School Of Engineering

Two staffers at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation have received Live Long and Prosper Tribute Awards from the Nimoy-Knight Foundation. Director of Communications Jessica Schonhut-Stasik, founder of The Neuroverse Initiative, works to create pathways for neurodivergent people in the space sciences. Project manager and author Dave Thompson champions the unique perspectives and talents of the neurodivergent community. The LLAP award recognizes people who embody the values of Star Trek: exploration, diversity and the pursuit of a better future for all. Read More

Vanderbilt is viewed as a launching point in many ways; it’s a place where careers take off, friendships flourish, talents and passions are discovered, new experiences are welcomed, and campus traditions create lasting memories. For Dani Klafter and Sam Blum, Vanderbilt is all of that and more: It’s where their paths crossed, setting the stage for happily ever after and an unintentionally historic proposal. Read More

Vanderbilt University has announced its fall 2025 recipients of the Seeding Success, Scaling Success and Rapid-Advancement MicroGrant Program awards, providing internal funding to help faculty launch new research directions, strengthen proposals and compete for major external grants. Read More

He leads groundbreaking work creating robotic tools to make surgeries safer. Now, with a passion for partnership, see how Robert Webster is carving a path for others to take their life-changing innovations and turn them into reality. Read More

Robert J. Webster, the Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt, has been elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors as well as elevated to IEEE Fellow, a prestigious title awarded by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to members who have made significant contributions to the fields of engineering, science, and technology. Read More

Vanderbilt University and EPB of Chattanooga, home of America’s most comprehensive quantum commercialization infrastructure, announced plans to establish the Institute for Quantum Innovation, further positioning Chattanooga—and Tennessee—as a national hub for advancing quantum science and technology.   Read More

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has announced its latest Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Awards, which recognize innovative research to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Colleen Niswender, Dr. Bill Nobis, Audrey Bowden and Laurie Cutting are the recipients for 2025–26, earning support for projects that address Rett syndrome, Dravet syndrome and other developmental epilepsies, and reading difficulties like dyslexia. Read More

Soldiers spend a lot of time wearing body armor. The added weight takes a toll on their shoulders and back, contributing to one of the most common injuries reported by U.S. Army soldiers: back overuse. Vanderbilt researchers have developed a two-pound wearable device that redistributes 90 percent of that weight to the wearer’s hips while standing, walking and sitting—and lets soldiers retain their full agility and freedom of movement. Associate Professor Karl Zelik, senior research engineer Chad Ice and Ph.D. graduate Paul Slaughter published the study. Read More

While using an ice pack to ease pain is nothing new, a Vanderbilt team has taken the concept high-tech. Associate Professor Leon Bellan leads the group that has developed a cold-triggered “depot”—an implantable device that releases medication from within the body on demand. This shows promise on two fronts: Patients can release the medication simply by putting an ice pack over the implant, and locally effective NSAID drugs can be used instead of more addictive opioids. Read More

Vanderbilt University has received a catalytic $30 million gift from John Addison, BE’01, and Shannon Addison, BS’02, to ignite a bold new era of innovation at the School of Engineering. Their visionary contribution serves as the lead commitment for Power the Impossible, a new $300 million fundraising campaign in support of the School of Engineering. Building on the remarkable momentum of the university’s record-breaking Dare to Grow campaign, Power the Impossible will position Vanderbilt Engineering among the world’s most influential, impactful and recognized engineering institutions of this century. Read More

A new PBS Kids series created to help children better understand the impact of weather and climate took instructional cues from Jeremi London, associate provost for academic opportunity and associate professor of mechanical engineering, who played a role in the show’s development. Read More

Vanderbilt supports new faculty every step of the way—by connecting them with senior faculty who serve as mentors, observe their classes and provide valuable feedback, and proofread their grant proposals to make them stronger. These professors who joined Vanderbilt in the past few years shed light on how the university has helped them succeed.  Read More

Five exceptional Vanderbilt faculty members have been named 2025 Master Innovators for their extraordinary contributions to translating research into commercial applications that have significant societal impact. The 2025 honorees represent diverse fields from infectious disease therapeutics to neuroscience drug discovery and biomedical engineering.  Read More

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, plagues millions of people. Vanderbilt researchers led by Assistant Professor Xiaoguang Dong have developed a soft robotic valve that can seal off the lower esophagus from the stomach, keeping gastric acid where it belongs. Then when the patient eats or drinks, the valve, which is implanted in concert with a stent, can be opened with a wearable external magnet. “This platform holds promise not only for treating GERD, but also for managing other sphincter-related disorders,” said co-author and Assistant Professor Yuxiao Zhou. Read More

Political propaganda and artificial intelligence–driven misinformation are infiltrating social media accounts, and Americans need to do something about it. That’s the warning revealed in research from two Vanderbilt professors and discussed on this special episode of the Quantum Potential podcast. Read More

Much of the human brain is still a mystery, largely because it’s pretty difficult to see what’s going on in there. Assistant Professor Daniel Gonzales and the team in his lab are working to make that easier. They’re using experimental platforms that record brain activity with unprecedented precision on all levels. It works on everything from whole-brain networks to individual synapses—tiny gaps between brain cells that are one-tenth the width of a human hair. “We can … really detail pictures of brain activity during learning,” Gonzales said. “And then we can apply that to study diseases that degrade learning.” Read More

Road closures are a pain—and sometimes they’re not even supposed to be happening. A project by senior research scientist Ayan Mukhopadhyay is working to develop a system—SENTRY—that uses AI to help city inspectors find and address unauthorized road closures in Nashville. “The system has the potential to save millions in unpaid permit fees, reduce external inspection costs and minimize disruptions for residents, commuters and local businesses,” Mukhopadhyay said. His research is supported by a $697,000 grant that's part of NSF's CIVIC Innovation Challenge. Read More

RESEARCH SPARK: Get to know Shekhar Bhansali, new head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his vision for AI engineering education. Read More

Vanderbilt University announced nine recipients of the Innovation Catalyst Fund awards for the June 2025 cycle, continuing its mission of accelerating translational research and driving innovative solutions to real-world challenges by providing faculty with crucial pre-seed funding across diverse disciplines.  The newly selected projects span cutting-edge work in health care, engineering and technology solutions. Read More

Josh Caldwell, professor of mechanical engineering and Director of the Interdisciplinary Materials Science graduate program at Vanderbilt University, and Alex Paarmann of the Fritz Haber Institute, led an international collaborative research project that successfully demonstrated the confinement of terahertz light to nanoscale dimensions using a new type of layered material. This could lead to improvements in opto-electronic devices such as infrared emitters used in remote controls and night vision and terahertz optics desired for physical security and environmental sensing. Read More