Civil and Environmental Engineering Category
Large-scale engineering projects wow fourth graders studying renewable energy
Dec. 20, 2019— “This trip made me want to be an engineer.” Best feedback ever from a youngster on a fieldtrip, according to staff leaders at Vanderbilt Engineering’s Laboratory for Systems Integrity and Reliability. Eight fourth graders from Nashville’s Akiva School recently toured the engineering school’s super-sized, high-bay lab in Metro Center, located along the Cumberland River...
Popular class makes a difference-for a young boy, a local company and Cheekwood
Dec. 12, 2019—Making things is cool. Making things that solve a problem, improve a life and make a difference is even better. Students in “How to Make (Almost) Anything” recently presented their final projects for clients with wildly diverse needs. Among them: A young boy with one leg eight inches shorter than the other needed a way...
Structural monitoring pioneer Douglas Adams named AAAS Fellow
Nov. 26, 2019—Douglas Adams, Daniel F. Flowers Professor, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for extraordinary research contributions in experimental nonlinear dynamic systems with societal impacts in the energy, national security and manufacturing sectors. AAAS also cited Adams, Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, for influential academic leadership....
Revamped civil engineering curriculum ignites students’ passions
Nov. 3, 2019—Nathan Miller, an engineering senior from Indianapolis, arrived at Vanderbilt in August 2016 thinking he would major in chemical engineering. Like all first-year students, he selected three eight-week modules that introduce different disciplines within engineering. He took chemical, civil and mechanical engineering. The first day of the civil engineering module—students were to design and 3D-print...
Alert system for failing nuclear plant pipes uses thin films and sound vibrations
Oct. 24, 2019—A failing pipe can be tough to spot. It may cause a puddle, produce another sign of damage, or simply burst before detection. A flooded kitchen or laundry room is messy and inconvenient, but the stakes are much, much higher in nuclear power plants – which on average contain many miles of pipeline. As concern...
Smart City project gives Nashville data-based planning tools
Oct. 17, 2019—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a vortex—and this one has nothing to do with icy, polar weather. Working with the Nashville Fire Department and Davidson County Information Technology Services, a team of Vanderbilt computer scientists and engineers analyzed more than three years of NFD incident data. The team looked at location, time and type of incidents...
Soldiers partner with Vanderbilt engineers to create a new model for innovation
Oct. 12, 2019—GPS, duct tape, microwaves and computers—these everyday items have one thing in common: Each invented, in part or in whole, as the result of U.S. military research. The military’s rich history of innovation continues today at numerous labs and engineering centers. There is a gap, however. There are myriad problems at the warfighter level that...
Transportation engineers put sophisticated eyes on campus mobility and air quality
Oct. 9, 2019—Do riders of bicycles and scooters dismount before crossing the pedestrian bridge over Hillsboro Road, as they should? How does the air quality at 21st and Broadway compare to campus areas with more tree cover? What are the pedestrian, bicycle, scooter and automobile traffic patterns at 21st and West End Avenue? The data is coming....