Vanderbilt Magazine
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Open Space: Vanderbilt Alumni Propel a Vision for Space Travel That’s Accessible and Sustainable
Blue Origin and a handful of other private companies, like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, are racing to develop low-cost, reusable rockets that are safe enough to regularly ferry humans—and other materials—to space and back again. At least a dozen Vanderbilt alumni are working in some capacity with David Limp, BS'88, and CEO of Blue Origin, to achieve the company’s sweeping vision. Read MoreMay 5, 2025
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A Collecting Partnership
With the impressive jazz collections at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, Vanderbilt students and faculty can delve deep into the history of jazz and the lives, music and impact of its pioneering musicians. Read MoreApr 21, 2025
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A New Jazz Age
Vanderbilt University is becoming known as a place to study jazz performance and delve into jazz history through the acquisition of the extensive collections of Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef and Phil Schaap. Read MoreApr 21, 2025
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H. Rodes Hart, longtime Vanderbilt benefactor and trustee emeritus, 1932-2025
H. Rodes Hart, BA’54, who had an insatiable appetite for learning and education and contributed to Vanderbilt’s growth through his philanthropy and more than 30 years of leadership on the university’s Board of Trust, died March 30. He was 93. Read MoreApr 2, 2025
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Blending passions: how Vanderbilt alumnus Alex Astrella merges film and therapy to advocate for the neurodiverse community
By Jenna Somers Alex Astrella At age two Alex Astrella, MEd’23, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. His parents were told that he had little chance of graduating high school or becoming financially independent. Today, Astrella is the founder and CEO of Blu Star Productions, an award-winning film studio… Read MoreApr 1, 2025
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Lauren Egan, BA’17: On the Spot News
Journalist Lauren Egan, BA'17, reports on politics in D.C. for The Bulwark and formerly for Politico. She got her start on-air from war-torn Ukraine for NBC News. Read MoreMar 17, 2025
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Jen Bailey, MDiv’14: Keep the Faith
Jen Bailey, MDiv'14, founded Faith Matters Network, perhaps best known as one of the co-founding organizations of The People’s Supper, gatherings where people “build trust across lines of difference”—political, ideological, social, racial, generational, socioeconomic and religious—by sharing a meal, discovering commonalities and working through differences. Read MoreMar 17, 2025
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Vanderbilt alumnus Aneesh Sohoni named CEO of Teach for America
Aneesh Sohoni Aneesh Sohoni, MPP’13, will become chief executive officer of Teach for America beginning April 15. Sohoni has held several education leadership positions of increasing responsibility since earning his master of public policy in education policy at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. Read MoreFeb 14, 2025
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Alumnus Steve Turner, trustee emeritus and Nashville philanthropist, has died
Alumnus, trustee emeritus and Nashville real estate visionary James Stephen “Steve” Turner, a prominent university benefactor whose gifts included funding for commissioned works for Blair School of Music signature ensembles, died Feb. 11. He was 77. Read MoreFeb 13, 2025
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Vanderbilt alumni named to Forbes 30 Under 30
Vanderbilt alumni Jake Aronskind, BA’19, and Andrew Roth, BS’21, were named to the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 for creating and scaling successful businesses. Aronskind is CEO and co-founder of Pepper, a recipe sharing app. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the College of Arts and Science. Roth is the CEO and founder of dcdx, a global marketing research and strategy firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development from Peabody College of education and human development. Read MoreJan 23, 2025
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Craig Smith, teacher, researcher, leader and mentor in psychology and human development at Peabody College, 1958-2024
Craig A. Smith, associate professor of psychology and human development at Peabody College, died on Dec. 25, 2024, in Maine. He was 66. Read MoreJan 9, 2025
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Tony Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities, emeritus, has died
Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities and professor of religious studies, emeritus, died on Oct. 6, 2024, in Nashville. He was 70. Read MoreDec 16, 2024
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“Frost Flowers” an excerpt from ‘This is How a Robin Drinks’
Right now, these native “flowers” are blooming in Nashville—at least, until they melt, which is typically right after they form. Frost flowers are winter ephemerals. They happen when air temperature drops below freezing and warm groundwater rises to extrude itself through the conduit of a real flower stem, especially if that stem is a white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica). “Ice segregation” is the process at work. Water and vapor freeze on contact with air, and waves from within push older crystals forward and out. Read MoreDec 2, 2024
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Vanderbilt Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice awarded $1 million Mellon Foundation grant
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art, secured a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance the work of the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ), which she founded. Read MoreNov 21, 2024
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Herbert Wiesmeyer, associate professor of molecular biology, emeritus, has died
Wiesmeyer, associate professor of molecular biology, emeritus, died on Oct. 4, 2024, in Nashville. He was 92. Read MoreNov 11, 2024
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Boundary-Spanning Genius
For John Jumper, BS’07, the road to winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry began with an interdisciplinary education at Vanderbilt. Read MoreOct 30, 2024
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Passion, Perseverance and Synapses: Neuroscientist Richard Sando receives prestigious NIH New Innovator Award
In 2024 the National Institutes of Health awarded Sando a New Innovator Award, part of their High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. This award, which provides $1,500,000 over five years, supports early-career scientists proposing innovative and impactful research that might not get funded in the traditional peer-review process due to its inherent risk. Read MoreOct 11, 2024
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Vanderbilt emerita professor Charlotte Froese Fischer was a pioneer in computer science and physics
Charlotte Froese Fischer, a pioneer in the field of atomic structure calculations and an emerita research professor of computer science at Vanderbilt University, died Feb. 8, 2024. Read MoreOct 11, 2024