In the 2023 fiscal year, Notre Dame received nearly $216 million in new research award funding. This year marks the third consecutive year that the University has surpassed the $200 million mark, according to a Tuesday press release.
While the University’s research funding does not stack up to dozens of schools that spend more than $1 billion annually, it has gained traction recently, joining the American Association of Universities (AAU) in June.
This year set a record for the number of separate awards, receiving a total of 824. The majority of new funding, $120 million dollars, came from federal agencies. The National Science Foundation contributed nearly $43 million, making it the largest single sponsor. Another $38 million came from private foundations and $24 million from industry partners.
“Credit ultimately belongs to the dedicated Notre Dame faculty members and students who received the awards and are committed to using every dollar to have the greatest possible impact,” Jeffrey Rhoads, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering said in the release.
The National Science Foundation will fund the Center for Computer Assisted Synthesis with $4 million per year for five years. The money will support Notre Dame as it leads 21 researchers at 14 universities to use machine learning to predict chemical reactions. The National Science Foundation also awarded $1.5 million to the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering to better understand how blood vessels form, an area of study that could lead to improvements in implantable organs and tissues.
From Lilly Endowment Inc., an Indianapolis-based philanthropic foundation supporting the causes of religion, education and community development, $8 million was awarded to the Department of Theology within the College of Arts and Letters. The funds will support Haciendo Caminos, a new partnership of 18 Catholic graduate schools of theology that seek to identify and form Latino and Latina Catholics in the U.S., creating more opportunities for Hispanic students to enroll in graduate programs in theology.
Nearly $5 million, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, went to the Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society. The award will help develop data-based agricultural solutions aimed to reduce global hunger.
The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies received $600,000 from Humanity United for an initiative monitoring the Colombian 2016 peace accord.
The School of Architecture received $225,000 as part of a larger production grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to support development of wood siding that can sequester carbon and reduce emissions.
The Business Honors Program received $80,000 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
