July, 2017
Love Circle energy park to reach 5 years of continuous operation
Jul. 27, 2017—On Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017, the renewable energy pilot facility atop Nashville’s Love Circle will complete five years of continuous operation. A joint venture between the Vanderbilt School of Engineering and Metro Water Services, the public service project features a wind turbine and solar panels. It is a field training point for Vanderbilt engineering students...
Multitasking monolayers lay groundwork for devices that can do two things at once
Jul. 25, 2017—Illustration of the triangular pattern formed by the two-dimensional material chalcogenide that allows the creation of dual-function devices. (Yu-Yang Zhang / Chinese Academy of Sciences) Two-dimensional materials that can multitask. That is the result of a new process that naturally produces patterned monolayers that can act as a base for creating a wide variety of...
Plentiful human protein better carrier for gene therapy in tumors
Jul. 24, 2017—Powerful molecules can hitch rides on a plentiful human protein and signal tumors to self-destruct, a team of Vanderbilt University engineers found. Their research gives oncologists a better shot at overcoming the problems of drug resistance, toxicity to patients and a host of other barriers to consistently achieving successful gene therapy for cancer. It is...
Engineer’s ultrathin device harvests electricity from human motion
Jul. 21, 2017—Imagine slipping into a jacket, shirt or skirt that powers your cell phone, fitness tracker and other personal electronic devices as you walk, wave and even when you are sitting down. A new, ultrathin energy harvesting system developed at Vanderbilt University’s Nanomaterials and Energy Devices Laboratory has the potential to do just that. Based on...
Engineering faculty lead 3 new TIPs projects that tackle big challenges
Jul. 20, 2017—Build and use microscope systems that do not exist commercially to unlock deeper insights in biomedicine. Design and develop a space-based platform to study Earth’s evolving ecology from an elevated vantage point. Create a research hub for development and testing of durable, sustainable infrastructure materials. All big ideas with widespread impact. And School of Engineering...
Advanced material analysis focus of ME grad student’s 2 weeks at national labs
Jul. 18, 2017—A mechanical engineering Ph.D. student will spend two weeks using some the most advanced X-ray and neutron equipment in the world and learning the techniques from top experts. Marm Dixit was among 60 graduate students selected for the 2017 National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering. As a part of this program he will spend...
BME study shows software helps surgeons find liver tumors, avoid blood vessels
Jul. 17, 2017—The liver is a particularly squishy, slippery organ, prone to shifting both deadly tumors and life-preserving blood vessels by inches between the time they’re discovered on a CT scan and when the patient is lying on an operating room table. Surgeons can swab the exposed liver lightly on the surface with a special stylus, capturing the shape of...
Bicycle remix: a $25 Craigslist buy, scrap metal tubing, welding and curiosity
Jul. 11, 2017—When Nick Belsten first eyed the pile of scrap metal tubing, he saw wind chimes. Castoffs from fences installations, the galvanized pipe pieces held too much potential to be ignored. Belsten packed as much as he could around furniture and other household goods headed to his family’s home in Florida. He did craft a fine...