Thomas Withrow

Students work on a prototype of a robotic elephant calf for the Nashville Zoo. Senior Design Day 2021 will highlight dozens of problem-solving projects developed over the 2020-21 academic year by teams of students, though the format is a bit different this year. The annual celebration and showcase of ingenuity… Read More

Vanderbilt one of 5 U.S. universities to initiate program; 4 state high schools to join next year Engineering for US All, a national initiative to bring engineering courses to high school students, is expanding its reach for the 2020-2021 academic year. E4USA, supported by a National Science Foundation grant,… Read More

Design Day 2019 took students and visitors to Mars, a diving depth of 300 feet and a potential green oasis above a stretch of Interstate 65. Dean Phillipe Fauchet (left) and Assistant Dean of Design Tom Withrow commend students, advisers, faculty and sponsors for two semesters of hard work. Other… Read More

Design Day 2019 is Monday, April 22. The 2018 event (above) drew a packed crowd to the Student Life Center. (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) One team of senior engineering students designed a headband that detects oncoming tremors and signals a bracelet that vibrates, discreetly alerting the young girl wearing the accessories. Read More

Mark Larson of Nissan North America inspects an over-under parts handler powered by gravity and designed by graduating senior mechanical engineering students in 2017. (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) For more than five years, Nissan North America has sponsored engineering senior design projects share the goal of improving safety, workflow and efficiency… Read More

Knowing only the project title, they wanted in. “Mid-flight Drone Refueling” hooked them. Hundreds of hours later, the team of three electrical engineering seniors and four mechanical engineering seniors had a suggestion or two for future capstone design teams. Be ambitious – but expect to underestimate the project’s complexity and… Read More

A parts handling project designed for Nissan anchors one corner of the Student Life Center ballroom during Design Day 2017. Design Day this year is April 23. Vanderbilt Photo/John Russell With the start of each new academic year, engineering seniors don’t get the luxury of easing in to their capstone… Read More

Vanderbilt University is one of 40 academic partners in a new robotics manufacturing institute in Pittsburgh that will be funded with $80 million from the Department of Defense and $173 million in matching funds from more than 200 participating partners, including companies, local governments, academic and nonprofit organizations. The Defense… Read More