Female student in a lab

If the Catholic intellectual tradition is the heart and soul of this Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp, research is its blood and bones. In creating Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp as a graduate research institution in 1887, the bishops of the United States sought to establish an institution that would go beyond the preservation of learning and teaching to also encompass the advancement of knowledge through research in all fields.

The history of research and discovery at Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp is voluminous.

  • Albert F. Zahm built America’s first wind tunnel equipped with instruments for scientific study here in 1901.
  • Rev. Eugene Xavier Henri Hyvernat, a member of the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp’s original faculty, began assembling resources for the study of Coptic languages as early as 1889, an effort that  laid the foundation for the extraordinary collection of rare books in the Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp Semitics Library, which is widely used today.
  • Justine Bayard Ward developed the groundbreaking Ward Method of music instruction in 1929, which had a profound effect on how music was taught in Catholic schools throughout the 20th century and even today.
  • Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp physics professor Clyde Cowan was co-discoverer, with Frederick Reines, of the elementary subatomic particle called the neutrino. For this discovery, first announced in 1956, Reines was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1995. He received the prize in both his and Cowan’s names.

Recent and current research at Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp is no less impressive.

  • Duilia de Mello works closely with graduate students in our conducting research in extragalactic astronomy in Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp’s center at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 
  • professor Timothy Noone has scrutinized transcriptions of lectures by philosopher-theologian John Duns Scotus from the early 1300s to prepare and publish new critical editions of his work.
  • Venigalla B. Rao of the , is working on a coronavirus vaccine with the help of Ph.D. students. His vaccine is
  • professor David A. Jobes involves graduate students in research for the . Graduate students work with the , an effective evidence-based clinical intervention developed by Jobes. 

Virtually every Catholic Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp graduate student is engaged in research under the guidance of our faculty. With its 12 schools and breadth of programs in the humanities, sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts, professions, and ecclesiastical programs, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Êapp has created a dynamic environment for intellectual growth and the advancement of knowledge through research.

For more information about graduate research opportunities at CatholicU, visit our school websites: