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Global

Across engineering, medicine, communications technology and more, faculty share why conducting basic science research is fundamentally important, opening paths to medical breakthroughs and innovation.

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Sound Off Research Hero
Since 2015, the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs has opened new vistas for international research and teaching.

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Roberta Buffett Elliott sits down with four students for a conversation indoors.
Northwestern has joined an international consortium of 15 research institutions that will guide the development of and early research at the Giant Magellan Telescope, which will be the world’s largest optical land-based telescope upon completion. 

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The Giant Magellan Telescope stands tall in Chile’s Atacama Desert, surrounded by a sky full of stars. 
In December Northwestern art history assistant professor Antawan Byrd ’13 MA, ’22 PhD launched Project a Black Planet at the Art Institute of Chicago, the first major exhibit to examine Pan-Africanism, a cultural movement and ideology that promotes Black unity across Africa and the African diaspora.

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A Black man draped in gold jewelry and leopard print clothing wrapped around his waist sits in a leopard-print chair, holding sunflowers, against a colorful patchwork background.
The Northwestern Alumni Association Travel Program offers more than three dozen trips annually to alumni, with itineraries and travel experiences that cater to all interests. For more than 50 years, the program has led trips to all seven continents, across land and sea.

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Six Northwestern alums stand on the steps of a building in Paris holding a purple flag that reads, “Northwestern Alumni.”
Recently elected president of the NAA Board of Directors, Kristin McDonnell is excited to lead an organization dedicated to the personal and intellectual growth of a diverse, international community of more than 260,000 alumni. A graduate of the McCormick School of Engineering, McDonnell mentors student entrepreneurs and serves on the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Advisory Board and Kellogg Tech Council.

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Kristin McDonnell is on campus, wearing a purple suit and crossing her arms while she smiles at the camera. Behind her are trees and a purple Northwestern banner hanging on a lamppost.
Through Kellogg’s Levy Inspiration Grant Program, young entrepreneurs conduct firsthand research abroad to investigate potential business ideas. Students have traveled to Guyana, Switzerland, Vietnam, Japan and Australia to look into innovations in rum production, dairy farming, last-mile delivery services, mental health treatments using psilocybin, and putting insects on the menu at restaurants.

See what students discovered

switzerland
An accomplished scholar of European and global history, Deborah Cohen has led the Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs since January 2024. During this time, her team has launched a raft of programs that build on the institute’s mission of fostering interdisciplinary teaching and research about the world beyond U.S.

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Deborah Cohen smiles at the camera in front of a blue background. She wears a purple shirt, a dark blue jacket and glasses.
Our alumni will travel the world for a scoop. Meet the foreign correspondents, filmmakers and producers who are shining lights on stories from India, Colombia, Israel, Ukraine and elsewhere.

Learn about their work

Josh Lederman stands in a desert landscape in Gaza. He is wearing a blue denim shirt, black pants, and a black bulletproof vest labeled ‘PRESS’ on the front.
The Lucks Laboratory developed a home test that can detect common contaminants in water. The technology, called ROSALIND, harnesses the “molecular taste buds” found in bacteria and programs them to glow when they detect a contaminant.

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In a lab environment, Julius Lucks, wearing a dark suit and a purple striped tie, stands beside a Northwestern researcher wearing a light blue lab coat. Their mouths are open as though in conversation, and they are gesturing while looking at a laptop screen.