October, 2016
VU Inside: Giving surgical robots a human touch
Oct. 31, 2016—A critical goal in modern surgery is to make procedures as safe and minimally invasive as possible, which often means using robotic tools. Vanderbilt University bioengineer Nabil Simaan says a negative side effect of doing surgery with tiny entry points into the body is that the surgeon loses his or her sense of touch and...
Five questions with Vandy alum, Ubiquitous Energy founder Miles Barr
Oct. 31, 2016—Anyone who’s stared helplessly at a dead smartphone, its charger sitting at home on a bedside table, can appreciate the mind of Miles Barr. The Vanderbilt engineering alum and founder of Redwood City-based Ubiquitous Energy developed a transparent film that can power phones. Placed over enough windows, it can power an entire house or office...
Galloway receives international Gagarin Award for contributions to radiation effects research
Oct. 26, 2016—Kenneth F. Galloway received the 2016 Yuri Gagarin Award at the 2016 RADECS conference in Bremen, Germany. Galloway is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and former dean of the Vanderbilt School of Engineering. The Radiation Effects in Components and Systems Association was established in Europe in 1991...
Vanderbilt alum who launched edge computing company is BOV chair; energetic recruiter
Oct. 24, 2016—Gary Butler spent less than two years at Vanderbilt – earning a master’s in mechanical engineering in 1994 before setting off for the University of Cambridge for his Ph.D. But Vanderbilt played a significant role in shaping his path into entrepreneurship, so, last week, Butler made the trip from his Camgian Microsystems offices in Starkville,...
Four engineering undergrads wow Board of Visitors with accomplishments, future plans
Oct. 21, 2016—Four students provided a highlight of the Oct. 21 Board of Visitors meeting, telling the group of advisers to the School of Engineering about their lives before Vanderbilt and about their full slate of activities now. Some even impressed the group so much, they collected internship offers before they left the meeting room. Short talks...
Biswas is elected inaugural fellow of prognostics society
Oct. 14, 2016—A Vanderbilt engineering professor whose research focus is intelligent systems has been elected as an inaugural fellow of the Prognostics and Health Management Society. Gautam Biswas, a professor of computer science and computer engineering, and senior research scientist in Vanderbilt’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems, received the honor during the PHM Society’s annual conference Oct....
Solar technology entrepreneur to deliver engineering school’s Chambers Lecture
Oct. 13, 2016—A highly-recognized solar energy leader who is developing transparent films that, when applied to any piece of glass or plastic, absorbs light and converts it to electricity, will deliver the School of Engineering’s Chambers Family Entrepreneurial Lectureship Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Miles Barr is founder and CEO of Ubiquitous Energy, a Silicon Valley technology company...
No Vanderbilt Robotics team? Six sophomores step up, invite all majors
Oct. 12, 2016—Engineering students who like motorsports can join a club for that. Hackathons? That too. Model rocket launches? Yep. But until now, one popular engineering hobby was missing from the list: robotics. That’s despite the fact that mechanical engineering is the school’s oldest department, and medical and surgical robotics helped put Vanderbilt on the world stage....