Program aims to strengthen America's scientific workforce and focus scientists on critical mission areas.

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The University of Notre Dame will host “Climate Change and the Common Good,” a national conference addressing the multifaceted challenges presented by our changing climate, on April 8-10 (Monday-Wednesday). The event will engage nationally recognized scientists, ethicists and strategists in conversation with students, faculty, administrators and members of the broader community.

“We know that climate change will disproportionately impact the poor and vulnerable, those who have contributed the least to our present energy and environmental crisis,” said Rev. William M. Lies, C.S.C., vice president for mission engagement and church affairs at Notre Dame. “By coming together as a community to learn about these challenges and the paths to solutions, we can better answer God’s call for us to be stewards of the finite gifts of our planet.”

William Kamkwamba, author of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope,” will be speaking at 7 p.m. March 18 (Monday) at the University of Notre Dame Conference Center, following a special performance from African singing troupe Voices of Mercy. The event is free and open to the public.

Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where modern science was mystery in a land withered by drought and hunger. After being forced to drop out of school because his family could not afford tuition, he regularly visited his village’s library. There, he found the book “Using Energy,” and discovered an explanation of windmills. Kamkwamba dreamed of building a windmill that would bring his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water.

A new $3.5-million fund at the University of Notre Dame has been established to help launch student-led ventures and further strengthen the educational component of the University’s ESTEEM Graduate Program.

The funds for the program will be from gifts made to the University by John Jeuck, the former dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, in honor of his close personal friend, Philip J. Purcell III, a member of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees.

The ESTEEM (Engineering, Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship Excellence Master’s) Program is the first multi-disciplinary graduate program in Notre Dame’s history. Developed in collaboration with the College of Science, the College of Engineering, and the Mendoza College of Business, and housed at the University’s state-of-the-art Innovation Park, ESTEEM provides Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-educated students an unparalleled opportunity to deepen their technical talents while also learning the business and innovation skills they need to commercialize research and bring new ideas and technological advancements to market.