Reagan Villet

The United States’ global leadership in science and technology depends on sustained federal investment in engineering research and education. With that message, Krish Roy, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering at Vanderbilt University, joined fellow Tennessee engineering leaders on Capitol Hill to underscore the importance of funding for agencies that power innovation and workforce development. Read More

The Vanderbilt Writing Studio marked its 20th anniversary Feb. 13 with a reception in the Alumni Hall Reading Room, bringing together students, alumni, faculty and staff to celebrate two decades of mentorship, collaboration and academic support. The location held special significance: Alumni Hall served as the Writing Studio’s original home from 2005 to 2015.  Read More

Vanderbilt University invites faculty, students, staff and community collaborators to submit proposals for the inaugural Bridging Campus and Community: Community Engagement Symposium, taking place Thursday, April 23, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon on Vanderbilt’s campus. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s nurse anesthesia program has received accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. The three-year program of study will be part of the school’s doctor of nursing practice degree program. Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy, and Climate (VSEC) is seeking research proposals that could be awarded up to $200,000 through its Seed Project Fund. The SPF is designed to support early-stage, exploratory research on transformative ideas that foster interdisciplinary collaborations on topics relevant to the VSEC mission. The goal is to generate preliminary results that enhance Vanderbilt’s research reputation and position projects for securing external funding from federal agencies or philanthropic organizations. Read More

Vanderbilt University co-hosted the inaugural Defense Tech Leadership Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, convening leaders from business, government, defense and academia in a city emerging as a hub for defense and high-technology innovation. Read More

Among the artifacts librarian Mary McSparran selected from Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives for a pop-up exhibit last fall were a NASA space suit and a journal listing books about UFOs. Neither would seem a likely choice for a literary salon, where the exhibit was on display, but this was no ordinary discussion of writers and their works. The gathering was part of a growing collaboration between Special Collections staff and Vanderbilt faculty, in which the curators and archivists play an active role in teaching by offering students access to unique materials that bring their coursework to life. Read More

Two staffers at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation have received Live Long and Prosper Tribute Awards from the Nimoy-Knight Foundation. Director of Communications Jessica Schonhut-Stasik, founder of The Neuroverse Initiative, works to create pathways for neurodivergent people in the space sciences. Project manager and author Dave Thompson champions the unique perspectives and talents of the neurodivergent community. The LLAP award recognizes people who embody the values of Star Trek: exploration, diversity and the pursuit of a better future for all. Read More

Being able to tell whether an image is real or generated by AI may be something you’re born with: object recognition. “It’s a stable trait that helps people meet new perceptual challenges,” study author Professor Isabel Gauthier said. “We were shocked to see how intelligence or even technology training did not help accurately judge if a face is AI.” Object recognition has been linked to success in a wide range of tasks, such as X-ray analysis and cancer cell categorization. Read More

Vanderbilt is viewed as a launching point in many ways; it’s a place where careers take off, friendships flourish, talents and passions are discovered, new experiences are welcomed, and campus traditions create lasting memories. For Dani Klafter and Sam Blum, Vanderbilt is all of that and more: It’s where their paths crossed, setting the stage for happily ever after and an unintentionally historic proposal. Read More

Svalbard, Norway, a cluster of islands north of the Arctic Circle, is rich with paradox. A former international whaling base and subsequent site of extractive coal mining, Svalbard is now home to the Global Seed Vault, which stores more than one million seed duplicates to safeguard the world’s food supply. Described as a “geopolitical unicorn,” Svalbard is, at once, an open haven for artists and researchers seeking to generate new knowledge and climate interventions by learning from its landscapes, as well as a target for international meddling because of its prime access to satellite data from above and rare earth minerals below. Site of both extraction and regeneration, attracting both a spirit of collaborative inquiry and pursuits of global dominance, Svalbard’s paradoxical singularity inspired Vanderbilt faculty Jana Harper, Lutz Koepnick and Jonathan Rattner to embark on a three-week research trip in summer 2025 to witness its rapidly changing landscapes and experiment with artistic methods to address the effects of planetary overheating.   Read More

The Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University has launched a new dual-degree opportunity in collaboration with the Real Madrid Graduate School of Universidad Europea. This new partnership provides Master of Marketing students with the chance to earn a second master’s degree in Sports Management Strategy while gaining hands-on experience with one of the world’s most recognized sports organizations. Read More

Through immersive programming and strategic partnerships, the Vanderbilt Career Center continues to create opportunities that help students translate academic learning into real-world success, including the Vandy 2 Wall Street program, a comprehensive pathway designed to prepare undergraduates for competitive careers in finance. The Vanderbilt Career Center, in collaboration with the Owen Graduate School of Management and the Hoogland Undergraduate Business Program, partnered with Wall Street Prep, a leading financial training firm, to launch the second year of the V2WS program, offering students a structured, multiphase learning experience that bridges the gap between classroom knowledge and industry expectations. Read More

Infinite Worlds: Science Fiction and the Future of Humanity is now on view in the fourth-floor lobby of Central Library. The exhibit, which features rare publications from Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives and Central Library collections, explores speculative fiction through themes such as advances in science and technology and their effect on the future of human society. Read More

Navigating legal matters can be stressful and costly. As a Vanderbilt employee, you have access to a Legal Services plan through our new discount program, Commodore Employee Perks, designed to give you affordable, reliable legal support when you need it most. Enrollment opens Feb. 9 and closes Feb. 20, with coverage beginning March 1, 2026. Read More

As the nation’s highest-ranking military officer and principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of War, and National Security Council, General Caine brings unmatched perspective to this year’s Summit theme: The Shadow of War, The Illusion of Peace: National Security in the Age of Asymmetry. Read More

Two seniors in the College of Arts and Science and one Peabody College senior have been named 2026-2027 recipients of the Wattles Fellowship. The fellowship offers three women graduates from Vanderbilt University a one-year, fully integrated position in the London corporate risk management and insurance market. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s College of Connected Computing has launched the Amplify Generative AI Innovation Center, a “living laboratory” that will catalyze ethical, human-centered use of generative and agentic AI in research, teaching and learning, student success, administrative operations, and external partnerships. The center is co-led by Center Director and Professor of Computer Science Jules White and Chief AI and Technology Officer Allen Karns. Read More

The VCL Scholars serve as an integral part of the Vanderbilt Center for Languages' mission of fostering interdisciplinary work. Applicants may propose a program of research for publication, conference presentation, or the creation of a new academic initiative. The Vanderbilt Center for Languages (VCL) is particularly interested in funding proposals that generate knowledge that benefits a broad constituency. A $3500 salary supplement is provided to all Scholars.  Read More

Research into combating cocaine addiction has been limited by the difficulty in structuring accurate animal models; standard practice relies on implanting IV catheters that the animals can use to self-dose. Now Assistant Professor Cody Siciliano's lab has devised a method that more closely mimics cocaine use in humans—effectively, a way for the animals to snort cocaine. This makes the animal model more analogous to human experience, and it reduces surgical and intravenous procedures for the animals. "This model provides a powerful framework for linking motivated drug use with real-time neural activity, offering new opportunities to study the circuitry underlying reinforcement and decision-making," Siciliano said. Read More