July, 2021
Alumni-founded phone case company expands finishes and future plans
Jul. 30, 2021—An alumni-owned company that developed copper-based phone cases amid the COVID-19 pandemic has set its long-term sights on antimicrobial coatings for door handles, railings and other high-touch surfaces in public spaces. Aeris Copper also rebranded and added new phone case finishes to its product offerings. The company, now called Alloi, has expanded into mixed metal...
New $20 million AI Institute targets engaged learning and education
Jul. 29, 2021—Multi-institute NSF-funded project to create AI tools to radically improve STEM learning Vanderbilt University engineering and education faculty are part of a new $20 million research institute funded by the National Science Foundation that aims to create artificial intelligence tools to advance human learning and education. The NSF AI Institute for Engaged Learning is one...
Jeff Ray was dean of Western Carolina University’s College of Engineering and Technology
Jul. 27, 2021—Jeff Ray, dean of Western Carolina University’s College of Engineering and Technology and a Vanderbilt University engineering graduate, died July 26, 2021. He was 61. A Tennessee native, Ray spent five years as an electrician and earned a Journeyman Industrial Electrician license while working at R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Gallatin, Tennessee. He entered Tennessee...
NSF virtual expo this week highlights 3 major projects led by VUSE faculty
Jul. 26, 2021—Three ambitious, multidisciplinary projects led by Vanderbilt School of Engineering faculty will be featured Wednesday and Thursday, July 28 and 29, during the NSF Convergence Accelerator Expo 2021. The two-day virtual event will present 15-minute demonstrations of novel solutions that address big-scale societal challenges. The NSF-funded projects integrate disciplines and include industry partners from their...
Grissom awarded inaugural Course Improvement Grant to support teaching excellence
Jul. 26, 2021—Biomedical engineering associate professor William Grissom is the recipient of a Course Improvement Grant. The Office of the Provost today announced the inaugural round of recipients for two new internal funding sources. Ten faculty members across three of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges will receive support for their teaching. The Educational Advancement Fund and the Course Improvement Grant are...
Team wins competitive DOE award to advance isotope production critical for U.S. science, medicine and industry
Jul. 22, 2021—A U.S. Department of Energy $4 million initiative to advance research in isotope production includes a Vanderbilt engineering professor’s work on separation technologies and to scale up processes. The funding is part of a key federal program that produces critical isotopes otherwise unavailable or in short supply for U.S. science, medicine and industry. Piran Kidambi,...
Hornberger retires; working group to plan future of climate, environment and energy education, research and advocacy at Vanderbilt
Jul. 21, 2021—By Jane Hirtle George Hornberger (Vanderbilt University) George Hornberger, Craig E. Philip Professor of Engineering and university distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth and environmental sciences, retired June 30 after decades of dedicated service and as director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment. Hornberger was already an established leader...
$1.5M DOE grant targets engineering of cyanobacteria as biofuel production platform
Jul. 20, 2021—A new, $1.5 million Department of Energy grant brings together experts from three institutions to parse the metabolism of a blue-green algae that holds great promise for biofuel production. The team, led by Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Jamey Young, will take a systems biology approach to identify how cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green...