February, 2009
Student’s dynamo-powered otoscope delights doctors
Feb. 24, 2009—In remote locations far from electricity and replacement batteries, a basic piece of medical exam equipment – the otoscope – can be useless. The importance of an otoscope extends beyond the general examination of eyes, ears and throats. Among other uses, it can help doctors see the borders of skin lesions and find infants’ small,...
Paschal’s New biomedical classes are ‘engineering in action’
Feb. 24, 2009—When Cynthia Paschal created a new biomedical engineering service-learning course last fall, she hoped that 15 students would enroll. For the spring 2009 follow-up, she hoped to have 12 students, which would be a manageable number to take on an international project in Guatemala for a week. Then 46 students registered for the fall semester...
12 BME students to spend week working in Guatemalan clinic, hospital
Feb. 24, 2009— Twelve biomedical engineering students, their professor, and a former dean of the engineering school will spend spring break (Feb. 28-March 7) in Guatemala City. Follow them at this blog. The students are currently in Associate Professor Cynthia Paschal’s BME 290F class, Service Learning and Leadership. Paschal and the class will meet Ed White, dean...
VU to calculate carbon footprint
Feb. 23, 2009—Vanderbilt plans to calculate its carbon footprint this spring through a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Conducting this inventory is an ongoing part of Vanderbilt’s commitment to a sound environmental management system that ensures the safety, health, and sustainability of our campus, according to Cynthia Paschal, associate professor of biomedical engineering and chair-elect of the Faculty...
Aerospace Club among 20 teams picked by NASA for April ‘launch initiative’
Feb. 23, 2009—Vanderbilt’s Aerospace Club is among 20 student teams selected by NASA from colleges and universities around the country to participate in NASA’s 2008-2009 University Student Launch Initiative April 18. The annual rocketry challenge will be held April 18 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Student teams will bring their rocket projects to...
Robots monitor emotional state of children
Feb. 19, 2009—The day that robot playmates help children with autism learn the social skills they naturally lack has come a step closer with the development of a system by Professor Nilanjan Sarkar that allows a robot to monitor a child’s emotional state. “There is a lot of research going on around the world today trying to...
Robots snag flag, paper towers stand under pressure
Feb. 18, 2009—Two iRobots each guided by students in an adjacent classroom bumped and glided through a obstacle course of upturned chairs, blobs of cardboard, overturned tables and waste cans, a coat hanger and an overstuffed backpack, to reach a hidden flag. The course, looking more like the aftermath of a serious campus party, was prominently...
Alum introduces Obama at signing ceremony for stimulus bill
Feb. 18, 2009—Yesterday Blake Jones gave President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden a tour of a solar array his company installed on the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the largest system of its kind in Colorado. “I get the opportunity to talk about my favorite subject with the president of the United States,” Jones...