Department Of Physics And Astronomy

Vanderbilt University has created a laser safety program and appointed a certified laser safety officer, significant steps in the university’s ongoing efforts to establish its Environmental Health and Safety Department. Vanderbilt announced it would transition its research EHS function from Vanderbilt University Medical Center to the university earlier this year. Read More

David Weintraub’s commitment to equal opportunity in astronomy inspired his latest book, The Sky Is for Everyone. The autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy include a chapter by alum Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew. Read More

Vanderbilt Ph.D. candidate Antonio J. Porras Valverde found a need to expand support for students of color—especially for Central American and Caribbean students studying astrophysics—inspiring him to launch the Cenca Bridge program, which provides academic guidance to undergraduate students from these areas who are interested in the field. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty are working together to produce a series of children’s science books aimed at fourth grade–level readers. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Orchestra, conducted by Robin Fountain, and Vanderbilt Treble Choir, directed by Mary Biddlecombe, present Gustav Holst’s "The Planets," in conjunction with astronomer and visual artist José Francisco Salgado and KV 265 Science Through Art, at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music. Read More

Through a partnership with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Vanderbilt astronomers use big data to see the cosmos as a stop-motion movie instead of a snapshot. Read More

Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy Savanna Starko originally intended to become a high school math teacher. But when a battle with thyroid cancer disrupted her first year of college, a professor helped her see how physics might be a better fit. Read More

The intermediate-mass black hole first observed in May 2019 presents an entirely new category of black hole. Read More

Dianna Cowern, from YouTube’s "The Physics Girl," will be featured at a talk on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Stevenson Center, Room 4309. Cowern will discuss using videos to share science and enrich the learning experience, in and out of the classroom. Read More

Vanderbilt faculty and alumni are featured at the free Southern Festival of Books, happening this weekend at War Memorial Plaza and the downtown Nashville Public Library. Read More

Astronomers have come up with a new and improved method for measuring the masses of millions of solitary stars, especially those with planetary systems. Read More

The Office of the Provost, as part of the Provost's Initiative to Enhance Research and Scholarship (PIERS), is providing a campuswide educational workshop Oct. 9 to support the diversification of faculty research portfolios. Read More

After hours of thinking about theoretical physics, senior Zachary Bednarke relaxes by playing his trumpet. While running through scales on the instrument, he is also, technically, still doing schoolwork. Read More

Data scientist Dave Spiegel presents a physics and astronomy colloquium, “From Exo-Worlds to Health Monitoring to Clothing Personalization,” Dec. 8. Read More

Two Vanderbilt physicists, Keivan Stassun and Kalman Varga, have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society. Read More

Watch video of a panel discussion about the limits of free speech, especially on college campuses. Moderated by John M. Seigenthaler, former news anchor for NBC, MSNBC and Al Jazeera America. Panelists include: Haka Mitchell, Executive Director of Rocketship Nashville; Norman Tolk, Vanderbilt Professor of Physics and liaison for the… Read More

John M. Seigenthaler will moderate a panel discussion titled "The Limits of Free Speech?" Oct. 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Vanderbilt Central Library's Community Room. Read More

Nine faculty members who hold endowed chairs were honored and donors were thanked during a festive celebration Sept. 26 at the Student Life Center. Read More

Observational astrophysicist Jedidah Isler, a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt, has been selected as a member of the National Geographic Society's inaugural class of Emerging Explorers. Read More

Ernest Jones, one of the last of the generation of scientists to have worked on the Manhattan Project, died Dec. 19. He was 97. Read More