Month after month in 2014, School of Engineering students, professors and alumni grabbed attention for earning grants and awards, opening new labs and businesses and winning competitions. It was tough, but we narrowed the countless accomplishments down to eight of our favorites.
SOFTWARE INSTITUTE TAPPED FOR ‘INTERNET OF THINGS’ CONSORTIUM
A new group called the Industrial Internet Consortium — which includes Vanderbilt engineers and researchers in the university’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems, American technology giants AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM, Intel and 11 other companies — announced its plans March 27 to create engineering standards for the “Internet of Things.”
Several months later, institute director Janos Sztipanovits’ was named to the consortium’s steering committee.
AEROSPACE CLUB TAKES NASA ROCKET COMPETITION FOR SECOND YEAR
For the second year in a row, their rocket’s picture-perfect performance propelled them to a first-place finish in the annual competition, which includes much more than simply designing and building a reusable rocket.
DOUG ADAMS OPENS NEW LAB, NAMED TO CHAIR, APPEARS ON CANADIAN TV
Doug Adams, Vanderbilt University School of Engineering’s Daniel F. Flowers Professor, was among the endowed chair recipients recognized at a reception hosted by Provost Susan Wente and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Jeffrey Balser. Adams is director of the school’s new super-sized Laboratory for Systems Integrity and Reliability, which formally opened in August in Nashville’s Metro Center. Adams also appeared in Discovery Canada segment this year.
VUSE LEAPS FOUR SPOTS TO BEST PLACE EVER ON ANNUAL USNWR RANKINGS
The Vanderbilt University School of Engineering took a four-spot leap in the annual U.S. News and World Report undergraduate school rankings, grabbing No. 31 in a five-way tie – its best position ever. Vanderbilt University overall came in at No. 16 after maintaining its No. 17 spot for five years, also earning its best place in the history of the rankings.
SOLAR DECATHLON TEAM MAKES STRIDES, RELEASES VIRTUAL FLY-THROUGH
Selected for the 2015 Solar Decathlon, Team Tennessee got to work. The project leadership is in the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, but team members come from across the university and from Middle Tennessee State University. They hope to build a house Habitat for Humanity can duplicate on a broader scale.
MUMS LAB OPENS ON MUSIC ROW
Vanderbilt University School of Engineering opened a unique research facility on Music Row, one focusing on Multiscale Modeling and Simulation. MuMS is home to four faculty members and their research groups.
VUSE STUDENTS GRAB DOE NUCLEAR AWARD FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS
Vanderbilt graduate students’ work in the area of environmental impact of nuclear power is attracting national attention. 2014 marked the third consecutive year one took a first-place award in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research competition, winning the Systems Analysis and Energy Policy category.
RESEARCHERS CLEAN UP ON NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH R01 GRANTS
Six of our researchers garnered grants totaling nearly $10 million, making for a banner year. Here are the specifics:
William Grissom: “Three-Dimensional Patient-Tailored RF Pulses for Spin Echo Neuroimaging at 7 T” (anticipated total award over 4 years is $ 1.4 million)
Melissa Skala: “Cellular-level Optical Metabolic Imaging to Predict Drug Response in Cancer” (anticipated total award over 5 years is $ 1.58 million)
Craig Duvall: “Substrate Mediated siRNA Delivery from Scaffolds to Promote Wound Repair” (anticipated total award over 4 years is $ 1.375 million)
Scott Guelcher: “Biofilm Dispersive Bone Grafts to Improve Healing of Contaminated Fractures” (anticipated total award over 5 years is $ 1.84 million)
Jack Noble: “Image-Guided Cochlear Implant Programming Techniques” (anticipated total award over 5 years $ 1.89 million)
Pietro Valdastri: “A magnetic capsule endoscope for colonoscopy in patients with IBD” (anticipated total award over 4 years $ 1.5 million)
Contact
Heidi Hall, (615) 322-6614
Heidi.Hall@Vanderbilt.edu
On Twitter @VUEngineering