Robert Webster

The Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization has honored five faculty members as 2024 Master Innovators for their groundbreaking research and transformative innovations. These pioneers, recognized for achievements spanning patents, startups and impactful technologies, exemplify Vanderbilt's dedication to translating academic excellence into societal advancements. Read More

For John Jumper, BS’07, the road to winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry began with an interdisciplinary education at Vanderbilt.  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

The group will build upon existing work to leverage Vanderbilt-driven research and innovation to support local community needs, attract entrepreneurial talent and venture investment, and expand our city and region’s innovation capacity. They also will examine infrastructure needs, including dedicated physical space, programs for collaboration and how to foster a culture of innovation.  Read More

Robert Webster and Charleson Bell will lead regional Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub to propel inclusive innovation and catalyze a medical innovation economy. Read More

Seed and Series A funding to three startups—HeroWear, IDBiologics and Virtuoso—rooted in research conducted at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center underscore a university-wide commitment to enhanced support for Vanderbilt’s most innovative faculty, students and alumni. Read More

Robert Webster, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, is part of a collaborative team that has received a more than $2.3 million grant to further develop technology that seeks to prevent patients from having invasive colectomies by using steerable robot-like instruments. Under his second startup... Read More

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend lives in countless ways, members of the Vanderbilt community have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the crisis. Read More

As COVID-19 continues to push unprecedented challenges on medical communities, one of the most pressing threats for hospital staff across the country is a dwindling supply of ventilators. Now, an interdisciplinary team of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty is taking on the challenge by way of a fabricated, open-source ventilator design. Read More

Faculty have been named to a new subcommittee formed by the Vanderbilt University Research Council to provide governance for the GlobalVU initiative. Read More

Vanderbilt collaborators focused on minimally invasive prostate surgery are developing an endoscopic robotic system with two-handed dexterity at a much smaller scale than existing options. Read More

Vanderbilt collaborators focused on minimally invasive prostate surgery are developing an endoscopic robotic system with two-handed dexterity at a much smaller scale than existing options. A key part of the design – telescoping, curved, concentric tubes – received U.S. patent protection in March 2019, the same month the principal investigators secured a $2.1 million R01... Read More

Vanderbilt’s newest endowed chair holders were celebrated for their path-breaking scholarship and research by family members, donors, colleagues and friends during a Feb. 25 ceremony. Read More

Collaboration between a mechanical engineer at Vanderbilt University and a pulmonologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has resulted in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant that will be used to develop a steerable robotic needle to safely biopsy hard-to-reach lung nodules. Read More

Removing part of a kidney with minimally invasive robotic surgery rather than an entire kidney when operating for smaller tumors is often best for patients from a recovery and health standpoint, but many surgeons hesitate to do so because of the complexity of the robotic partial nephrectomy procedure. Read More

Vanderbilt engineers have designed a “granular jamming cap” filled with coffee grounds that can improve the accuracy of the sophisticated “GPS” system that surgeons use for nose and throat surgery. Read More

VIDEO» A Vanderbilt research team has successfully created a mechanical wrist less than 1/16th of an inch thick -- small enough to use in needlescopic surgery, the smallest form of minimally invasive surgery. Read More

For those most severely affected, epilepsy treatment means drilling through the skull deep into the brain to destroy the small area where seizures originate—invasive, dangerous, and requiring a long recovery period. Five years ago a team of Vanderbilt engineers wondered: Is it possible to address epileptic seizures in a less invasive way? Read More

Vanderbilt engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull. Read More

In the foreseeable future, robots will be sticking steerable needles in your brain to remove blood clots; capsule robots will be crawling up your colon as a painless replacement for the colonoscopy; and ultra-miniaturized snake robots will remove tumors from your bladder and other body cavities. Read More