Research and scholarship on a global scale

Our mission calls us to serve. Our network empowers us to act.

Two researchers look down and work together at a large table inside an open-air pavilion with a thatched wooden roof. Trees and green vegetation are visible in the bright background outside.

Notre Dame researchers prioritize partnership and seek to learn before they seek to act. Connection drives understanding, and understanding yields solutions to today's most pressing global challenges. By boldly embracing our Catholic mission to serve our neighbor, we are leveraging our 12 global locations to focus on areas of immediate and long-term impact: global development, global health, nanotechnology, nuclear physics, energy, climate change, and cancer research to name a few.

Article

Fighting for universal access to clean water

More than 700 million people lack access to clean water, but research from the University of Notre Dame is helping organizations optimize how they manage, maintain, and build water pumps to reduce water scarcity.

A young child in a pink shirt and red skirt drinks clean water directly flowing from an outdoor hand-operated water pump.

Global research

A bog’s life

As Ireland contemplates its energy future, a Notre Dame student works to restore its ecological past.

A woman with long dark hair, wearing a white sweater and jeans, kneels on a wooden plank in a grassy bog, tending to a scientific instrument.
  • A woman in a white sweater and blue jeans walks along a wooden boardwalk through a field of brown and green grasses under a cloudy sky.

    Podcast

    East and West, Notre Dame in Ireland Episode 2: Common Home

    In episode two, we explore Notre Dame students' work on environmental issues in Ireland. None is more pressing than the role of bogs, a quintessential feature of the Irish landscape. They've been plowed over for generations to harvest the underlying peat for fuel. As the practice is phased out, one Notre Dame graduate student is studying how to restore these crucial pieces of carbon-storing habitat.

  • A white and blue London Underground train speeds past a platform with the yellow text, 'MIND THE GAP,' painted on the ground.

    Podcast

    Countless Journeys: Notre Dame in London

    This special episode takes a look at the University's presence in London. We spent some time with a few of Notre Dame's students there, following them to different locations on that most iconic mode of transport, the Underground.

Global research

Empowering through education

A pathway out of poverty for children in India.

A brown-skinned teacher in a sari smiles warmly while facing a classroom of young girls in India. The girls, seen from behind, wear maroon and white uniforms and have their dark hair styled in buns. A chalkboard hangs on the wall behind the teacher.
  • A UN peacekeeper in camouflage and a blue beret stands guard as a line of people carry heavy bundles of belongings on their heads while walking down a dirt road.

    News

    A new peace front: Africa's Great Lakes Region

    The University of Notre Dame’s Peace Accords Matrix is expanding its work to Africa’s Great Lakes region, seeking to contribute to the peace process between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda by providing expertise on peacemaking and peacebuilding that will support the work of local stakeholders.

  • Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization, smiles in a blue plaid blazer in his office.

    News

    ND Works Podcast: Becoming more global with Michael Pippenger

    In this episode of NDWorks Podcast, host Natalie Davis Miller sits down with Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization. Pippenger walks us through all that Notre Dame Global is, its impact on the world, and how you might be able to get involved. This episode of NDWorks...

  3. Group of people sitting in a circle in a classroom, facing a woman in a dark t-shirt.

    News

    Master of global affairs students turn Guatemala agriculture research into peer-reviewed study

    Research conducted through the Keough School of Global Affairs’ Integration Lab (i-Lab) has contributed to a peer-reviewed study examining how resource constraints affect farmers’ ability to retain knowledge of water-smart agricultural practices in Guatemala. The paper, published in Discover Agriculture, stems from a project conducted in collaboration with Catholic Relief...

  7. A smiling man with dark hair, tortoise-shell glasses, a navy suit jacket, white shirt, and a red polka-dot tie.

    News

    Research highlights support strategies for micro-entrepreneurs in Guatemala

    A research partnership highlighted by a Notre Dame Poverty Initiative faculty affiliate is offering new insights into how digital training, personalized consulting, and security investments can support micro-entrepreneurs in Guatemala. Earlier this month, Alejandro Estefan, a Poverty Initiative faculty affiliate and an assistant professor of development economics at the Keough School...

  9. Four smiling young people sit on rocks. One wears a green

    News

    Nepal study abroad program leads to research opportunity with real-world impact

    Last year marked the first year of the Nepal Summer: Sustainability and Energy Systems summer study abroad program. Like all study abroad programs, the program was intentionally designed to combine coursework with cultural immersion, appealing especially to engineering students but open to students from all disciplines and grade levels. Led...

  10. A woman with blond/brown hair in a gray suit, Olena Zelenska, speaks at a podium. Framed on either side are the flags of the United States and Ukraine. Behind her directly is a banner for the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies.

    News

    University of Notre Dame joins the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies

    The University of Notre Dame has joined the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies after signing a memorandum of cooperation, formalized Sept. 24, at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York City. Notre Dame joined four other American institutions that were also publicly welcomed to the coalition at this event:...

  11. Aerial view of a river and arid land—complex terrain for a forest map. A large fire burns at the right, showing how remote sensing captures the loss of forests and carbon sequestration critical to fighting climate change.

    News

    New study reveals major gaps in global forest maps

    Are global forest maps reliable? New research from the University of Notre Dame shows satellite datasets agree only 26 percent of the time, undermining carbon storage estimates and international climate policy.

  13. Smiling dark-skinned woman in a yellow top, red patterned skirt, and yellow headwrap holds a baby under a tree. The baby, in a white hat, sucks its finger. A crowd in colorful attire gathers in the sunny background near a white building.

    News

    Clean water access improves child health in Mozambique, study shows

    In Mozambique, more than one in three children under five suffer from stunting, or impaired physical growth. New research from Santosh Kumar Gautam, associate professor of development and global health economics at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, shows that improving access to safe drinking water can reduce the odds...

  15. A crane lifts a plywood wall section at a construction site. A worker in an orange safety vest is visible. Lumber is stacked nearby, and a dark van and red pickup truck are parked on the gravel driveway. A blue metal-sided building is partially visible in the foreground, and a forested hillside is in the background.

    News

    Notre Dame professor’s research on housing resilience finds an audience in Alaska

    Keough School political scientist Susan Ostermann presented new research in Alaska showing how building regulations influence home design, safety, and resilience. Her findings reveal that oversight can encourage innovation without raising costs—insights now informing state and local housing policy debates amid seismic and environmental risks.

  17. A bald, dark-skinned man with a beard and blue glasses, wearing a white quarter-zip with navy collar stripes, speaks with an engaged expression. A woman in a maroon sweater uses a laptop in the blurred background.

    Video

    ND :30 - Ellis Adjei Adams

    Adams’ work examines the social, political, institutional, and governance dimensions of environmental and natural resources, particularly water.

  18. A group of people are standing in muddy water, with one woman in the foreground washing clothes in a plastic basin.

    Article

    Fighting infectious disease at its source

    Eradicating schistosomiasis is a complex problem that requires a complex solution

  19. A smiling woman wearing a colorful patterned dress stands next to a chalkboard with math problems and a paper note.

    Article

    Fighting to grow the good in business

    Innovative business solutions revive a struggling school dedicated to educating women in rural Uganda.

  20. A man with grey curly hair and pink glasses types on a keyboard at a desk, looking at two monitors. The left screen shows a colorful scientific map. The right shows a dark, cloudy beach scene from Sri Lanka and text about an MJO event.

    Video

    ND :30 - Joe Fernando

    Professor Joe Fernando measures oceanic and atmospheric wave patterns to develop models that will predict monsoons up to several weeks in advance.

  21. A man in a white lab coat and black glasses intently works inside a laboratory fume hood. Orange and yellow equipment are visible within.

    Video

    ND :30 - Tengfei Luo

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineer Tengfei Luo is working to desalinate water with an ionic liquid as a new solvent.

  22. Two baby baboons sit on a dirt road, looking out at a grassy field.

    Article

    Fighting to understand the scientific impact of community

    By studying the Amboseli baboons of Kenya, Notre Dame biologist Beth Archie explores how social relationships directly impact health, fertility, and lifespan. This decades long primates study provides vital clues into why strong community ties lead to longer, healthier lives for humans.

  23. A small child with a concerned expression peeks out from behind a bright blue food stand.

    Article

    Fighting mosquito-borne diseases

    A new partnership between Notre Dame and the Mayo Clinic is working in Belize to track and stop the Zika virus in real time. By combing medical entomology with clinical expertise, researchers are improving local diagnostic speeds and identifying disease hotspots to protect communities.

  26. Large chunks of melting icebergs in a bay off the coast of Russia

    News

    Does Russia stand to benefit from climate change?

    There exists a narrative about climate change that says there are winners and losers — with Russia being one of the countries that stand to benefit from its effects. In a new study, researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that Russia is suffering from a variety of climate...

Discover and engage
  1. A researcher wearing safety goggles, a lab coat, and blue nitrile gloves uses tweezers to lower tubing into a glass flask filled with clear liquid.

    Article

    Fighting to prevent infections

    Notre Dame researchers have created a novel catheter adaptation that prevents infections before they begin.

  2. Fireworks burst over Notre Dame's Golden Dome and Basilica at dusk.

    Photo Essay

    Happy new year!

    The month in photos, September 2026

  3. A Catholic priest wearing a black clerical shirt and collar reaches up to lay a basketball into a hoop in an indoor gymnasium.

    Podcast

    Bookstore Basketball

    Faith, community, and the court.

  4. A young child in a pink shirt and red skirt drinks clean water directly flowing from an outdoor hand-operated water pump.

    Article

    Fighting for universal access to clean water

    More than 700 million people lack access to clean water, but research from the University of Notre Dame is helping organizations optimize how they manage, maintain, and build water pumps to reduce water scarcity.

  5. Two researchers in red helmets operate search-and-rescue equipment among concrete rubble. One stands holding a controller while another kneels with a yellow tank backpack near a portable console display.

    Article

    Fighting for robotic search and rescue

    Notre Dame engineer develops vine robot to help first responders after disasters

  6. A grandfather kisses the forehead of his granddaughter in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses as they share a quiet, affectionate moment outdoors.

    Article

    Fighting for nonverbal communication

    Notre Dame researchers are developing AI technology designed to help caregivers interpret the nonverbal communication of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.

  7. A person wearing green leggings and white sneakers lying in a teal hammock and reading a book on campus.

    Photo Essay

    How was your summer?

    The month in photos, summer break edition

  8. A close-up portrait of an older woman with grey hair and black-rimmed glasses wearing a red shirt, looking thoughtfully past the camera with a neutral expression.

    Article

    Protecting renters from predatory landlords

    At Notre Dame Law School, the Eviction Clinic gives students real-world experience.

  9. Golden statue of Mary with an outstretched arm atop Notre Dame's Main Building dome under a crescent moon and star.

    Photo Essay

    Hey, May

    The month in photos, May 2026