know where Notorious R.B.G. comes from,” she said. “It is from a now-deceased rapper, Notorious B.I.G., and when I heard about it, I said, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful, we have something terrific in common. We were both born and bred in Brooklyn, New York.’’”

Ginsburg noted that her mother was a major influence on her life.

“My mom repeated two things many times: be independent, and the other, be a lady,” she said.

Being a lady in this case meant Ginsburg should not waste time on unproductive emotions.

“A lady does not snap back in anger; she isn’t envious; she is a lady,” Ginsburg said. “That is, if an unkind word is spoken, it is as though she didn’t hear it.”

The justice also offered glimpses into her personal life, including her marriage to her husband, Marty Ginsburg, an attorney who died in 2010. She noted that her mother-in-law gave her a set of earplugs as a wedding gift.

“Just before the wedding ceremony, she took me aside and said, ‘I’d like to tell you the secret of a happy marriage,’” Ginsburg said. “What was the secret? It helps every now and then to be a little deaf.”

It’s advice, Ginsburg said, that she still uses today with her colleagues in the Supreme Court.

“When an unkind word is spoken, I tune it out,” she said.

Ginsburg also discussed today’s partisan politics and the impact they have on the Supreme Court. She noted that when she was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, her confirmation process took a little more than 50 days and only three members of the Senate voted against her confirmation. She pointed out that Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch was a strong supporter of her nomination, something she doesn’t think would be possible today.

“Someday there will be great representatives on both sides of the aisle that will realize they are not representing the U.S. if they are constantly in conflict instead of in harmony,” she said.

In addition to questions from Williams, Ginsburg responded to a series of questions from select Notre Dame students. Sophomore Prathm Juneja asked the justice how she avoids forming an opinion on particularly contentious cases before arguments are presented.

“I think about how I would like it if they projected their preconceived notions onto their decisions,” Ginsburg said. “Being part of a multi-person bench prohibits you from trying to be queen, because you’re not.”

“You’re not Queen Ruth?’ Williams interjected.

“I’d rather be notorious,” Ginsburg replied.

Williams also asked Ginsburg about her retirement plans.

“I used to say I planned on staying as long as Justice (Louis) Brandeis stayed,” Ginsburg said. “Justice Brandeis, he was appointed when he was 60 and I always said I would serve as long as Justice Brandeis, but he retired at 83 so I can’t use that one anymore.

“My current answer is as long as I can do it full steam, and that means I have to take it year by year.”

The crowd of more than 7,000 was treated to a light conclusion to the evening. Williams noted that Ginsburg is an opera lover. Williams then led a Notre Dame choir in a take of “La Habanera” from Bizet’s “Carmen” that featured such lyrics as, “She’s Justice Ruth, she speaks the truth.”