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November, 2010

Gore joins Radiological Society’s Committee on Molecular Imaging

Nov. 16, 2010—John C. Gore, the Hertha Ramsey Cress University Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Physics, has accepted an invitation to join the Committee on Molecular Imaging of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The CMI is responsible for monitoring the evolving science and clinical applications of molecular and functional imaging and...

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Giorgio participates in Capitol policy seminar on biomedical research sponsored by DoD

Nov. 15, 2010—Todd D. Giorgio, chair of the biomedical engineering department, participated a congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 10 in the Capitol Visitors Center. The policy seminar was sponsored by the Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR) on the topic of ‘New Perspectives on Defense Basic Research: Health/Biomedical Research.’ The Department of Defense research portfolio...

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Sponsored Research: Grants awarded to engineering faculty in September

Nov. 12, 2010—The Division of Sponsored Research received notification in September that the following grants in excess of $25,000 had been awarded to engineering faculty and graduate students: Mark D. Abkowitz, Civil and Environmental Engineering, has received an award in the amount of $30,000 by the Department of Transportation for “CAIT 6:  Managing the Impacts of Climate...

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Computer science team competes in regional round of IBM’s Battle of the Brains

Nov. 10, 2010—The Vanderbilt University School of Engineering teams competed in a regional round of the 35th annual IBM-sponsored Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest, also known as the Battle of the Brains, Nov. 6. The competition challenges teams of three students each to solve complex and rigorous real-world problems by using open technology and...

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7th-10th graders, parents to explore surgical robotics, advanced prosthetics at daylong Vanderbilt workshop

Nov. 9, 2010—Snake robots will perform palpation of mockup tumors followed by a demonstration of a snake robot that’s sensitive to touch. A parallel robot system will demonstrate its value for eye surgery and cochlear implant surgery. On Saturday, Nov. 13, a daylong program designed to showcase the role of mechanical engineering in the future of healthcare...

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Vanderbilt professors find that students learn by tutoring virtual peers

Nov. 8, 2010—Education Week recently reported that educators have long held that peer tutoring can help students learn and emerging research on students working with computer characters points to one possible reason why: Teaching begets learning for the teachers. Researchers at Stanford University’s AAA Lab and Vanderbilt University’s Teachable Agents Group call it the “protégé effect,” which...

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Peter Cummings receives AIChE Award

Nov. 8, 2010—Peter T. Cummings, the John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering, has received the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The award was presented on Nov. 7 in Salt Lake City at AIChE’s annual meeting. Cummings was recognized along with 15 other...

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Engineering alumna named Cracker Barrel president and COO

Nov. 5, 2010—Cracker Barrel Old Country Store named its current chief financial officer and executive vice president as president and chief operations officer on Nov. 3. Cochran, former CEO of Books-A-Million, joined the restaurant chain last year. Cochran holds a chemical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and a master of business administration from Pacific Lutheran University. Following...

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