Physicist Michael Hildreth appointed vice president, associate provost and dean of Notre Dame’s Graduate School
Michael Hildreth, professor of physics and astronomy and senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed vice president, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School by Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
“From a pool of extraordinary candidates, Mike quickly rose to the top,” John McGreevy, the University’s Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, said. “He is admired by his peers on and off campus for his research expertise, creative energy and administrative acumen. He is poised to take our research and graduate studies programs to new heights.
“In addition, we are exceptionally grateful to electrical engineering professor Tom Fuja, who has served since last summer as interim vice president, associate provost and dean. Tom has taken on multiple leadership roles at Notre Dame and in each of these roles he has excelled. All of us at Notre Dame are in his debt.”
Father Jenkins added: “Mike is a renowned researcher, an award-winning educator and an experienced administrator with a deep passion for the mission of Notre Dame, making him the ideal person to lead our efforts with regard to graduate studies. Graduate students represent the next generation of researchers and innovators, and are the mentors and instructors of the future. I am delighted to be able to work with Mike in this important leadership role.”
A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2000, Hildreth is widely recognized for his contributions to particle physics, its software infrastructure and the technology and policies of open data. He and other physicists at Notre Dame played a significant role in the Higgs boson discovery in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva. Hildreth is the co-coordinator of the software and computing research and development effort for the U.S. operations program of the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiment.
A fellow of the American Physical Society, Hildreth has served on the national High Energy Physics Advisory Panel and the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Cyberinfrastructure. He is the co-author of more than 1,700 publications and also is a highly regarded teacher, receiving the College of Science’s Rev. James L. Shilts, C.S.C./Doris and Eugene Leonard Teaching Award in 2014, the Thomas P. Madden Award for first-year teaching in 2010, and a Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2008.
As senior associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Science, Hildreth directs the research and strategic planning efforts for the college and serves as its primary liaison to Notre Dame Research and the Graduate School. He has supervised more than $2 billion in grant submissions from science faculty, the creation of two new graduate programs, the establishment of interdisciplinary and inter-college partnerships, and numerous other strategic initiatives. He has played a significant role in the conception and planning of the new east campus research building, and in 2021 he served as interim dean of the college.
“I am incredibly excited and humbled by this opportunity,” Hildreth said. “I hope to build on strong existing programs to create a truly excellent set of opportunities for our graduate students and postdocs. I look forward to working with the other deans, the Graduate School team and faculty across the University to advance our research mission by bringing in the best young minds to campus while creating new initiatives to make graduate education at Notre Dame distinctive.
“I, too, would like to thank Tom Fuja for stepping in under extraordinary circumstances to guide the Graduate School this year. He has done an excellent job, and I look forward to working with him on the transition.”
Hildreth earned his doctorate in physics from Stanford University after receiving a bachelor’s degree in the field from Princeton University. Before coming to Notre Dame, he was a scientific associate and staff physicist at CERN.
Latest Colleges & Schools
- Democrats and Republicans agree on one thing: Censoring hate speechIn an era of intense polarization, Democrats and Republicans have historically, and mistakenly, believed that members of the other party prioritize protecting certain types or victims of hate speech over others based on stereotypes or their affiliation with those potentially vulnerable groups. New research from the University of Notre Dame, however, revealed that partisans generally agree on what to censor when it comes to the target, source and severity of hate speech.
- Economist Kirk Doran wins UK’s Panmure House Prize honoring interdisciplinary researchKirk Doran, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Notre Dame, has won the 2024 Adam Smith Panmure House Prize. The prize, named after the forefather of economics, celebrates those who embody Smith’s empiricism and long-term interdisciplinary thinking in their research.
- Political scientist explores extending constitutional duties to private actorsNew research from Christina Bambrick, the Filip Family Assistant Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame, explores the nonconventional idea that each of us, as private citizens, may be responsible for upholding the constitutional rights of our fellow citizens. She examines constitutional politics across the globe to explore these different approaches to balancing rights and responsibilities in a democratic society.
- Six new faculty join psychology department to advance research on mental health, other disordersThe Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame has hired six new faculty members this year, a significant expansion of a field that is core to the University’s commitment to fighting the U.S. mental health crisis.
- Keough School invites members of the community to join in International Day of Peace eventsThe Keough School of Global Affairs will observe the International Day of Peace with two campus events: a prayer service featuring University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on Friday (Sept. 20) and a talk by a Notre Dame graduate who serves in the Sierra Leone government on Tuesday (Sept. 24). Both events are free and open to the public.
- Former Irish prime minister to speak at Notre DameLeo Varadkar, former prime minister of Ireland and current member of parliament in Dáil Eireann, will join the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, part of Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, for a public discussion of Irish current affairs including public health initiatives, civic life and the political future of the island of Ireland. “A Conversation with Deputy Leo Varadkar” will take place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 (Friday) in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.