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February, 2019

Webster named Richard A. Schroeder Chair in Mechanical Engineering

Feb. 28, 2019—Robert J. Webster III, whose work has led to tools and methods for surgeries that require little or no incision, has been named the Richard A. Schroeder Chair in Mechanical Engineering. He is among Vanderbilt University’s newest endowed chair holders. In all, eight recipients were celebrated for their path-breaking scholarship and research by family members,...

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Yale expert in advanced membrane materials to deliver Hall Lecture on March 13

Feb. 28, 2019—Menachem Elimelech, an internationally recognized scholar of membrane-based technologies for next-generation desalination and water purification, will deliver the John R. and Donna S. Hall Engineering Lecture on March 13. Elimelech is the Roberto Goizueta Professor at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University. His research focuses on the water-energy nexus, next-generation materials...

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Researchers collaborate on $3.9 million NIH study of child-specific cochlear implant programming

Feb. 27, 2019—Researchers from the School of Engineering and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are working to improve outcomes for children with significant hearing loss by providing individualized, prescription-like programming for their cochlear implants. The study, funded by a $3.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, to aims to determine whether the approach will impact a...

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Rosenthal to step down as VINSE director; planning for institute’s future begins

Feb. 27, 2019—VINSE Director Sandra Rosenthal (Vanderbilt University) By Jane Hirtle Sandra Rosenthal, Jack and Pamela Egan Professor of Chemistry, will step down as director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) on June 30 following 12 years of service. “I am so grateful to Sandy for her many years of devoted service at...

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Pitz is named a fellow of The Combustion Institute

Feb. 26, 2019—Robert W. Pitz, professor of mechanical engineering, has been named a fellow of The Combustion Institute, an international educational and scientific society. He will attend the 38th International Symposium on Combustion in July 2020 in Adelaide, Australia, where he will be recognized along with 36 other fellow honorees from around the world. The institute has...

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New biomaterial could improve bone grafting

Feb. 25, 2019—A new biomaterial-based bone graft extender created by Vanderbilt and U.S. Army researchers has the potential to improve treatment of critical orthopedic conditions. While a graft using a patient’s own bone  – typically from the pelvis or femur – for re-implantation is considered the standard technique to repair, replace or regenerate bone tissue, limitations exist....

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Women of VISE engage Whitsitt Elementary students in optics and ultrasound basics

Feb. 24, 2019—Gummy bears, laser pointers, slinky toys and gooey, stretchy hands illustrated basics in optics, wave propagation and tumor registration to more than 100 Nashville public elementary students by biomedical engineering graduate students who took E-Week on the road. The hands-on activities were organized by Women of VISE – Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering –...

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Senior creates app for orangutans with guidance from CS professor

Feb. 24, 2019—Ben Scheer jumps imagination-first into big projects, and he’s not afraid of a lot of trial and error. The Vanderbilt human and organizational development and economics double major has worked on dozens of entrepreneurial endeavors ranging from coding to music to virtual reality to photography, with his biggest focus being on connecting with people and solving problems. “It’s really...

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