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New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
ADVERTISEMENT by Notre Dame — What Would You Fight For? — What Would You Fight For?
The students, faculty, and staff of the University see what's possible for a world in need, and are willing to fight for it. As the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was in the midst of its run in the College Football Playoff, campus was abuzz with activity: preparation for the rigorous slate of gridiron contests, of course, but also a host of off-the-field action requiring a different kind of focus, effort, and determination. A technology expert was uncovering insights about the role robots will play in the future of the health care industry. Scientists were digging into how to use data and analytics to lower energy costs and improve living conditions for people living in older, less efficient homes. New research showed how to advance the peace process in Colombia, a country slowly recovering from a five-decades-long civil war. Clearly, there's a lot under the Golden Dome that's worth fighting for. Notre Dame's history of research impact Since its early days, Notre Dame has been home to pioneering research. The University was advancing flight research before the Wright brothers took off. Its researchers were experimenting with wireless communication before most Americans had electricity. Notre Dame unlocked breakthroughs in nuclear physics, synthetic rubber, and mosquito-borne disease. That legacy continues today as scholars and scientists on campus uphold a tradition of inquiry, creativity, and impact. The only explicitly religious institution in the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of North America's leading research universities, Notre Dame pursues discovery not as an end in itself, but as a means to serve humanity. Notre Dame is pursuing a breakthrough in peanut allergy treatment through technology that targets the allergen before it can cause an overreaction. This preemptive action would be a stark contrast to current treatments that either knock down entire swaths of the immune system or merely respond to an overreaction after the fact. Or consider the device developed at Notre Dame that predicts with 80 percent certainty whether a breast cancer patient will respond to chemotherapy. All this less than five days after the first treatment. This could potentially spare a patient from enduring additional treatments, opting instead for another medication or a surgical procedure that will be far more productive. Philosophers and ethicists at the University are exploring the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, providing frameworks for humanity to approach technology responsibly and with agency. The work will be accomplished in part by establishing a network of influential tech industry leaders, scholars, and faith leaders. Global since day one These examples of research impact, along with many more, exemplify Notre Dame's mission-driven approach to serving a world in need. And 'world' is an apt term: With research and partnerships in more than 60 countries, Notre Dame's global mission is grounded in the same call to serve. Working alongside an international network of leaders in government, religion, and research, the university strives to create transformative impact—because every person, regardless of circumstance, deserves the opportunity to flourish. The University's global character is nothing new. Notre Dame has been a global institution since its founding in 1842 by a 28-year-old French priest. It grew in part as a result of the influx of Catholic immigrants from Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially those of Irish descent. Today, the University is a convener of the broader global community, making meaningful contributions that require connection and courage to transcend division. As one example, Notre Dame established the Peace Accords Matrix at the signing of the 2016 peace agreement that was a major turning point in the 52-year civil war in Colombia. Selected by the United Nations, it is the first time a university-based research center has played a direct role in monitoring the implementation of a peace agreement. The work continues in Colombia and has expanded around the globe: A similar implementation framework developed by Notre Dame is helping to broker peace between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. A Catholic university for the 21st century Collectively, this work showcases Notre Dame's capacity for building bridges—between discovery and impact, and between knowledge and justice. At Notre Dame, faith often serves as that bridge—to understanding, connection, and hope. While its Catholic character informs all it does, Notre Dame is also a home to people of all faiths and no faith. What unifies this diverse ecosystem of beliefs is a shared commitment to a holistic education that emphasizes inquiry, dialogue, and reflection. University president Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., put it this way: 'Informed by our Catholic mission, we will work together so that Notre Dame is an ever-greater engine of insight, innovation, and impact, addressing society's greatest challenges and helping young people to realize their potential for good. Faith is the animating force behind what the University does, and how it does it. Notre Dame not only prepares students to become leaders, thinkers, and changemakers—it also guides them to trust both heart and mind through the integration of faith and reason. This compels future engineers to consider the ethics of a particular technology and future business leaders to weigh responsibility against profit. It gives tomorrow's lawyers the courage and skills to pursue their profession nobly. In every field, a Notre Dame education prepares students to do well by doing good, to look out for the most vulnerable among us and use the skills they developed on campus to help where they can. At Notre Dame, the fight continues This endeavor to be both a leading research university and an institution guided by its faith mission (not to mention proud owners of a historic athletics tradition) is an experiment all its own. It's an experiment that requires people who are willing to take action to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world head-on. The students, faculty, and staff of the University see what's possible for a world in need, and are willing to fight for it. 'What would you fight for?' For the University of Notre Dame, it's not a question. It's a call to action.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Nike Founder Knight Donates $2 Billion to Oregon Cancer Center
Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are giving $2 billion to a cancer institute at University of Oregon that bears their name, the largest ever donation to a US college or academic health institution, according to a statement. The Knights said the donation to the Oregon Health & Science University's Knight Cancer Center will fund work that has 'transformational potential' for cancer research and treatment.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Scientists Just Found 41,000 Turtles Hiding in Plain Sight
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: A new scientific approach to counting wildlife discovered 41,000 nesting turtles hidden in one area of the Amazon. A University of Florida team believes they've developed a more accurate way to monitor wildlife using drones and statistical modeling. Wildlife counting is wildly inaccurate with current methods, according to the researchers' study. Researchers from the University of Florida have crafted a new process for counting animals. A new research method pairing drones with smart modeling has counted more than 41,000 endangered Giant South American River turtles nesting along the Amazon's Guaporé River, according to the researchers behind a recent study. It's the world's largest known aggregation of freshwater turtles. This process—revealed in the study, which was published in the Journal of Applied Ecology—involves taking thousands of images to track and study animal behavior in order to remove the errors produced by other methods, such as on-the-ground counting. Lead study author Ismael Brack—a post-doctoral researcher within the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' School of Forestry, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences—called the method 'novel,' and clarified in a statement that the method can count many more creatures than just turtles. The team partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia to test the method by essentially conduct a census of the endangered turtles. These elusive reptiles are exceptionally social animals, and the females congregate annually to nest in the sandbanks of the Guaporé River between Brazil and Bolivia during the summer months. In the past, scientist used drones and relied on what's known as the orthomosaic strategy (stitching together hundreds of overlapping aerial photographs) to count turtles, as it's a quicker and less-invasive approach than counting from the ground. While common, the study explains that the style is subject to detection errors that often get overlooked, and struggles to account for movement during observations. In the new research, the team used white paint to mark the shells of 1,187 turtles. A drone flew overhead via a planned path four times a day for 12 days to snap 1,500 photos on each pass. The scientists then stitched the photos together, recording the path of each marked turtle, showing where it nested and where it walked. That information allowed the researchers to create probability models to account for turtle movement, all based on seen behaviors. According to the study, traditional orthomosaic-based counts were shown to be wildly inaccurate, as were the counts taken only from the ground. The new behavior modeling revealed that only 45 percent of turtles using the sandbank were present during drone flights, and roughly 20 percent of those seen walking were counted multiple times (some were counted as many as seven times). The discrepancies led to observers on the ground estimating that the site contained 16,000 turtles, and observers using the the drone orthomosaic strategy (without modeling) counted 79,000 turtles. When applying the new modeling based on movement, the team estimated the presence of around 41,000 turtles. 'These number vary greatly, and that's a problem for conservationists,' Brack said. 'If scientists are unable to establish an accurate count of individuals of a species, how will they know if the population is in decline or whether efforts to protect it are successful?' For the plan to work, scientists must understand the movement patterns of animals, which could require clipping seals' fur, using high-visibility collars on elk, or marking mountain goats with paintball pellets, to name a few examples. The study stated that counting animals when populations are spatially aggregated—such as during breeding or nesting—enhances the accuracy and efficiency of surveying efforts. The team plans to refine the process, focusing on turtles in other South American countries. 'By combining information from multiple surveys,' Brack said, 'we can detect population trends, and the Wildlife Conservation Society will know where to invest in conservation actions.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life? Solve the daily Crossword
