Liz Entman

Innovation Deficit: The widening gap between the actual level of government funding for research and higher education and what the investment needs to be if the United States is to remain the world's innovation leader. Read More

Soldiers in Afghanistan are experimenting with smartphones engineered to better protect operational data designed by scientists at Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems. Douglas Schmidt, professor of computer science, is quoted. Read More

Some scholars still believe that romantic love was invented by European troubadours in the Middle Ages, and that people outside of the western tradition don’t really experience it. Ted Fischer, professor of anthropology, decided to test that theory. The verdict? Everybody loves. Read More

When an Aztec child was born, soothsayers would consult the birth almanacs contained in codices to determine the most auspicious date to initiate the child into the Aztec community. Read More

A Vanderbilt economist turned his expertise back onto his own discipline and has published a 15-year analysis of graduate economics education in the United States. Read More

An iPhone app designed by three members of the VandyMobile club to improve the Vandy Vans experience is now available for free at the iTunes store. Read More

High-quality preschool is an effective way to reduce social problems associated with poverty because it teaches children the psychological skills they need to succeed as adults, according to a Vanderbilt professor who studies the economics of human development. Read More

The Golden Goose Award recognizes significant contributions to scientific understanding through federally funded basic research—research conducted with the goal of increasing scientific understanding rather than providing a solution to a specific problem. Read More

Mixed-income neighborhoods help improve the safety and wellbeing of low-income residents, but cannot relieve deeply entrenched poverty or provide upward mobility without additional social services and supports, say Peabody and University of Chicago researchers in a new report. Read More

Watch James Hudnut-Beumler, who will step down this summer as dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, give a talk on the evolution of American religious trends during his school leadership. Read More

Watch leading theologian James Cone give a talk called "The Cross and the Lynching Tree" at Vanderbilt Divinity School April 3, 2013. Read More

Watch David Williams II give a talk titled, "A Look into the Role Intercollegiate Athletics Plays into the Mission of Higher Education" at a Lunch and Learn event April 3. Read More

Watch Leymah Gbowee, a 2011 Nobel laureate, speak at Vanderbilt's Impact Symposium March 19, 2013. Read More

Watch a conversation with former Sen. George Mitchell, who served as U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2011 and as independent chairman of the Northern Ireland Peace Talks, facilitated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss at Vanderbilt University March 18, 2013. Read More

Addressing demographic shifts, revamping school governance and improving public communication are among the recommendations made for Metro Nashville Public Schools by Claire Smrekar, associate professor of leadership, policy and organization, Vanderbilt senior Hilary Knudson and Candice McQueen, dean of education at David Lipscomb University, in a new report. Read More

Young children—even toddlers—are spending more and more time with digital technology. What will it mean for their development? Georgene Troseth, associate professor of psychology, has studied how toddlers interact with screens and is quoted. Read More

Twenty-five years ago this March, Iraqi forces coordinated a calculated campaign of genocide against the Kurds, an atrocity that should remind the world that it must rally to the aid of those who suffer from brutal regimes, writes Michael Newton, professor of the practice of law. Read More

While critics of expanded preschool argue that their cognitive effects fade out after the first few years of schooling, they ignore a body of longer-term evidence that indicates impoverished students who experience a high-quality preschool program are less likely to repeat grades, to spend time in special education, to become teen parents or to get arrested, writes Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development. Read More

According to Seth Bordenstein, assistant professor of biological sciences, studying Wolbachia has yielded some surprising new insights on microbial evolution that could help us understand, treat and prevent certain infectious diseases. "It's what gets me up every day and keeps me excited about doing this work." Read More

In today’s Academic Minute, Dr. Larisa DeSantis of Vanderbilt University reveals what North America’s largest predators were eating just before they died out. Read More