VUBreakThru Blog

Is the mystery of human speech hidden in the song of a finch? Vanderbilt researchers in the Music, Mind and Society TIPs program are analyzing the songs of zebra finches to study the development and nuance of spoken language. Learn more in this fascinating VUBreakThru blog post written by Ph.D. candidate Kate T. Snyder. Read more about TIPs grants and other internal faculty funding programs—including University Courses, Discovery Grants and Research Scholar Grants—at the VU BreakThru blog. Read More

Zeros and ones are the gold and silver of the information age. Data Science Visions, a TIPs initiative, is laying the groundwork to analyze and extract the data available in this emerging field. Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Andreas Berlind writes of the group’s early efforts, including two fall think tanks on two disparate topics—public schools in Tennessee and Inca settlements in Peru. Read more about TIPs grants and other internal faculty funding programs—including Discovery Grants, Research Scholar Grants and University Courses—at the VUBreakThru blog. Read More

Funded by a 2017 TIPs grant, the Vanderbilt LGBT Policy Lab connects interdisciplinary faculty and students to study the impact of LGBT-related public policies. In the VU BreakThru blog, Tara McKay, assistant professor of medicine, health and society, discusses how she uses her research to influence health, legal and social policies in both the domestic and global arenas. Read More

A historian pairing with a computer scientist to teach a course on virtual reality? A new University Course, Virtual Reality for Interdisciplinary Applications, offers just that, with the overarching goal that everyone can, and should, be technically confident. Faculty-designed, cross-disciplinary curriculum is at the heart of the University Courses initiative, tapping into the natural synergies across Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges. Read more about the University Courses and other internal faculty funding programs—including TIPs, Discovery Grants, Research Scholar Grants and University Courses—at the VUBreakThru blog. Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Autism and Innovation, funded by a 2017 TIPs grant, kicked off its work with a launch event at the Wond’ry last month. The center brings together engineers, scientists, disabilities researchers and business scholars from across campus to collaborate on how the talents of people on the autism spectrum can be better matched with business needs. Read more about the event, the center, and other internal faculty funding programs—including TIPs, Discovery Grants, Research Scholar Grants and University Courses—at the VUBreakThru blog. Read More