October, 2017
Journalists hear from chancellor, four Vanderbilt professors on big issues ahead
Oct. 30, 2017—Journalists from across the country traveled to campus last week to hear from Vanderbilt’s chancellor, experts and others about big issues likely to shape the Trump administration’s second year. The reporting institute, organized by journalism think tank and training group Poynter, spanned Thursday through Saturday and met in the First Amendment Center and The Commons...
1st Academic Pathways cohort includes future engineering professors
Oct. 30, 2017—The first cohort of Academic Pathways postdoctoral fellows. L-R: Monica Ridgeway, Lillian Brady, Rashanique Quarels, Diego Mesa, Joy Garnett, Kyndra Cleveland, Dean Stolworthy (Vanderbilt University) Over the past few months, seven outstanding Ph.D.’s from around the country have come to Vanderbilt to pursue postdoctoral training with an eye toward academic careers. They’re the first cohort...
Grand opening of nanoscale research facilities wows crowd
Oct. 27, 2017—Excited visitors got a firsthand look Tuesday at the new, state-of-the-art facilities for the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, with the showpiece being a 10,000-square-foot, commercial-grade cleanroom. About 300 people attended the grand opening celebration. The VINSE Cleanroom in the Engineering and Science Building more than triples the space researchers have used in...
Ph.D. student publishes illustrated children’s book to explain water quality issues in Bangladesh
Oct. 26, 2017—Farzana is a fictional little girl from the mind of environmental engineering Ph.D. student Chelsea Peters, but there are thousands of real children like her in Bangladesh, walking for miles to find clean water for their families. They, like their children’s book counterpart, may struggle to understand why they are surrounded by water they can’t...
Nashville offers new civil engineering professor ideal place to research traffic issues
Oct. 26, 2017—Daniel Work can’t think of a better place to research traffic issues than Nashville. He’s bringing his expertise on applying cyber-physical systems—the combination of physical systems with technological advances—to transportation to a city that adds roughly 85 new residents per day. The associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, who joins the engineering faculty in...
NSF equipment grant expands nanoscale research capabilities
Oct. 24, 2017—An advanced tool to be housed at Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering core facilities will allow researchers to deposit uniform, ultrathin films for microelectronics, energy conversion devices and biomaterials. A $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Major Instrumentation Program is acquiring an ALD – atomic layer deposition – system. Jason Valentine, associate...
Hundreds of students produce tech marvels at VandyHacks IV
Oct. 23, 2017—From a digital walking stick that uses sound and vibrations to a cyber security program dubbed Magnifirewall, from a better bank bot to interactive games, the projects at VandyHacks IV ranged from practical to whimsical to horrifying. The horror was intentional as several teams produced shiver-inducing programs for popular virtual reality and gaming platforms. Seventy...
CPS verification expert wins Air Force young investigator research award
Oct. 20, 2017—Taylor T. Johnson, an assistant professor of computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering, has been recognized with an early career award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He will receive a three-year grant to work on formal verification for cyber-physical systems (CPS) that is understandable and reusable. The $450,000 grant is part...