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February, 2016

E-Week: The Workforce Awakens aims to interest all majors, focus on careers

Feb. 15, 2016—Engineers Week planners said they looked for events that are interesting, interactive and span all the majors. Nailed it. Activities range from the quirky (building Rube Goldberg machines) to the challenging (solving coding puzzles) to the just plain fun (racing marbles on a gravity-operated course). They begin at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 22, and end...

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Vanderbilt CubeSat data collected by ham radio operators worldwide

Feb. 12, 2016—Building a program of reliable CubeSats; doing real science at a fraction of the cost A tiny space hitchhiker named AO-85 is talking and thousands of ham radio operators worldwide and a handful of Vanderbilt University engineering researchers with the special interest of proud parents are listening. AO-85’s transponder was turned on three days after...

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LeBoeuf called to active duty as Army University’s vice provost of academic affairs

Feb. 11, 2016—Brigadier General and civil engineering professor Eugene J. LeBoeuf has been called to active duty in the U.S. Army to serve as vice provost of academic affairs for Army University and Deputy Commanding General for Reserve Affairs for the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center for one year. Army University was established July 7, 2015, and...

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Spring 2016 engineering career fair sets record student attendance

Feb. 10, 2016—Attendance at the Engineering and Information Technology Industry Career Day increased 11% over last year, a new high of 390 students at a Feb. 9 spring fair. The fair is hosted by the Center for Student Professional Development and offers a smaller, more intimate atmosphere in order to facilitate connections between employers and Vanderbilt’s top...

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Vanderbilt engineers drive Teslas, take lessons for futuristic transportation infrastructure

Feb. 8, 2016—A chance meeting between a Vanderbilt University civil engineering professor and a Tesla product specialist resulted in students getting a closer look at the futuristic cars in early February. Lori Troxel, an associate professor of the practice, said she’d been trying to line up a visitor from Tesla when she met Tyler Dean, who works...

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Engineering school announces 2016 alumni honorees, distinguished friend

Feb. 8, 2016—Vanderbilt engineering alumni Kendall Card and Perry E. Wallace Jr. will be inducted into the School of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni at a special event in April. S. Shankar Sastry will be inducted as a member of the school’s Circle of Distinguished Friends. “The newest members of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni and the...

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From oil fields to council chambers: Vanderbilt engineer uses background for change

Feb. 4, 2016—Dana Brown Gutwein’s career started in the oil fields of California, pump jacks as far as the eye could see, running tests all day and sleeping in her truck at night. And while the Vanderbilt University engineering alumna’s life today couldn’t be more different, she wouldn’t change a thing about that fossil fuels background. On...

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Chemical engineering alumna receives Li Foundation Heritage Prize

Feb. 4, 2016—Chemical engineering alumna Song Li (PhD’14) has been awarded the 2015-2016 Li Foundation Heritage Prize. Li is an associate professor in the Department of Energy and Power Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Hubei, China. The Heritage Prize is the Foundation’s top award and it is valued at $40,000. It is given...

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