November, 2017
Computer science professors school their peers on the blockchain
Nov. 30, 2017—As the price of Bitcoin hits exospheric heights, civilians who don’t talk in code want to better understand the cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology on which it is built. That’s true even for tech-savvy engineering professors and their students – an inherently tough audience. What source is trustworthy? Where can I get facts without the...
Faculty partnerships explored by Army Research Lab’s chief scientist
Nov. 30, 2017—The chief scientist of the Army Research Lab visited Vanderbilt to explore research collaborations with faculty who are conducting research on robotics, artificial intelligence and resilience. The visit was facilitated by Jaret Riddick, director of ARL’S Vehicle Technology Directorate, who serves on the School of Engineering’s Board of Visitors. Alexander Kott’s day on campus was...
‘Jeopardy!’ appearance fulfills longtime dream of ChBE research assistant
Nov. 30, 2017—Kyle Becker will appear on “Jeopardy!” beginning Dec. 4. (submitted photo) Kyle Becker started watching Jeopardy! in middle school, shouting out questions to the TV and dreaming of the day he’d be hitting that buzzer for real. The Vanderbilt University alumnus and research assistant finally got his shot in a Culver City, California, studio earlier...
Clark Scholars dinner brings together students, visionary donor
Nov. 27, 2017—One by one, moving down the length of an elegantly set table, 10 freshmen engineering students who represent the first cohort of A. James Clark Scholars at Vanderbilt stood up and shared the excitement of being here and how they plan to give back to the world. Their audience included university leadership, engineering educators and,...
VECTOR and UT study: Unscheduled lock closures cost inland waterway shipper supply chain more than $1 billion annually
Nov. 24, 2017—Unscheduled lock closures create costly ripple effects across the shipper supply chain – adding more than $1 billion in additional transportation expenses annually and disrupting state economies along U.S. inland waterways. Those are the broad findings of a new, in-depth study by researchers from the Vanderbilt Engineering Center for Transportation and Operational Resiliency (VECTOR) and...
Battery-switching device promises more road time for Tesla, Leaf drivers
Nov. 20, 2017—Nissan Leafs, which go about 107 miles on a charge, often don’t graduate beyond commuter car status due to battery-life worries. The mass-market, standard Tesla Model 3 can travel double that distance, which is still limiting on long road trips. Both batteries could work about 50 percent longer with a device provisionally patented by Vanderbilt...
Riding an old gray mare, BME student rounds up rodeo wins
Nov. 17, 2017—Kaitlyn Ayers started riding lessons at age 9 and got her first horse when she was 13. Now a biomedical engineering junior, she has two horses and has been winning amateur rodeo events with Cocoa, who is older than she is. Cocoa is a 25-year-old gray quarter horse, now almost white with age. But the...
Shining a light on the nervous system to thwart disease
Nov. 16, 2017—Vanderbilt University researchers are teaming with peers from two other universities to develop ways to fight disease with light with the promise of minimally invasive, drug-free treatments for cardiac arrhythmia, high blood pressure, asthma, sleep apnea, diarrhea and other diseases. They’re testing infrared neuromodulation, which targets specific areas of the nervous system and even single...