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September, 2019

David Merryman receives engineering’s inaugural Walters Family Chair

Sep. 16, 2019—Biomedical Engineering Professor David Merryman has received the School of Engineering’s inaugural Walters Family Chair. Merryman was recognized by Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente and Philippe Fauchet, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean, during a ceremony Sept. 16 at the Student Life Center. “I am very honored to receive the recognition of being the...

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On-the-move cancer cells prefer a “comfort cruise,” follow predictable paths of least resistance

Sep. 13, 2019—New research from a group of Vanderbilt biomedical engineers reveals that while cancer cells move quickly in metastasis, they’re rather lazy in which paths they choose. According to the researchers, migrating cancer cells decide which path in the body to travel based on how much energy it takes, opting to move through wider, easier to...

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BOV member, design firm leader is ‘Most Admired CEO’ for third time

Sep. 12, 2019—The CEO of Barge Design Solutions, who started at the company as a civil engineering student intern, is among Nashville Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs for the third time. Bob Higgins, BE’89, has led Barge as president and CEO since 2009. Barge is a certified Great Place to Work® and is ranked #27 in Nashville...

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$3 million NSF grant sets up graduate trainee program for autism-related workplace innovations

Sep. 12, 2019—Vanderbilt University will train a new generation of engineers and scientists to develop innovations that connect 21st-century workforce needs to the talents and abilities of neurodiverse individuals, such as those living along the autism spectrum. A $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation will establish a first-of-its-kind graduate traineeship program called Neurodiversity Inspired Science...

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Engineering professor, students ‘DIVE’ into Fleming Yard renovation

Sep. 11, 2019—When the new academic year began, students, faculty and staff filled the university’s classrooms, residence halls and centers, as well as a dynamic, newly redesigned space: Fleming Yard. The redesign of the outdoor space, located between Alumni Lawn and Sarratt Student Center, was the culmination of collaborative initiatives among students, faculty and administrators from the...

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Engineering School climbs to No. 34 in 2020 U.S. News rankings

Sep. 9, 2019—The Vanderbilt School of Engineering is No. 34 in the 2020 U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Colleges rankings released today. The school rose four spots from 2019 rankings and is tied with Yale, University of Florida, University of California-Santa Barbara, and North Carolina State University. MIT is ranked No. 1. The U.S. News...

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Nanoscale origami: Smallest-ever, atomically precise structures set stage for quantum breakthroughs

Sep. 6, 2019—If you think learning traditional paper origami is a difficult practice, try wrapping your head around origami on the atomic scale. In “Atomically-Precise, Custom-Design Origami Graphene Nanostructures,” published today in the journal Science, an international team of researchers have accomplished just that, using sophisticated and precise control of atoms to experiment with new structures and...

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