Engineering and Technology
Impact of Recovery Act funds profound for VU
Jan. 6, 2011—During the past 18 months, scientists at Vanderbilt University have received $148 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to buy major equipment, hire additional staff and accelerate their research. University officials predicted the impact of the 246 two-year “stimulus” grants awarded to more than 200 researchers across campus could be long-lasting and huge....
Developing robots for the hospital emergency room
Dec. 6, 2010—Are you ready for robots in the ER? A group of computer engineers at Vanderbilt University is convinced that the basic technology is now available to create robot assistants that can perform effectively in the often-chaotic environment of the emergency room. The specialists in emergency medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are enthusiastic about the...
New initiative to develop a system that controls prosthetic limbs naturally
Nov. 17, 2010—Using beams of light to allow amputees not only to control but also to feel the movement of prosthetic limbs is the ambitious goal of a new $5.6 million Department of Defense initiative. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is tapping the new and rapidly growing field of “neurophotonics” to overcome one the biggest technical...
ARRA grant allows update of nanoscience institute’s air-handling equipment
Oct. 13, 2010—If there is one thing that nanoscientists need above all else to study the behavior of materials and create devices at the scale of individual atoms, it is an ultra-clean environment. The fresh air that we breathe contains something like one million microscopic particles in a cubic foot, more than enough to wreak havoc with...
New NRC report provides data on 31 Vanderbilt doctoral programs
Sep. 28, 2010—A new report from the National Research Council offers insights into 31 doctoral programs at Vanderbilt University, and finds the programs to be competitive with those at other top research institutions in the United States. The report is based on data collected for the 2005-2006 academic year on 20 key variables identified by the NRC...
Vanderbilt plays key role in $20 million federal grant designed to strengthen Tennessee’s R&D infrastructure
Sep. 9, 2010—Five years from now, high school and college students throughout Tennessee should have more and better opportunities to learn about and pursue careers in alternative energy science and technology.
New graphics processor cluster gives Vanderbilt supercomputer a major boost
Jul. 29, 2010—What do an astrophysicist studying how black holes merge, a chemist predicting the biological characteristics of novel proteins, a psychologist investigating decision-making and a mechanical engineer studying how nanotubes transport heat have in common? They all need tremendous amounts of computer power to conduct their research and they all will benefit directly from a huge...
BP disaster predictable, says Vanderbilt civil and environmental engineer
Jun. 11, 2010—The worst environmental disaster to hit the U.S. occurred in part because of BP’s institutional arrogance, pushing a technology beyond its limits, and basic communication failures, according to Vanderbilt University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mark Abkowitz, an emergency preparedness and response expert.
Vanderbilt medical researchers, engineers play major role in new national center established to secure the privacy of electronic health information
May. 28, 2010—Slowly but steadily the U.S. health care community is moving into the digital age: shifting their medical records from paper to electronic information systems. This movement raises serious concerns about security and privacy of patients’ medical information.
Watch: Engineering, Innovation, and the Challenges of the 21st Century
Feb. 24, 2010—Watch video beginning of a talk by Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and President Emeritus, MIT.
Watch: Vanderbilt students launch new apps for iPhone, Android
Feb. 17, 2010—Watch video about new applications developed by Vanderbilt engineering students for iPhone and Android mobile devices.
Vanderbilt students launch new apps for iPhone, Android
Feb. 17, 2010—Finding out where to eat, what's happening and how to get around are common questions on every college campus. Now at Vanderbilt University, the answers to these questions can be quickly and easily found using new applications developed by Vanderbilt engineering students for iPhone and Android mobile devices.