Notre Dame's Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative has awarded funding to three cross-disciplinary faculty teams leading research on pressing sustainability issues—including forest conservation in the Amazon, watershed management in the Midwest, and energy-efficient housing in South Bend.

The initiative’s Nurturing Excellence in Sustainability at Notre Dame program advances efforts that grow Notre Dame’s leadership excellence in sustainability research while driving the design, testing, and scaling of solutions for a just and sustainable world. The program encourages long-term, place-based partnerships that prioritize marginalized and vulnerable communities and create hands-on training opportunities for students and young researchers.

“These three teams exemplify the vision of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative by harnessing cross-disciplinary expertise, community partnerships, and innovative research to address urgent challenges from the Amazon to South Bend,” said Initiative Director Arun Agrawal, the Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy in the Keough School for Global Affairs. “Their work reflects Notre Dame’s commitment to advance transformative solutions for a more just and sustainable future.”

Examining conservation efforts in the Amazon

“Invisible Efforts, Inaudible Voices: Putting Forest Communities’ Conservation Efforts on the Map” shines a light on the often-overlooked conservation work of Indigenous and farming communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Through advanced data modeling and on-the-ground fieldwork, researchers will measure the impact of the communities’ conservation efforts on forest cover, carbon storage, and biodiversity.

Principal Investigators Krister Andersson, Professor of Sustainable Development in the Keough School of Global Affairs, and David Medvigy, associate professor of Biological Sciences, seek to understand how much of Peru’s forest survives and thrives because of local communities, and how the dignity of those community members can be better protected in future conservation efforts. Ultimately, the project will work with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR-Peru) to investigate how forest policies can be improved by drawing on the knowledge and experience of the people who live closest to the land.

“The role of local communities in resource conservation is hotly debated right now,” Andersson said. “It is on the agendas of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Our planned research in Peru has the potential to make a timely contribution to these policy debates by providing robust new evidence on the contributions of local people to forest conservation.”

Managing water more sustainably in the Midwest

“Watershed Modeling and Community-Centered Optimization for Resilient and Sustainable Rural-Urban Water Systems” brings together scientists, engineers, and local leaders to create a shared plan for managing water more sustainably across the St. Joseph River Basin, which flows from farms and small towns to cities like South Bend before reaching Lake Michigan.

The project is led by Principal Investigators Jennifer Tank, the Ludmilla F., Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences and director of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative, and Alexander Dowling, the Tony and Sarah Earley Collegiate Professor of Energy and the Environment in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Their team will partner with farmers, neighborhood groups, and municipal agencies to better understand and compare different strategies—such as wetland restoration, green infrastructure and improved stormwater systems—to meet water quantity and quality challenges facing the Midwest now, and in the future. The program is anchored by long-term partnerships with the City of South Bend, Elkhart County, and the St. Joseph River Basin Commission. By working with local communities, Notre Dame faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and student researchers will co-create solutions shaped by local knowledge, lived experience, and community priorities.

“We’re thrilled to launch this collaboration that brings rural and urban communities together around a shared goal: protecting our water and building resilience to climate threats,” Tank said. “In pairing local knowledge with cutting-edge science and technology, we hope to help communities find practical, fair, and lasting solutions for sustainable waters and watersheds in our region.”

Creating more energy-efficient homes in South Bend

“Built2Afford: From Salvage to Sustainability—Scalable Energy Retrofit Innovation” is a community-guided initiative that aims to make South Bend’s homes healthier, more affordable, and more energy efficient by developing practical, low-cost solutions that work for real people—starting with the neighborhoods that need it the most.

The project is led by Principal Investigators Ming Hu, associate professor and associate dean for research, scholarship, and creative work in the School of Architecture, and Chaoli Wang, professor of Computer Science and Engineering, with Matthew Sisk, associate professor of the practice in the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, serving as senior personnel. The team will develop an easy-to-use dashboard that leverages machine learning technologies and sensor data to quickly assess housing conditions and recommend accessible, effective upgrades such as insulation, better windows, or shade structures.

To ensure the tools are relevant, accessible, and rooted in the community, the team is partnering with the City of South Bend, South Bend Tradeworks, Crossroads Solar, and Habitat for Humanity to develop a Positive Energy Housing unit—a mobile, retrofitted demonstration home built from salvaged materials. The unit will travel to neighborhoods, schools, and events to show what’s possible and spark conversations about housing, energy, and sustainability. By combining advanced technology with hands-on education and strong local partnerships, Built2Afford aims to create a model that other cities can follow, bringing long-term benefits to residents, landlords, and the environment.

“This project brings together everything I care about—design, data, and justice,” Hu said. “At a time when so many communities are struggling with aging housing and rising energy costs, we have both the tools and the responsibility to act. Built2Afford isn’t just about retrofits—it’s about showing that affordable, sustainable housing and human-centered solutions are possible now, and that real change starts at the neighborhood level.”

Originally published by Emily Monacelli Guzman at strategicframework.nd.edu on September 11, 2025.