NSF

Close-up of structural supercapacitor. (Joe Howell / Vanderbilt) Imagine a future in which our electrical gadgets are no longer limited by plugs and external power sources. This intriguing prospect is one of the reasons for the current interest in building the capacity to store electrical energy directly into… Read More

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) interacts with Russell while Profs. Sarkar and Warren, look on. Fattah is the ranking Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee that funds the National Science Foundation. (Charles Votaw/APA) On May 7, Russell the Robot was engaging the movers and shakers on Capitol Hill. Normally, the… Read More

Ph.D. biomedical engineering candidate Alex Walsh and colleagues are studying new imaging techniques to distinguish breast cancer subtypes and determine if specific therapies are working against cancer cells. (photo by John Russell) A group of Vanderbilt researchers has used laser technology and a custom-built multiphoton… Read More

A small, wireless capsule has been developed that can restore the sense of touch that surgeons are losing as they shift increasingly from open to minimally invasive surgery. During open surgery, doctors rely on their sense of touch to identify the edges of hidden tumors and to locate hidden blood… Read More

Vanderbilt University engineers are part of a multi-university project funded by a five-year $9 million National Science Foundation grant to help determine the most efficient approach to designing and operating cyber-physical systems that support national health, energy and transportation priorities. FORCES is a key component of the NSF’s CPS technologies… Read More

Following an early morning flight to Washington, D.C., on May 7, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics Sharon Weiss braved the rainy weather to head to Capitol Hill and meet with staff members in the offices of Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Bob Corker, Rep. Jim… Read More

Merryman Heart valve disease has few non-surgical therapeutic options. To develop strategies for treating and preventing heart valve disease, W. David Merryman, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering, and colleagues are studying the cellular signaling that leads to calcification (hardening) of the aortic valve. Previous studies have shown that… Read More

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Nabil Simaan was invited to participate in the second annual Road-mapping Workshop on U.S.  Medical and Healthcare Systems sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. The highly interactive workshop held in July 2012 produced the U.S. Read More

An electrical engineer who is attempting to make wireless communications more reliable has received the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development award. According to the National Science Foundation, these prestigious, five-year awards are given to exceptionally promising college and university junior faculty who are committed to the integration of… Read More

  Peter T. Cummings, John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering, and the Principal Scientist of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been appointed to the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for the Engineering Directorate and to the Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. The… Read More