November, 2016
Philippe Fauchet named 2016 AAAS Fellow
Nov. 30, 2016—Philippe Fauchet, dean of the Vanderbilt School of Engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this year. Fauchet is recognized for “extraordinary scientific and engineering research accomplishment in photonics, energy, and the semiconductor/biology interface, and for distinguished academic leadership.” He is among nine new fellows at Vanderbilt...
Civil engineering grad and tennis champ at forefront of solar energy technology on campus
Nov. 29, 2016— When the sun shines on the rooftop at Vanderbilt’s Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center, it means a little more to Marie Casares. Casares, a former member of the Commodores’ women’s tennis program and civil engineering graduate in 2015, played a role in pushing Vanderbilt athletics to the forefront of sustainable energy on...
Undergrad takes top slot in NSBE research competition; topic was drug delivery
Nov. 28, 2016—Computer science major wins third in pitch competition Somtochukwu “Somto” Dimobi threw herself into research the minute she could after arriving from Lagos, Nigeria, to major in chemical engineering at Vanderbilt. Now, the sophomore is collecting national kudos for research in biomedical engineering, an accomplishment she attributes to the university’s cross-collaborative culture and a popular...
Mood ring materials: a new way to detect damage in failing infrastructure
Nov. 22, 2016—“Mood ring materials” could play an important role in minimizing and mitigating damage to the nation’s failing infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated that more than $3.6 trillion in investment is needed by 2020 to rehabilitate and modernize the nation’s failing infrastructure. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to establish a $1 trillion...
Lippmann earns NARSAD grant to develop brain tissue models for schizophrenia research
Nov. 17, 2016—Ethan Lippmann Ethan Lippmann, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, recently won a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. Lippmann seeks to improve drug screening processes by creating three-dimensional tissue models of the vascularized human brain using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The aim of the NARSAD grant is to develop...
VandyHacks draws 450 from across country for 36-hour invention marathon
Nov. 17, 2016—The hundreds of students beckoning passers-by to listen to invention pitches Sunday didn’t look as tired as one might have predicted. After all, they’d survived 36 hours of the VandyHacks invention marathon, teaming up to produce new apps, devices and other tech in a weekend. They grabbed naps on the floor of a quiet room...
Engineering Council, sponsoring groups gear up for fall E-Day Nov. 15
Nov. 12, 2016—The Engineering Council is giving students from the School of Engineering and across campus a day of fun, uplifting and educational activities on Nov. 15. The council itself and six of the clubs within it are sponsoring events, all of those in and around the Featheringill Hall atrium. “We were able to build off the...
Notre Dame’s Brennecke to deliver Hall Engineering Lecture Nov. 29
Nov. 11, 2016—A highly recognized researcher and prolific writer dedicated to creating a better environment, Joan F. Brennecke will deliver the fall 2016 John R. and Donna S. Hall Engineering Lecture. Brennecke is the Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical Engineering and the founding director of the Center for Sustainable Energy at Notre Dame University. The Hall Lecture is...