Expertise

With Portland, Oregon, as his base, second-generation Vanderbilt alum Jacob Grier, BA'04, consults in the spirits industry and writes books on topics from tobacco policy to mixology. His latest book on cocktails is 'Raising the Bar: A Bottle-by-Bottle Guide to Mixing Up Masterful Cocktails at Home' (Chronicle Books, 2022) cowritten with Brett Adams, bartender and curator of the selection at the Multnomah Whiskey Library. Read More

To mark Vanderbilt's Sesquicentennial year, the 100th anniversary of the passing of E.E. Barnard (Vanderbilt Observatory's first director) and the 70th anniversary of Dyer Observatory, Billy Teets, current director of Dyer, offers his advice on how to become as passionate about the stars as Barnard was. Read More

University Archivist Kathleen Smith, University Librarian Jon Shaw and Vice Provost for Arts and Libraries Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting offer tips on how to design a time capsule of your own as they design one that will convey a message to the future university community. Read More

Melanie Hall Morris, BSN’83, MSN’86, found her calling in providing care for others. Obstetrics and women’s health have been her passion ever since she was an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Now, as an assistant professor at the school, she researches innovative ways of facilitating the health… Read More

With the holidays quickly approaching, there’s one item that nearly every kid wants: a mobile phone or tablet equipped with the latest games and social apps. Pamela Wisniewski, who leads the Socio-Technical Interaction Research lab at Vanderbilt, shares tips for navigating the tricky terrain of making household rules for devices. Read More

As steward of Vanderbilt's arboretum, University Landscape Architect James Moore works not only to beautify campus and preserve its botanical diversity, but also to study the resilience of campus trees to disease and better understand how they absorb heat and stormwater for midtown Nashville. Read More

Photos by Richard CartwrightIllustrations by Michelle Pereira Cinematographer Alicia Robbins, BS’01, never planned on working behind the scenes. At Vanderbilt, she aspired to a career in broadcast journalism, appearing in spots for Vanderbilt Television and taking every class related to television and film she could find. Everything changed when her… Read More

Zoe Antell and Jessica Kaplan, who launched the clothing company ready dress go as students, offer several tips for dressing for business success. Read More

Sharaff is the owner of HydroHouse Farms, a commercial hydroponics business in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, that supplies leafy greens to many restaurants and businesses in Nashville—including Vanderbilt Campus Dining. Read More

in 2016, Ticknor founded Big Skills Tiny Homes, a nonprofit that teaches high school graduates the building trades by building a tiny home. Read More

Lisa Fazio, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Peabody College, shares a few tips on how to avoid knowledge neglect and spreading misinformation. Read More

The term “vinyl enthusiast” doesn’t do justice to Alapatt’s work. He has released dozens of new and almost-lost-to-history singles and albums through Now Again Records, launched in 2002 while he was general manager for the influential independent hip-hop label Stones Throw Records. Read More

Chip Brantley, BA’95, explains the steps that went into producing White Lies, a podcast about the 1965 unsolved murder of a white Unitarian minister and civil rights activist named James Reeb. Read More

Vice Provost Douglas L. Christiansen, who oversees undergraduate admissions and enrollment management, offers a few tips here for helping your child execute a successful college search process. Read More

Chef Jon Bonnell, BS’94, shares his tips for success as both “grill master” and host. Read More

Just in time for the debut of a new television series this year on NBC exploring the Gilded Age, Cecelia Tichi, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English, has published her latest book, What Would Mrs. Astor Do? (2018, NYU Press). Read More

Josie Earnest Barnes, BS’10, associate head coach of Vanderbilt's bowling team, offers tips to novice bowlers, rented shoes and all, on how to improve their scores. Read More

Murray Hudson, PhD’69, offers tips on collecting, caring for and donating historical printed material. Read More

Cicely Woodard, MEd’03, the 2018 Tennessee Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year, offers several tips for helping kids get back into the school routine. Read More

A registered dietitian, Jamie Pope says nutritional guidelines should reflect current science, but be livable and practical. “We need to be honest with ourselves about which healthy lifestyles are possible and sustainable for us,” she says. Read More