2010

John Leith Potter, internationally known as a pioneer in the aerodynamics of jet fighters, rockets and spacecraft, died July 20 in Homewood, Ala. He was 87. The chief designer of a unique, highly successful wind tunnel for studies of rarefied hypersonic flow, Potter was invited to give the review lecture… Read More

Professor G. Kane Jennings, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, with doctoral student Juan Tuberquia and undergraduate student Nabijan Nizamidin, was awarded the 2010 Arthur K. Doolittle Award from the American Chemical Society. L-R, Nabijan Nizamidin, Professor G. Kane Jennings, Juan Tuberquia. The award is given to… Read More

The Division of Sponsored Research received notification in June that the following grants in excess of $25,000 had been awarded to engineering faculty members: Theodore A. Bapty, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has received an award in the amount of $77,000 by the Department of Energy for “Lattice QCD SCIDAC: … Read More

Peter Pintauro, H. Eugene McBrayer Professor of Chemical Engineering and chair of the chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been named a fellow of the Electrochemical Society (ECS). A mark of high distinction, the fellowship was established in 1989 and recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to electrochemistry and solid-state sciences… Read More

Vanderbilt mechanical engineering students have designed a thermoelectric generator for aerospace applications that elicited strong accolades at the spring 2010 NASA-sponsored University Launch Initiative and won the Payload Design prize. It has no moving parts and can convert some of the waste exhaust heat into usable electrical power. Read More

Cynthia Warner As the former head of global refining for BP, alumnus Cynthia Warner was one of Big Oil’s highest-ranking woman executives until she abandoned petroleum to become president of a small San Diego-based alternative-energy firm, Sapphire Energy in 2009. Warner has more than 27 years of experience in the… Read More

Peter T. Cummings, the John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering, will receive the 2010 Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in a ceremony Nov. 7 at the organization’s annual meeting in Salt Lake City. Cummings was… Read More

  Sharon Weiss, assistant professor of electrical engineering, is one of 86 young American engineers selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 16th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. Engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of… Read More

Vanderbilt University has been awarded $1 million by NASA for a pair of proposals designed to aid the space agency. Both of the Vanderbilt proposals were submitted by Alvin Strauss, professor of mechanical engineering. NASA has awarded $16.8 million to 19 colleges and universities nationwide to conduct research and technology… Read More

Janos Sztipanovits Janos Sztipanovits, E. Bronson Ingram Distinguished Professor of Engineering, professor of electrical engineering and computer engineering, has been elected an External Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Engineering Sciences Section. He will deliver an inaugural lecture Sept. 9, 2010. Eminent Hungarian scholars with outstanding achievements in… Read More