January, 2019
Spring career fair draws record student attendance and 17 new companies
Jan. 31, 2019—A record number of engineering undergraduates attended the career fair held Jan. 28, an event that also attracted 17 new companies. In all, 363 students attended, up from 343 last year. The spring semester fair is an engineering-only event and 47 companies participated, an increase of more than 25 percent over 2018. Global powerhouses AECOM...
Nashville’s own ‘Hidden Figure’ and pioneer for African-American and women engineers dies
Jan. 31, 2019—Yvonne Young Clark, 89, was the first woman to receive a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University, the first woman to earn a master’s degree in engineering management from the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, and the first woman to serve as a faculty member in the College of Engineering and Technology...
Vanderbilt team wins $750K with AI to manage RF spectrum
Jan. 29, 2019—Vanderbilt team MarmotE cleared Phase 2 of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Spectrum Collaboration Challenge held in December at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. With no real estate left to expand the radio spectrum, DARPA’s challenge seeks machine-learning algorithms to sort out frequency priorities based on urgency – emergency and critical...
Vanderbilt Boot Camp addresses workplace shortage as Nashville emerges as new tech hub
Jan. 29, 2019—The following is an excerpt from a Jan. 23, 2019, article – Why Build a Boot Camp? – in Campus Technology by Dian Schafhauser. When Doug Schmidt persuaded his institution to sign on with Trilogy Education Services to launch the Vanderbilt University Coding Boot Camp, he considered it one more step forward in a 16-year...
Four PhD students win prestigious Eisenhower transportation fellowships
Jan. 24, 2019— Four engineering Ph.D. students have received prestigious Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowships, a showing that highlights Vanderbilt’s flourishing position as an epicenter of connected cities and transit research. The fellows were selected through a competitive process that included university panels and a national selection panel. The awards, up to $30,000 each, are made by the...
Vanderbilt makeathon helps Hawaii youngster create custom guitar pick holder
Jan. 23, 2019—Tikkun Olam Makers complete 14 design projects in 48 hours Linden strummed a guitar in the lobby of the Engineering and Science Building. The prototype of a custom guitar pick holder for his finger worked great. Zion whirled his wheelchair and kicked a round rugby ball to his TOM teammates in the ESB lobby. His...
Labels like ‘Asian fail’ and ‘Black genius’ are no joke for STEM students of color: report
Jan. 23, 2019—Racialized terms like “Asian fail” and “Black genius” are proving detrimental both physically and emotionally for students of color according to a new NSF report. (iStock) A new National Science Foundation-funded report published in AERA Open documents the negative effects labels and stereotypes are having on high-achieving Asian and Black college students. Vanderbilt professor Ebony...
Engineering alum is commander of Seabees, Naval Civil Engineer Corps Officers School
Jan. 22, 2019—In a change of command ceremony in Port Hueneme, California, Capt. Christopher M. Kurgan (BE’90) became commanding officer for the Center for Seabees and Facilities Engineering and the Naval Civil Engineer Corps Officers School at Naval Base Ventura County. After assuming command in August 2018, Kurgan spoke of his plans to further innovation and the...