January 31, 2022

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier led 66 other leaders of Tennessee’s colleges and universities today in sending a letter to the Tennessee congressional delegation urging them to make an affordable, high-quality college education more attainable for students by doubling the maximum Pell Grant award and permanently indexing the grant to inflation to ensure that its value will no longer diminish over time. A recent national survey from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities showed that 65 percent of registered voters say they support the Pell Grant program while just 5 percent oppose it. The survey also found strong bipartisan support for increasing or doubling the program. In a split sample test—where half of respondents heard one version of the question and the other heard another—82 percent support “expanding” Pell, and 75 percent support “doubling” the Pell Grant. This widespread support crosses political lines, according to the news release. MORE

Vanderbilt researchers Sokrates Pantelides and Joshua Caldwell are part of an international collaboration that has demonstrated a new way to manipulate and measure subtle atomic vibrations in nanomaterials. This breakthrough could make it possible to develop customized functionalities to improve on and build new technologies. Electron beams in powerful microscopes have probed materials and nanostructures with atomic-scale resolution, imaged the atomic arrangements and, in combination with theory, unveiled electronic and magnetic properties. Recent developments in microscopy help make it possible to get direct signals from phonons, namely vibrational modes, with high resolution in both space and energy. This work has the potential to improve knowledge across microscopy, optical science, physics and engineering. Pantelides and Caldwell will continue collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to pursue more advances in the field, especially in expanding to different crystal structures and other material systems of interest such as nitride-based semiconductors. [The work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Science Foundation.] MORE

As a Vanderbilt undergraduate, Miguel Moravec took part in a research cruise that used multibeam sonar to map areas of the Queen Charlotte Fault off the Southeast Alaskan coast. Moravec also wanted to stay involved with the STEMSEAS, [an NSF-funded] program that gave him the onboard experience. He recently returned from his first expedition as a STEMSEAS mentor, helping introduce a group of community college students from Washington to the wide range of NSF-funded research at sea, including geoscience, oceanography and engineering. The cruise aboard R/V Thomas G. Thompson spanned seven days and 1,000 nautical miles, from Seattle to San Diego. It was the first STEMSEAS expedition since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic . . . . While onboard, the students worked in teams to complete research projects employing the ship’s scientific instruments, ranging from fluorescence sensors to microplastic tow nets. They did everything from measuring cyanobacteria activity to documenting changes ocean acidity and temperature and salinity using probes that fell to the sea floor. MORE

Vanderbilt University and auto manufacturing giant Nissan Americas have launched a new creative collaboration. On Jan. 19, members from both groups came together on campus for the first Vanderbilt-Nissan Collaboration Accelerator. Goals for the first session included brainstorming numerous ways to work together, from redesigning and fueling a talent pipeline to identifying opportunities for research and innovation collaborations. This event, organized by the Division of Government and Community Relations, brought dozens of faculty members from across the university together with Nissan executives. [Discussion themes included: Talent pipelines and recruiting; Artificial intelligence and data science for business processes and operations; Software and design engineering; Marketing, business strategy and sustainability.] Nissan has been manufacturing in Middle Tennessee since the 1980s and moved their U.S. headquarters to Franklin, Tennessee, in 2008. They employ more than 9.400 people in the state. MORE

Seven Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty members have been elected 2021 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. Among those elected is Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Cybele Raver, for her contributions to improving early childhood learning and development in the context of family poverty. As a highly regarded developmental psychologist, her leadership has spanned research, clinical, academic and administrative settings through her career. In addition to Raver, who holds the Cornelius Vanderbilt chair and is professor of psychology and human development at Peabody College, the new fellows represent the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine. MORE

Carbon labels can be effective in changing corporate as well as consumer behavior, as corporations adjust their carbon footprint with the dual goals of increased efficiency and improved reputation, according to newly published research by Michael P. Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law at Vanderbilt University and director of its Climate Change Research Network, and a team of co-authors. The analysis outlines the potential effects of carbon labeling—a practice that is receiving attention as companies grapple with how to engage in sustainable practices. While international and national government efforts at curbing climate change have had limited success in the past year, carbon labeling can be done by the private sector—absent any government action. It also can support development of government measures, such as border allowances and carbon taxes. The study addresses key challenges for carbon labels, such as setting uniform standards, collecting accurate data and designing labels for a global spectrum of products and industries. Vandenbergh and co-authors also provide recommendations on how to institute carbon labels as a common practice in society. MORE

A bold partnership that will help Vanderbilt University power its campus entirely through renewable energy is a step further toward that goal with the Jan. 19 groundbreaking for a solar farm in Bedford County, Tennessee. In 2020, Vanderbilt announced two pioneering agreements with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service to procure off-site large-scale renewable energy at a solar farm being built by Silicon Ranch Corp. TVA’s Green Invest Program matches demand for green power from business, industrial and organizational customers with new utility-scale solar projects within the Tennessee Valley. Vanderbilt’s initial partnership, announced in January 2020, will mitigate approximately 70 percent of the university’s annual indirect greenhouse gas emissions. Its second Green Invest project will supply enough renewable energy to offset the remaining 30 percent of the university’s annual indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity. Nashville-based Silicon Ranch, which is funding the project, plans to hire more than 250 craft workers—the majority of whom will be recruited from the Bedford County area and the military veteran community—to install the facility. MORE

Ideator, a highly rated program designed to help faculty, students and staff members from Nashville-area colleges and universities evaluate promising ideas, has been endowed by Eric Sullivan, CEO of Quantum Technology, and his wife, Teri Steele, in honor of their family. The newly named Sullivan Family Ideator Program at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Center for Innovation, takes an evidence-based approach to evaluating and testing ideas for further development. The Sullivan Family Ideator Program is a free, noncredit, two-part program, and participants typically have not yet formed a formal entity. They are at the earliest stages of developing and evaluating a new idea, product, process or service focused on a specific business, social or technological need they have identified. Those who successfully complete the full Ideator program become eligible for microgrant funding and can apply to continue their journey through the Wond’ry’s Builder Program. MORE

Bennett Landman, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been named a Fellow of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, for his achievements in medical image processing with robust and scalable methods for large-scale data analysis. Fellows are SPIE members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics and imaging. They are honored for their technical achievement and for their service to the general optics community and to SPIE. Landman’s research concentrates on applying image-processing technologies to leverage large-scale imaging studies to improve understanding of individual anatomy and personalize medicine. He has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and industry support. MORE 

Professor Maury Nation, the Bob Innes Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt Peabody College, will discuss his research on the relationship between urban communities and schools and how urban social problems affect student outcomes. The virtual event will take place on Friday, Feb. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. CT. Nation’s talk is presented by the Peabody Research Office and is open to the Vanderbilt community as well as to the public. Nation’s work focuses on preventing violence among school-aged children, understanding the community and neighborhood qualities and characteristics that promote youth development, and developing programs and practices that promote positive school climate and equity for students of color. He has been principal investigator on numerous grants from sponsors such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Justice, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Although open to everyone, advance registration is requested for this event. Please register here. MORE