Mission-Driven Innovation: Summer Research Brings Science to Life at UNW

This summer, the University of Northwestern’s student and faculty researchers stepped beyond the classroom into the world of hands-on discovery through an NCIR summer research program designed to spark curiosity and collaboration. Northwestern Center for Innovation & Research (NCIR) was launched to promote creative innovation to serve industrial need. Through this new program, students and faculty from multiple disciplines gathered weekly to exchange ideas, build skills, and work together to solve real-world challenges. What began as a bold initiative to catalyze a stronger research environment has grown into a supportive, collaborative community where ideas take shape and future innovators are formed.

Over the entire summer, students teamed up with faculty as they learn fundamental research methods. Research means facing uncertainty and open-ended questions – a stark contrast to classroom settings. Students must learn to face ambiguous results and adjust their strategies in response to changing conditions. They learn how to think critically, ask questions, and suggest alternative approaches and find ways to test their hypotheses. They are accountable for their own productivity, managing their time, and meeting goals with constraints. Communication, too, is a core component. They must learn to convey complex ideas with simple words to a diverse audience. Equally important, they learn to perform as a coherent team as they work on shared projects. These are skills highly sought after by employers and graduate programs alike. Students rated the experience as “Excellent”—not only for the mentorship and technical skills they gained, but also for the relationships they built with faculty and peers. The program also built lasting momentum: faculty and students are already planning to continue their projects throughout the school year, a clear sign that the initiative’s mission to launch a thriving research ecosystem is successful.

For many participants, the summer became a meaningful bridge between faith and science. One biology student reflected on how the experience allowed him to explore and appreciate God’s creation and its intricacies more deeply through his own experimental design. Another student remarked that the program demonstrated that Northwestern is not only a Bible college but also a place where cutting-edge research is actively pursued. Beyond the science itself, students spoke of the joy of discovery — spending long hours in the lab together, solving problems, sharing laughter, and forming friendships while pursuing a shared purpose. Hard work meets good fun!

The projects themselves tackled pressing real-world problems with the potential for significant impact. Students and faculty worked to improve blood flow dynamics to reduce long-term complications from stent placement, developed affordable robotic assistive systems to support patients with chronic illness or disability, and designed biosensors for the early detection of gut diseases—including lactose intolerance and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Other projects focused on improving hospital intake and care by creating rapid wound-assessment tools, designing and simulating bio-ceramics for bone repair, and advancing plasmid DNA production technologies to support next-generation vaccines and biopharmaceutical therapies.

Alongside these efforts, teams are also pioneering research tools and methods – from advanced computer simulation techniques and semiconductor fabrication methods to innovative vaccine production processes—expanding the technological foundation on which future biomedical breakthroughs will be built.

The impact has been significant. Invention disclosures have been filed, and multiple journal publications and conference presentations are expected from this work. NCIR hosted a campus-wide showcase last week, welcoming donors, industry partners, and the broader community to see firsthand how student and faculty collaboration is advancing innovation. Perspective students and families will have a chance to hear more of this exciting endeavor in our November STEM Admissions event, where participants can learn how hands-on research like this is woven into the undergraduate experience.

At the heart of all of this is what makes UNW unique: mission-driven innovation. Many projects, one purpose—faith-driven innovation to explore and serve God’s world. Northwestern’s approach to research is not just about advancing technology for its own sake; it’s about preparing students to design solutions that reflect both curiosity and calling. Here, science and engineering are deeply integrated with purpose, equipping students to serve others and steward creation through their work.

The summer research program illustrates that vision in action. Students don’t just study science; they do science. They ask hard questions, wrestle with real-world problems, and develop new technologies with the potential to change lives. They also grow as thinkers, communicators, collaborators, and followers of Christ—ready to step into the future not only as scientists and engineers, but as servant-leaders who bring faith and innovation together.