Science

VINSE is starting new high school field trip program where they will have students create a solar cell out of blackberries and raspberries. Read More

A method for taking ultrafast "sonograms" of materials undergoing phase transitions sheds new light on the dynamics of this important phenomenon in the world’s fastest phase-change material. Read More

The smallest exoplanets yet discovered orbit a dwarf star almost identical to Barnard’s star, one of the Sun’s nearest neighbors. The similarity helped the astronomers calculate the size of the distant planets. Read More

Professor of Astronomy David Weintraub wanted his students to remember more of what they learned in his introductory class than the answers to typical questions on a quiz show. That was a strong impetus for his book How Old Is The Universe? It strives to make astronomy understandable… Read More

Watch video of science writer Michael Sims speaking about art and nature at Dyer Observatory Oct. 17. Sims’ talk examines mankind’s creative response to nature and the creative process as a natural instinct. Sims, the author of Apollo’s Fire: A Day On Earth In Nature And Imagination and Adam’s Navel:… Read More

Geographic information systems and geospatial technologies have moved into math and science courses at multiple levels, and teachers are learning how to integrate these tools into curriculums. Read More

Watch video from the March 2 Thinking Out of the Lunchbox event. Holly Tucker, associate professor, Center for Medicine, Health & Society and associate professor, French & Italian, spoke on “What Our Medical Past Can Tell Us About Our Genomic Future.” Every era, particularly one deep in “Scientific Revolution” as we now… Read More

The Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory is celebrating the anniversary of “The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Ten Years Observing the Universe” with a series of special Stellar Nights lectures this fall. “Mining the Milky Way” will be given by Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, assistant professor of astronomy and physics, on Tuesday, Nov. 16,… Read More

Media contact: Melanie Moran (615) 322-NEWS melanie.moran@vanderbilt.ed… Read More

Expert typists are able to zoom across the keyboard without ever thinking about which fingers are pressing the keys. New research from Vanderbilt University reveals that this skill is managed by an autopilot, one that is able to catch errors that can fool our conscious brain. Read More

Bryan Ringstrand (left) and Piotr Kaszynski [Note: A multimedia version of this story is available on Exploration, Vanderbilt’s online research magazine.] Chemists at Vanderbilt University have created a new class of liquid crystals with unique electrical properties that could improve the performance of digital displays used on everything from… Read More

A new report from the National Research Council offers insights into 31 doctoral programs at Vanderbilt University, and finds the programs to be competitive with those at other top research institutions in the United States. The report is based on data collected for the 2005-2006 academic year… Read More

Issues including Climategate, the future of electric cars and floodplain policy will be examined during the fall 2010 Saturday University lecture series at Vanderbilt University, which brings the expertise of the Vanderbilt faculty to the Nashville community.  Saturday University this semester will feature discussions on “Heat, Light and Water: Lectures… Read More

The Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory is celebrating the anniversary of “The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Ten Years Observing the Universe” with a series of special Stellar Nights lectures this fall. “New Worlds on our Doorstep: Hunting for Planets” will be given by astronomer Joshua Pepper on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 7… Read More

Five years from now, high school and college students throughout Tennessee should have more and better opportunities to learn about and pursue careers in alternative energy science and technology. Read More

Graduate students Chao Liu and R. Jason Pitts Origin of DEET’s repellent effect confirmed It now appears that the malaria mosquito needs more than one family of odor sensors to sniff out its human prey. That is the implication of new research into the mosquito’s sense of smell published… Read More

Photo courtesy of Sloan Digital Sky Survey The Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory is celebrating the anniversary of “The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Ten Years Observing the Universe” with a series of special Stellar Nights lectures this fall. “Galaxies, Quasars and the Universe” will be given by Andreas Berlind on Tuesday, Aug. Read More

A group of Vanderbilt researchers analyzed the role of the brain chemical dopamine in impulsivity to discover more precisely what makes some people more susceptible to rash behavior. Read More

What do an astrophysicist studying how black holes merge, a chemist predicting the biological characteristics of novel proteins, a psychologist investigating decision-making and a mechanical engineer studying how nanotubes transport heat have in common? They all need tremendous amounts of computer power to conduct their research and they… Read More

Ken Catania Vanderbilt University was named one of the best places for life scientists to work in academia by The Scientist magazine. It was the seventh time in the eight years of the survey that Vanderbilt was ranked and a substantial improvement from its 2009 ranking. Vanderbilt was ranked… Read More