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‘Wond’ry’

Soldiers, students meet up in the Wond’ry to revolutionize prototyping, production

Aug. 10, 2018—Soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, are known for their bravery, ingenuity and adaptability, but all those qualities take them only so far if they don’t have the equipment they need, fast. In the Army, it can take years to design, prototype and produce a device for a specific task. That length of time is cut...

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Engineering students, organizations, labs contribute to Maker Faire’s success

Oct. 5, 2017—The Nashville Mini Maker Faire, held for the first time at The Wond’ry, attracted more than 4,000 visitors and 93 exhibitors – a jump in attendance of more than 50 percent and double the maker participation over 2016. At least 25 percent of the exhibits had Vanderbilt ties and many of them involved students, organizations...

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The Wond’ry with VISE lands $500K I-Corps site grant to boost startups

Sep. 5, 2017—In collaboration with the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering, The Wond’ry recently won a five-year, $500,000 National Science Foundation grant to become an Innovation Corps site. The designation marks Vanderbilt as one of the premier academic institutions nationwide that nurture entrepreneurship. The I-Corps site grant will support programs to match students and faculty with teams of...

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Novel nanotube approach earns grad student coveted spot in ORNL innovation program

May. 18, 2017—An interdisciplinary materials science graduate student has been selected for a prestigious entrepreneurship program to scale and commercialize a revolutionary method of carbon nanotube production. Anna Douglas is one of five entrepreneurs selected for the inaugural cohort of the Department of Energy Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The accelerator program includes...

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CS senior lauds entrepreneurship training at The Wond’ry

Mar. 17, 2017—Michael Umenta, a CS senior, believes networking events can be more meaningful. He developed an app, called CNCT (for Connect), that allows those attending conferences and other professional events to connect before they arrive and begin to build relationships. As he prepares for his post-Vanderbilt life, Umenta is weighing a software engineer job offer at...

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‘Pre-Flight’ course for startups offered to Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff

Sep. 28, 2016—Think you’ve got an idea that could become the next Facebook or Google, but you’re not sure how to get it off the ground? Turning ideas into action is the aim of a new, seven-week Pre-Flight course, developed by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, and offered in partnership with Vanderbilt’s Center for Technology Transfer & Commercialization...

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Vanderbilt launches the Wond’ry at its new Innovation Pavilion

Sep. 22, 2016—Vanderbilt University has opened a new cross-disciplinary creative space called the Wond’ry that is the centerpiece of the Innovation Pavilion announced last year as part of the continued implementation of the university’s Academic Strategic Plan. “Universities, at their very heart, have always served as catalysts of discovery — places where experts from many disciplines converge...

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