Arts And Science

See how a passion to help underrepresented students ignited astrophysicist Keivan Stassun’s mission, earning him a MacArthur “genius” award. Read More

In January 2020, Bernard Nomberg, BA'90, launched the 'Conversations with Commodores' podcast, along with a Facebook group specifically for Vanderbilt football alumni and others close to the program—coaches, trainers, cheerleaders, etc. Today, the community has grown to around 500 members. For all who played, the stories that emerge on the podcast are their shared history. Read More

In today’s world, collaboration is essential in solving problems, bridging the gaps between science, engineering, medicine and the humanities. By prioritizing cross-disciplinary collaborations, Vanderbilt walks the walk—not only across departments—but across schools and cultures. Read More

New York City, Miami, Houston and Atlanta all share one common denominator. These cities are home to a Vanderbilt regional hub. The hubs are key to one of Vanderbilt’s signature initiatives: to grow the school’s footprint beyond the Nashville campus. Read More

Stassun, who is also a founding co-director the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, was among the 2024 MacArthur fellows announced on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The fellowship, which is awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, aims to identify extraordinarily creative individuals with a track record of excellence in a field of scholarship or area of practice. Recipients also demonstrate the ability to affect society in significant and beneficial ways through their pioneering work or the rigor of their contributions, according to the foundation. Read More

In a groundbreaking study led by Sarah Worthan, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the Behringer Lab at Vanderbilt University, scientists have successfully evolved microbial cultures that possess the ability to sense pH changes, enabling rapid responses to environmental fluctuations. Read More

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

Elizabeth “Betsy” Sanner Ayala, BA’99, is the executive in charge behind many popular TV shows across the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio of networks. After joining HGTV in 2016 and advancing her career to head Food Network in 2022, she now oversees the creation, production and release of all Food Network programming and operations. Read More

New research shows that warming and aging act as a one-two punch, lowering mosquito lifespans and fanning the flames of bacterial infections. These findings highlight how climate change could alter the risks of disease spread by mosquitoes. Read More

The College of Arts and Science has announced that nominations for the Berg Global Artist-in-Residence Fellowship are now open until September 30. All Vanderbilt faculty are eligible to submit nominations, and nominations by interdisciplinary teams of faculty are encouraged. Read More

The College of Arts and Science celebrated a major milestone in the Garland Hall capital project with a topping out ceremony on Sept. 12. The project, which includes a strategic renovation and expansion, began in 2021. Read More

Taylor is one of only six scientists nationwide appointed to the LISA team, a joint mission between the European Space Agency and NASA. LISA is a space-based gravitational wave detector constructed of three spacecraft separated by millions of miles in a triangle shape as big as the sun. Read More

Kirsty Clark, assistant professor of medicine, health, and society, studies mental health disparities impacting LGBTQ+ populations through her lab. Clark recently published research that explores the effects of negative news and media coverage on the intensity of suicidal thoughts in LGBTQ+ young adults. Read More

The College of Arts and Science has launched the Center for Global Democracy, a premier social science institute dedicated to pioneering research and innovation in democratic politics around the world. Noam Lupu, professor of political science, directs the new center. Read More

New faculty share advice to their younger selves we can all learn from! Read More

James R. Sasser, BA’58, JD’61, was a three-term U.S. senator from Tennessee and ambassador to China. (Ann Rayner/Vanderbilt) James R. Sasser, BA’58, JD’61, a former three-term U.S. senator from Tennessee and ambassador to China, died Sept. 10 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was a statesman who loved Tennessee… Read More

New research led by recent Vanderbilt Ph.D. alumna Maria Luísa Jabbur from the Johnson Lab and BBSRC Discovery Fellow at the John Innes Centre, in the UK has uncovered that even cyanobacteria—tiny organisms with a generation time of just five to six hours—can sense and respond to changes in light availability, or photoperiod, to gear up for winter. Read More

Meet some of our new faculty members and learn about their fascinating research. Read More

Embarking on a new research project often brings unexpected discoveries—some intriguing, some novel, but rarely a find of a lifetime. Such a remarkable discovery occurred when university archivist and associate director Kathy Smith stumbled upon a pile of plaster, hidden away for 60 years in a dim, cluttered closet of the Branscomb Quad basement. This plaster turned out to be the long-lost Crampton’s Plesiosaur Cast from the 1870s, missing for nearly six decades. Read More

The Nashville Math Circle is back for fall 2024, and registration is now open. The program provides Nashville-area students in grades 7–12 the opportunity to learn creative math problem-solving skills in a friendly, fun environment from leading Vanderbilt faculty. Read More