In early January, The Provost's Office at Notre Dame announced that Professor Jeff Rhoads from Purdue University has been appointed the Vice President for Research at Notre Dame starting July 1st.

Jeff has had a pretty phenomenal record at Purdue. He has a vibrant and nationally recognized research program in energetic materials as well as an impressive publication and funding record. He has also been part of many different types and sizes of collaborations. Jeff was the Director of the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories until recently when he was named the inaugural Executive Director of the new Purdue Institute for National Security. All in all, Jeff brings a fairly diverse set of experiences to Notre Dame as well as an extraordinary level of energy.

Some of you may notice a similarity between Jeff’s career path and my own. Jeff and I did not overlap at Purdue, but he has had the benefit of many of the experiences I had that I found so beneficial when I assumed the VPR role at Notre Dame in 2007.

This issue highlights some of the interesting and diverse elements of our growing research programs. Last summer we reported record research funding awards. We continue a multi-year history of success in NSF Career Awards. By our assessment, our success is well above expectations for the size of our faculty and a great indicator of the continued growth of our research programs as these outstanding young faculty flourish here at Notre Dame. I urge you to read the Vogue article about fashion innovator Thom Browne’s fellowship at our Institute for Advanced Study and to watch the video in the article about the test of Hermeus’ new ramjet engine at the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Lab. Notre Dame is a happening place for research!

I will wind down my tenure at Notre Dame at a very busy time. I have been pleased to be able to help our new Provost, John McGreevy as he starts his tenure. John has jumped in quickly, including taking on the massive effort of leading our decadal strategic planning effort. I look forward to offering one final message in the next issue of the Research at Notre Dame Newsletter later this spring, where I’ll offer some reflections on my tenure and comment on the future of research at Notre Dame through the lens of the new strategic framework. 

Yours in Notre Dame,

Bob Bernhard
Vice President for Research