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VUToday: Senate lawmakers in decline in weekly roundup of VU news stories

University News and Communications publishes VUToday, a compilation of Vanderbilt mentions in the media, each weekday. Read a selection of Vanderbilt news stories for the week of June 26.

The Washington Post: Opinion: Senators used to excel at lawmaking. Now, not so much. Here’s what needs to change

Our new data analysis suggests that senators’ success in moving bills through the legislative process has declined markedly over the past several decades. Encouraging more women to run for office is one of a number of factors that could bolster the ranks of effective lawmakers, write Alan Wiseman, professor of political science, and Craig Volden of the University of Virginia.

Nashville Business Journal: The boss: Nicholas Zeppos, Vanderbilt University

In the school’s anthem, Vanderbilt University is described as sitting “on the city’s Western border.” As Nashville booms with increasing quickness, that descriptor is not exactly accurate anymore. Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos, who has led the university since 2008, is acutely aware of the ways Nashville’s growth both benefits the school and poses challenges. A photo of Zeppos is featured.

Associated Press: Vanderbilt anti-fake news project claims $50K award

A Vanderbilt University project to combat fake news has clinched an award worth $50,000 in funding. The university says the project was one of 20 selected from more than 800 submissions, and is a partnership with CrossCheck, a collaborative journalism project that was devised and developed by First Draft and Google News Lab to combat misinformation during the most recent French election. The work will draw on the research of Lisa Fazio, assistant professor of psychology. The article was picked up by U.S. News & World Report and numerous other media outlets.

NBC News: GOP health bill breaks Trump’s promise to lower deductibles

President Donald Trump has promised to reduce the high deductibles of Obamacare, but the Senate bill released last week and the House bill passed last month take the opposite approach. John Graves, assistant professor of health policy and medicine, is quoted.

Phys.org: Cotton candy capillaries lead to circuit boards that dissolve when cooled

Building transient electronics is usually about doing something to make them stop working: blast them with light, soak them with acid, dunk them in water. Professor Leon Bellan’s idea is to dissolve them with neglect: Stop applying heat, and they come apart. Bellan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, is quoted. His coauthor, mechanical engineering graduate student Xin Zhang, is also mentioned. Their paper is available online and soon to be published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Resources. The story also ran in Electronics 360, which included video produced by Vanderbilt Video.

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