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August, 2014

Vanderbilt engineers’ startups snag 3 of 10 Spark Nashville spots

Aug. 29, 2014—Three of 10 startups presenting at the Spark Nashville elevator pitch competition are creations of Vanderbilt University School of Engineering doctoral and post-doctoral students. PinPTR, developed by Will Hedgecock, is a GPS-based locator technology that’s cost-effective with unprecedented accuracy. FlashCrystal, developed by Charleson Bell, instantly uploads music, artists’ websites and more from the Internet straight...

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Engineering announces appointment of two new faculty members

Aug. 29, 2014—The Vanderbilt University School of Engineering announces the appointment of two new faculty members to its full-time teaching staff. They are Karl E. Zelik and Shihong Lin. Lin will join the faculty in January 2015. Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Karl Zelik focuses his research on biomechanics of locomotion. His biomechanics specialization centers on energy-saving...

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Duvall receives NSF Early Career award

Aug. 28, 2014—Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Craig L. Duvall has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development grant. The five-year, $500,000 grant – Polythioketal Hydrogel For SiRNA-Enhanced Regenerative Cell Therapies – will allow Duvall to continue research on advanced drug delivery systems designed to enhance the performance of stem cell therapies for use in...

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After Fukushima, Vanderbilt researchers study radiation’s effects on robots

Aug. 27, 2014—  After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, investigators used robots to determine the extent of the damage and begin cleaning up. The question is how well robots can stand up to that sort of radiation and whether the humans using them can count on the data gathered. Three teams of Vanderbilt University researchers...

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Engineering researchers share $300K award for brain studies

Aug. 25, 2014—Two researchers in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering recently shared in a $300,000 award to fund their studies into how the brain works. Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Deyu Li and Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Yaqiong Xu received the award, one of 36 new Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research announced this week by the National Science Foundation....

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Mahadevan-Jansen elected chair of Gordon Research Conference

Aug. 25, 2014—Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, Orrin H. Ingram Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been elected chair of the Gordon Research Conference in Lasers in Medicine and Biology. For more than 75 years, the Gordon Conferences have been recognized as some of the world’s premier scientific conferences, where leading investigators from around the world discuss their latest work in an...

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Engineering professor shares mapping technology with teachers

Aug. 21, 2014—Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools has joined with the Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies and Peabody College to create a platform to provide detailed, reliable and recurring information about the commitment of major employers to the public school system. This is the latest installment in a series that tells the story of collaborative involvement between members...

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Alzheimer’s researcher from NC State to deliver Hall Lecture

Aug. 20, 2014—A North Carolina State University professor specializing in Alzheimer’s Disease research will present the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering’s Hall Lecture. Carol K. Hall studies protein aggregates called fibrils found in brain plaques, which contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the prion diseases. She will discuss current scientific thinking on why the structures form...

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