Twenty-four Notre Dame researchers, along with their collaborators at partner universities, have been awarded funding through Notre Dame Research’s Internal Grants Program. Two types of grants were awarded during this cycle, the Faculty Research Support Regular Grant and the Faculty Research Support Initiation Grant.
Speaking about the grants, Patricia L. Clark, associate vice president for research, the Rev. John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Director of the Biophysics Instrumentation Core Facility, said, “During a most challenging year, Notre Dame faculty have continued to demonstrate their drive, creativity, and passion for solving some of the world’s most pressing issues. From sun damage to politics in the workplace, digital preservation to Legionella infections, I am thankful that University is able to provide support for these important scholarly efforts and I look forward to seeing their future impacts and outcomes.”
The faculty members represent five of the University’s Colleges or Schools, including the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Engineering, the College of Science, the Keough School of Global Affairs, and the Mendoza College of Business, as well as three academic units, the Hesburgh Libraries, Notre Dame International, and Notre Dame Research.
The 2021 Faculty Research Support Regular Grant awardees are as follows:
Abby Córdova, associate professor of global affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs, for a project entitled, “Overcoming Prejudice and Discrimination against Central American Immigrants in Mexico.” Natán Skigin, a PhD student in Political Science, is a collaborator on this project.
Jonathan Crass, research assistant professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Science, for research on “Building a Foundation for Future Astro-Photonics Research at Notre Dame.”
David Dobolyi, assistant research professor of Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations in the Mendoza College of Business, for a study entitled, “Tri-Modal Deep Learning for Video Sponsored Content Detection.”
Luis Fargier-Gabaldón, Massman-Beavers Associate Professor of the Practice of Heavy Civil Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences within the College of Engineering, for research on the “Design of Retaining Walls Based on Field Evidence.”
Erin Howe, assistant research professor in the Department of Biological Sciences within the College of Science, for research entitled, “Identification of Rab11b-mediated changes to the surface proteome of brain metastatic breast cancer cells.”
Fr. Jim Lies, C.S.C, senior director for academic initiatives and partnerships and teaching professor at the London Global Gateway, for work on “The Partial Digitization of the Notre Dame Chesterton Collection.”
Aliaksandra Lisouskaya, assistant research professor within the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, to undertake a study addressing the question, “In what ways does the sun damage our skin barrier?”
Nikhil Menon, assistant professor in the Department of History within the College of Arts and Letters, to research “A History of India's Search for Soft Power.”
Robert Nerenberg, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences within the College of Engineering, for work on “Managing Legionella in Building Plumbing Systems.”
Jeffrey Peng, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry within the College of Science, to research “Flexibility Function Profiles for Molecular Machine Elements.” This project is in collaboration with Bradley Smith, Emil T. Hofman Professor of Science also in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Brittany Solomon (Hall), assistant professor in the Department of Management & Organization within the Mendoza College of Business, for a study entitled, “Political Ideology and Ideological Bias in the Workplace: Unexplored Connections to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
Vignesh Sundaresan, assistant research professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering within the College of Engineering, for research entitled, “Dark-field Microscopy based Digital Biosensor System to Detect Biomarkers.”
Alexis Torrance, Archbishop Demetrios Associate Professor of Byzantine Theology in the Department of Theology within the College of Arts and Letters, for a study on “Doing Theology in Byzantium: Between Scholasticism and Contemplation.”
The 2021 Faculty Research Support Initiation Grant awardees are as follows:
John Betz, associate professor in the Department of Theology within the College of Arts and Letters, for a research project entitled, “F.W.J. Schelling’s Philosophy of Revelation: A Critical Edition of the Original Lectures.” Marcela García-Romero, associate professor of philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, is a collaborator on the project.
Kraig Beyerlein, associate professor, and Ricardo Martinez-Schuldt, assistant professor, both in the Department of Sociology within the College of Arts and Letters, are co-principal investigators for a project called, “The Promise of Finding Faith in Urban Areas: Novel Methods for Locating Chicago Congregations to Study Their Effects on Community Outcomes and Dynamics.” Matthew Sisk, associate librarian in the Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship within the Hesburgh Libraries, is a co-investigator on the project.
Katie Bugyis, assistant professor in the Program of Liberal Studies and concurrent assistant professor in the Department of Theology in the College of Arts and Letters, for work on “Women’s Rites: A Website for the Study of Christian Women’s Religious Communities in Medieval Europe, 900–1500.” This project is a collaboration with Margot Fassler, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Music History and Liturgy in the Departments of Music and Theology and Director of the Program in Sacred Music within the College of Arts and Letters.
Meredith S. Chesson, professor in the Department of Anthropology and concurrent professor in the Department of Gender Studies within the College of Arts and Letters, for research entitled, “Traditional Rural Lifeways, Sustainable Rural Futures: Historic and Contemporary Communities in the Bova region of southern Calabria, Italy, 1800 – 2021.” Additional collaborators on this project include Issac T. Ullah, associate professor of anthropology at San Diego State University, William Donaruma, associate professor of the practice within the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre; Hamish Forbes, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Nottingham; Giovanni Iiriti, emeritus professor and independent scholar; Ian Kujit, professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Letters; Paula Lazrus, professor of sociology and anthropology at St. John’s University; Kostalena Michelaki, associate professor in the School of Evolution and Human Change at Arizona State University; and Maria-Olimpia Squillaci, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Naples.
Notre Dame Research’s Internal Grants Program seeks to support faculty researchers and programs with the goal of advancing the University’s research enterprise, scholarly output, and creative endeavor. In conjunction with Notre Dame International, Notre Dame Research currently has open opportunities through the Notre Dame-Durham University Seed Grant Program. The deadline to apply is February 28, 2022. For more information on all internal grant programs within Notre Dame Research, including past recipients and more, please visit https://research.nd.edu/our-services/funding-opportunities/faculty/internal-grants-programs/.