Theory to Practice

The world’s challenges don’t fit neatly within any single academic discipline. This broader perspective has inspired Mendoza College of Business faculty to develop innovative approaches for studying some of the most compelling and significant business problems affecting our daily lives, ranging from ethical AI and climate disasters to gaming culture. Interdisciplinary, even transdisciplinary, in nature, research laboratories are increasingly how leading business schools demonstrate value beyond academia. 

But you won’t see white lab-coated biologists with beakers and Bunsen burners in these labs. “Labs afford the opportunity to bring together different skill sets for a common goal,” said Ken Kelley, senior associate dean for faculty and research. “Think of them as a theme-based environment for impactful research.” The business labs feature a structured, systematic and defined research agenda; for example, Mendoza’s Human-centered Analytics Lab explores topics related to tech’s impact on human activity. Their transdisciplinary approach is holistic, adding innovation and real-world relevance, attracting attention from benefactors and industry practitioners and making contributions to our understanding of topics such as AI and public health, platform innovation and game design, and humanitarian operations. The labs are also collaborative in that they are not organized around one researcher but with multiple scholars from diverse areas. The addition of Mendoza’s first-ever doctoral programs now in their third year — the Ph.D. in Analytics and Ph.D. in Management — has brought in new research ideas and energy. Now, Ph.D. and even undergraduate students join junior faculty and senior researchers to create an even more robust ecosystem on par with some of the best schools in the country. Such a culture benefits Mendoza students by bringing novel research findings into the classroom — findings that challenge and prepare students to advance society through business. Kelley, the Edward F. Sorin Society Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations, sees faculty moving beyond covering existing case studies of previous events in their courses to using research generated at Mendoza to convey new ways of thinking, preparing students for future challenges in an uncertain landscape. “This is an example of what thought leadership is all about,” he said. Business research and teaching weren’t always so integrated. Over time, developments in tech especially have inspired faculty to lead thinking and inform practice through research relevant to industry. Now, faculty can teach market-responsive topics, boosting students’ agility in understanding and reacting to quickly moving trends.  

Human-centered Analytics Lab

In his own research, Kelley found a complementary expert in Ahmed Abbasi, the Joe and Jane Giovanini Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations and director of the Ph.D. in Analytics program. Abbasi focuses on machine learning, artificial intelligence and cognitive science; Kelley is a quantitative psychologist trained in statistics, research design and measurement who considers the human element, such as measuring and modeling motivation or other psychological attributes. They combined their perspectives and disciplines to create the Human-centered Analytics Lab in 2021. “Ken is driven by traditionally primary data collection through surveys and he’s familiar with human condition theories, while my background is more computational,” said Abbasi. HAL studies issues at the forefront of some of the most important and disruptive technologies that challenge how humans live, work and interact. One recently published study explored how AI analyzes patient biomarkers, such as eye movement and heart rate, from telehealth video interviews. Their analysis spotted characteristics that could provide overworked mental health practitioners with scalable, remote and low-cost assessment, while eliminating subjectivity and bias. Such breakthroughs could help society meet the rising need for mental health care. Establishing business laboratories sends the message that a research focus is something to which Mendoza’s faculty, students and their research teams are dedicated. “We wanted to signal what our axis of cohesion is, the hubs that bring us together that we’re known for,” said Abbasi.  

Gaming Analytics & Business Research (GAMA) Lab

The GAMA Lab is another such axis. In recent years, a handful of Mendoza scholars realized their research all involved business and technology in the context of the $300 billion video gaming industry. Daewon Sun, professor of ITAO, was looking at virtual currency and player rewards; Assistant Professor Xinxue (Shawn) Qu, was focused on the timing of video game releases. “We decided to pool our ideas together and put a stake in the ground that we’re pioneering research in this space,” said Nick Berente, James H. Sweeny III and Alicia Sweeny Collegiate Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations and senior associate dean for academic programs. “I love that gaming — whether it’s a senior citizen playing online chess or a college student on their phone — is a Petri dish for artificial intelligence. We’ve used AI in video games for more than a decade. Only now the rest of the world is catching up using generative technologies,” he said. “The research labs at Mendoza played a huge role in my decision to pursue a Ph.D. at Notre Dame,” said Sunan Qian, whose doctoral focus involves gaming analytics. “The labs have provided me with invaluable opportunities to work on interdisciplinary projects and address complex challenges in the gaming industry, such as combating toxic in-game environments and decoding the relationship between player behavior and performance.” Qian has found that labs aren’t just facilities with cutting-edge technologies and resources — they are vibrant hubs where faculty and students come together to explore, innovate and learn from one another. “Mendoza’s labs serve as a crucial bridge between academic research and practical business solutions,” she said.  

Humanitarian Operations (HOPE) Lab

Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez and his Humanitarian Operations (HOPE) Lab focus on bridging that gap. Pedraza-Martinez is one of the few business experts to research logistics in humanitarian operations. After joining the Mendoza faculty in 2023, he created the HOPE Lab to build research and share knowledge that practitioners such as the Red Cross or the United Nations could put into action. HOPE Lab has contributed to a better understanding of issues such as optimizing vehicle fleet management and crafting social media messages during a crisis. The HOPE Lab’s work aligns with junior Ben Mills’ real estate minor and his interest in climate change. Over the past year, he and Pedraza-Martinez have embarked on research exploring challenges in the aftermath of devastating floods that tore through diverse neighborhoods in San Diego in 2024. The two secured a research grant from Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate that will allow Mills to travel to San Diego this summer. There, he’ll conduct interviews with community members, real estate professionals and government officials to gain a more nuanced understanding of the disaster’s impact. “With supportive and accessible faculty, I’ve been able to weave together insights from multiple disciplines,” he said. “Unlike coursework bound by deadlines and grades, this project is shaped by my curiosity, my initiative and my commitment. At its core, this project is more than just research; it’s a testament to the power of collaboration and stepping beyond the confines of a syllabus.”  

Regenerating Ecologies and Economies for Livelihoods Lab

Drew Marcantonio is an assistant professor of environment, peace and global affairs and a concurrent assistant professor in Mendoza’s Business Ethics and Society Program. In 2024, he created the Regenerating Ecologies and Economies for Livelihoods (REEL) Lab, which looks at regenerative production, the practice of contributing to the environment instead of extracting from it. REEL Lab adds to the expanding body of empirical research supporting integral ecology, helping further realize the goals Pope Francis set out in Laudato Si’, his 2015 encyclical advocating for a holistic approach to environmental, economic, political, social, cultural and ethical issues. “If the promise of regenerative production holds, which is what we’re testing, that is going to be one of the most potent tools that we have to work against the challenges that we face globally,” Marcantonio said, noting that Mendoza is an appropriate place for this work. “Business has to be involved in this — Pope Francis makes that clear — and this being one of the leading Catholic research universities in the world, our business school must be engaged.”

 

Illustrations by Greg Mably.