June, 2017
Emeritus professor integral to early success of materials science program dies
Jun. 29, 2017—William Frances Flanagan, who taught at Vanderbilt University for more than 30 years and was renowned for his research on the causes of stress corrosion cracking in alloys and metals, died June 15 in Maryland. He was 90. “Bill” Flanagan was recruited from General Motors to Vanderbilt in 1968 as an associate professor of metallurgical engineering...
Retired ME professor, sailing coach remembered for patience and passion for how things worked
Jun. 28, 2017—Johnny Hall Dunlap, a Vanderbilt University alumnus and professor emeritus of mechanical engineering known for his devotion to students, died June 17 in Nashville. He was 85. Dunlap earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Vanderbilt in 1953, graduating magna cum laude. He was offered a teaching position in 1955 while performing engineering research at...
Tiny circuit boards stay operational in warm water, dissolve when cooled
Jun. 26, 2017—Building transient electronics is usually about doing something to make them stop working: blast them with light, soak them with acid, dunk them in water. Professor Leon Bellan’s idea is to dissolve them with neglect: Stop applying heat, and they come apart. Using silver nanowires embedded in a polymer that dissolves in water below 32...
Three engineering faculty proposals earn Discovery Grants
Jun. 22, 2017—Vanderbilt University’s Office of the Provost has recognized three engineering faculty proposals with Discovery Grants, one of Vanderbilt’s primary means of investing in advancing the discovery of knowledge in its core disciplines and strengthening the university’s scholarly profile. A total of 13 faculty proposals have received funding. Discovery Grants are designed to support new ideas,...
A cap full of coffee can improve nose, throat surgery
Jun. 20, 2017—Imagine plopping six cups of coffee grounds on the heads of patients just before they are wheeled into the operating room to have nose or throat surgery? In essence, that is what a team of Vanderbilt University engineers are proposing in an effort to improve the reliability of the sophisticated “GPS” system that surgeons use...
Zelik receives two major young investigator awards for biomechanics work
Jun. 15, 2017—Karl Zelik, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has received top awards from the International Society of Biomechanics and the American Society of Biomechanics for early career research. Both awards recognize Zelik’s body of work on improving and unifying the understanding of human locomotion, and translating this understanding to advances in prosthetic and exoskeleton technologies....
Arthritis drug could be first to stop heart valve calcification
Jun. 13, 2017—The first drug to treat calcification of heart valves may be one originally designed for rheumatoid arthritis. Today in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, Vanderbilt University researchers published findings that the drug – a monoclonal antibody known as SYN0012 – shows promise in keeping heart valve leaflets supple. About a quarter of...
Better models for weather disaster outcomes look beyond historical data
Jun. 12, 2017—In a world with more frequent extreme weather events, basing new bridges on historical weather data and previous structure wear no longer works. Take South Carolina, said Hiba Baroud, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. Four tropical storms plus Hurricane Matthew pounded the coastal state in 2016 alone, the latter of which caused unprecedented inland...