March, 2015
Turning cellulose into biofuel: VU prof, grad student search for key on molecular level
Mar. 20, 2015—Nature exquisitely engineered a way to produce fuel from organic matter. The answer to how lies in decaying leaves on the forest floor or a backyard compost pile and the tiny amounts of energy those produce. Without understanding how enzymes are working to break down organic matter on the molecular level, human engineers can’t apply...
Mars rocket demo wows at Nashville school’s assembly
Mar. 19, 2015—A robotic arm moves directly over a Vanderbilt Aerospace Club rocket. In the arm’s grippers is a white capsule the size of a hotdog bun. “The arm moves nice and slow and safe like NASA likes it because failure is not an option,” said William Emfinger, graduate student mentor to the Aerospace Club. When the...
As tour season heats up, engineering undergrads share love of Vanderbilt
Mar. 17, 2015—It’s apparent to anyone who spends more than a few minutes on campus that tour season is here, bringing thousands of potential Vanderbilt University students and their parents to stroll tree-lined sidewalks and bustling hallways. On the standard route: the School of Engineering’s Featheringill Hall, where groups stand in the brightly lit atrium and sometimes...
Vanderbilt alum on entrepreneurial success: Money is byproduct, not end product
Mar. 16, 2015—Jonn Kim started his business with nothing to lose. He’d seen too many people pass up entrepreneurship because they might lose their house, or their car, or their stock options. Tired of his secure corporate job, Kim became willing to work at McDonald’s if his dreams fell apart. They didn’t. Ten years ago, in Huntsville,...
Engineering’s graduate program is No. 35 in ‘U.S. News’ 2016 rankings
Mar. 10, 2015—The School of Engineering’s graduate program is No. 35 in annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The 2016 graduate program rankings were released today. The school, which tied with Yale University, ranks ahead of Boston University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and just behind the University of Colorado-Boulder. MIT was ranked No. 1. The...
Q&A: Entrepreneur’s favorite virtue is eternal optimism
Mar. 5, 2015—Chambers Family Entrepreneurial Lectureship is March 16 Jonn Kim, founder and CEO of Geeks and Nerds Corporation (GaN) in Huntsville, Alabama, will deliver the School of Engineering’s Spring 2015 Chambers Family Entrepreneurial Lectureship at 4:10 p.m. Monday, March 16, in Jacobs Believed In Me Auditorium, Featheringill Hall 134. A reception will follow in Adams Atrium....
Sophisticated application of magnetic force enhances laparoscopic surgery
Mar. 3, 2015—Pietro Valdastri is convinced that the clever application of magnetic force can make minimally invasive surgery easier and more effective. “In 2007, a team of University of Texas researchers did some basic experiments using magnets in laparoscopic surgery,” said Valdastri, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and director of Vanderbilt University’s Science and Technology of Robotics...
Vanderbilt E-Week promotes engineering for the fun of it
Mar. 2, 2015—No, the Nanoblimp aerial dogfights didn’t impress at Vanderbilt Engineering Week, but they did lead to an important discovery when a blimp disappeared into the HVAC system. Put too much weight on a Nanoblimp, and it falls to the floor. Too little, and $60 flies into a vent in Featheringill Atrium’s third-floor ceiling. But that’s...