Research
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TIPSHEET: The future of Pluto and Ceres
Three years ago, when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status, the unpopular decision was based on personal opinions and professional politics, not on rigorous scientific criteria that can clearly differentiate planets from lesser bodies, points out Vanderbilt astronomer David Weintraub. In the next decade, however, the amount of knowledge that we have about Pluto and another dwarf planet, Ceres, will change dramatically and this new information may affect our views of these objects and their status in the solar system as asteroids, dwarf planets or planets. Read MoreDec 21, 2009
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Nuclear energy powered by uranium from the sea could promote peace in coming century
One of the best things the world can do to promote peace and stability in the coming century is to expand commercial nuclear power based on the extraction of uranium from the ocean. That is the proposition which Frank Parker, an internationally recognized expert in remediation of radioactively contaminated soil and water and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, advanced at an exclusive meeting held at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican last month. Read MoreDec 18, 2009
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Hughes to lead pilot program for high school students with autism
Professor of Special Education Carolyn Hughes has won a $30,000 grant from the Organization for Autism Research to fund a pilot project that will help high school students with autism become more included and involved in their schools and with their peers. Read MoreDec 18, 2009
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Astronomer receives NSF award to study black holes’ evolution and to support Fisk-Vanderbilt minority Ph.D. program
Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kelly Holley-Bockelmann has been awarded the National Science Foundation's largest ever Faculty Early Career Development grant in the field of astronomy. She will use the prestigious award to continue her studies of black holes while supporting the university's innovative program designed to make the university the top producer of underrepresented minorities with Ph.D.s in physics and astronomy. Read MoreDec 17, 2009
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Study finds Tennessee service industry workers and the young get less health care coverage at work
They’re on the frontline of the workday world – filling our coffee cups, trimming our hair, holding Sunday open houses – but workers in some service jobs in Tennessee are at a higher risk of not having access to health care coverage through their employers, according to a study conducted… Read MoreDec 16, 2009
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Beginning of a Decade TIPSHEET – Politics and Government
As you consider year-in-review stories and look ahead to the trends of 2010, Vanderbilt University faculty are available to offer perspective on these and other topics. mailto:bruce.barry@vanderbilt.edu Read MoreDec 14, 2009
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Benbow wins national award for work with gifted children
Camilla Benbow, dean of Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, received the National Association for Gifted Children's 2009 Presidential Award at the group's annual convention in St. Louis, which was held Nov. 5-8. Read MoreNov 18, 2009
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Clashing worldviews a key to understanding voter polarization, VU professor says
The recent vote in Congress on health care reform – with only one Republican lawmaker voting yes – provides more evidence of the growing polarization between the parties and the fundamentally different understandings of right and wrong that continue to pull the two major political parties further apart, according to Vanderbilt University political scientist Marc Hetherington. Read MoreNov 18, 2009
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New study confirms exotic electric properties of graphene
First, it was the soccer-ball-shaped molecules dubbed buckyballs. Then it was the cylindrically shaped nanotubes. Now, the hottest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: a remarkably flat molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal rings much like molecular chicken wire. Read MoreNov 17, 2009
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Surveillance doesn’t necessarily make schools safer; can negatively impact students
Surveillance doesn't necessarily make schools safer;can negatively impact students. But are students any safer as a result? What is the cost of these measures in terms of student well-being? Read MoreNov 16, 2009
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Vanderbilt professor takes on media bias
A little respect could go a long way to preserving democracy in America, says Vanderbilt professor Bob Talisse in his new book. Read MoreNov 13, 2009
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Dickinson guest speaker at international child development conference
Peabody faculty member David Dickinson will be a featured guest speaker at an international conference on child development in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Nov. 24-25. Read MoreNov 13, 2009
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Interdisciplinary research team to develop novel drug detection technology using software that acts like a robotic scientist
With the support of a $2.7 million Recovery Act grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), an interdisciplinary team headed by Vanderbilt chemist John McLean and physicist John Wikswo will attempt to determine whether an individual's white blood cells retain chemical memories of exposure to drugs like cocaine and alcohol that can be read reliably and unambiguously. Read MoreNov 9, 2009
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Inconspicuous leaf beetles reveal environment’s role in formation of new species
Unnoticed by the nearby residents of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, tiny leaf beetles that flit among the maple and willow trees in the area have just provided some of the clearest evidence yet that environmental factors play a major role in the formation of new species. Read MoreOct 30, 2009
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New Vanderbilt research finds more intervention is a bad idea for Commodity Index Funds and Futures Markets
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, long known for its "hands-off" regulatory policy, appears to be changing course toward greater intervention in markets. New research by professors at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management finds that when it comes to index investors, more intervention is a mistake. Read MoreOct 20, 2009
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New book offers latest research on performance pay for teachers
Performance pay for teachers continues to gain momentum nationally despite the absence of a clear understanding of its impact on students, teachers and schools. A new book from the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University brings together the latest research on the topic to offer guidance for researchers, policymakers and practitioners seeking deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding this issue. Read MoreOct 13, 2009
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Vanderbilt biologist receives early career development award to study tree of life
Antonis Rokas is a member of a small cadre of scientists who are applying the growing power of genomics to untangle and correctly arrange the branches of the tree of life. Read MoreOct 8, 2009
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Bad movie physics subject of free public lecture
"Bad movie physics from the perspective of art and science" is the subject of a free public lecture that is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, in Stevenson Center Room 4327 on the Vanderbilt campus. Read MoreOct 8, 2009
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First direct information about the prion’s molecular structure reported
A collaboration between scientists at Vanderbilt University and the University of California, San Francisco has led to the first direct information about the molecular structure of prions. In addition, the study has revealed surprisingly large structural differences between natural prions and the closest synthetic analogs that scientists have created in the lab. Read MoreOct 5, 2009
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Vanderbilt astronomers participate in new search for dark energy
The most ambitious attempt yet to trace the history of the universe has seen "first light." The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III), took its first astronomical data on the night of Sept. 14-15 at the Sloan Foundation telescope in New Mexico. Read MoreOct 1, 2009