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August, 2016

Distinguished alumnus William Akers was Nashville business leader

Aug. 29, 2016—William Ballance Akers, a Nashville business leader and Vanderbilt School of Engineering distinguished alumnus, died Aug. 27, 2016, in Nashville. He was 91. At 17, following in his father’s footsteps, the Nashville native enrolled in Vanderbilt University’s School of Engineering. He attended two years before entering the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Navy...

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Cochlear implant team shares insights in Ireland

Aug. 26, 2016—An interdisciplinary team at Vanderbilt that developed an innovative method of programming cochlear implants to help people hear better recently presented at Deerfield Residence, the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland’s official residence in Dublin. The presentation was part of Creative Minds, a series of discussions started by Ambassador Kevin O’Malley to promote cultural and scientific exchange...

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Robinson, Kosson garner major honors from chancellor at fall faculty assembly

Aug. 26, 2016—Two School of Engineering faculty members collected top honors from Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos at the Aug. 25 fall faculty assembly, earning awards for efforts that advance understanding of diversity and for outstanding scholarship and research. The newly established Chancellor’s Research Awards for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion recognize excellence in research, scholarship or creative expression that...

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Miles Clark Barr, BE’06, to receive Young Alumni Professional Achievement Award

Aug. 24, 2016—Miles Clark Barr, BE’06, will receive the 2016 Young Alumni Professional Achievement Award, the Vanderbilt University Alumni Association Board of Directors recently announced. “Miles is an impressive alumnus whose work in solar technologies will surely continue to shine in this emerging field,” said Jonathan Glasgow, BA’98, awards chair for the Alumni Association Board. An inventor,...

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Vanderbilt’s Kunda named to MIT’s ‘Innovators Under 35’ list

Aug. 23, 2016—For her work in the software field, Vanderbilt University computer science professor Maithilee Kunda has been recognized as a visionary on the MIT Technology Review annual list of Innovators Under 35 released today. The global media company recognizes exceptionally talented technologists whose work has great potential to transform the world. This list has been published...

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Duvall earns spot on CMBE journal’s 2016 Young Innovators list

Aug. 18, 2016—Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, a journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society, has named Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of Graduate Recruiting in Biomedical Engineering Craig Duvall to its third annual list of Young Innovators of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. Selection was a competitive process that began with nominations and included biosketches and abstracts...

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Engineering’s Greg Walker named ASME Fellow

Aug. 11, 2016—Greg Walker, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been selected to be a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for “exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.” Walker is one of approximately 3,000 fellows chosen from among more than 130,000 ASME members. Cited by the ASME, Walker’s significant contributions include the...

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Healthcare construction symposium features lessons from Joplin hospital destruction

Aug. 10, 2016—Grainy security camera footage of an empty waiting room captures the chilling devastation of the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado that struck St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Mo. It is eerily still for nearly a minute, the only movement an unseen current rustling a magazine’s pages. At 57 seconds, the tornado hits at full...

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