April Evans

Peggy Lucas-McGowan is celebrating her 50th anniversary at the College of Arts and Science, all of which has been devoted to the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She has witnessed enormous changes since her start in 1974—from the advent of the computer to increased female representation in the sciences. Read… Read More

The College of Arts and Science has launched the Center for Global Democracy, a premier social science institute dedicated to pioneering research and innovation in democratic politics around the world. Noam Lupu, professor of political science, directs the new center. Noam Lupu, professor of… Read More

By Nick McCoy, Evolutionary Studies undergraduate communications assistant  Reese Martin has always been drawn to biology and exploring the behaviors of different organisms. During his childhood, he dug in anthills, and now he observes the life history traits of flower beetles and other taxa. Martin’s new first-author paper, “Pleiotropy… Read More

James Auer, senior lecturer of Asian studies, emeritus, died May 16, 2024, as a result of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 82. Auer founded the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation at Vanderbilt in 1988, which was an active hub promoting cooperation between the two countries in the areas… Read More

Carl H. Johnson, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences, along with a team of Vanderbilt scientists, have succeeded in adjusting the daily biological clock of cyanobacteria, making the blue-green algae a more prolific producer of renewable fuels, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, like insulin. The ultimate solar-powered machines, cyanobacteria… Read More

By Ann Marie Deer Owens Imagine going to a coffee shop and ordering your favorite drink. You see a QR code next to your menu item. The code’s link connects you to global music from where the coffee beans were grown, as well as information about the local farmers who… Read More

Vanderbilt University has named Timothy P. McNamara, a visionary leader, trusted peer and mentor, as Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science. McNamara’s appointment for a two-year term, announced by… Read More

For more than 75 years, Vanderbilt has been a pioneer in the study of the Americas, forging new paths to innovate, shape, and advance the field. Now, the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies (CLACX) once again finds itself at the forefront, driving important changes in education, research,… Read More

Beckman Scholar Charu Balamurugan, an undergraduate researcher in the Rokas lab at Vanderbilt University, has shed light on the intricate evolutionary patterns governing secondary metabolite biosynthesis in fungi. Balamurugan delved deep into the genom... Read More

The highly selective Beckman Scholars Program is celebrating 15 years of partnership with the College of Arts and Science. Over the years, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation has provided more than $543,000 in support of 23 undergraduate Beckman Scholars at Vanderbilt who engage in unique, hands-on,… Read More

John A. McLean, Stevenson Professor of Chemistry and dean of graduate education and research in the College of Arts and Science, has been named the winner of this year’s Charles H. Herty Medal by the Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society. The award… Read More

Credit: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation/Kaerie Ray 2022 Beckman Scholar Sarah Hourihan. Photo credit: Wesley Dong College of Arts and Science senior Sarah Hourihan is eagerly awaiting journal publication of a first-author manuscript featuring results of research on the dark-eyed junco songbird completed as a Beckman Foundation… Read More

The Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the American Presidency has launched, with the goal of exploring the presidency through an innovative, comprehensive lens. Housed within the College of Arts and Science, the center will serve as a nationally recognized hub for innovative scholarship about… Read More

Thomas Weiler, professor of physics and astronomy, emeritus, died December 17, 2023, after enduring a progressive neurodegenerative variant of Parkinson’s disease. He was 74. Weiler was an international leader in the use of neutrinos to elucidate new particle physics and astrophysics. He received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University… Read More

David Hercules, Centennial Professor of Chemistry, emeritus, who served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry for eight years, died January 20, 2024, after a battle with cancer. He was 91. Born in Somerset, Pennsylvania on August 10, 1932, Hercules developed an interest in science at an early age,… Read More

Steven Wernke, associate professor and chair of anthropology, has developed GeoPACHA (Geospatial Platform for Andean Culture, History and Archaeology), a web application that allows researchers to map archaeological sites in the Andes at a greater scale than ever before. GeoPACHA has enabled new discoveries about past human… Read More

Adapted from article written by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office Throughout the brain’s cortex, neurons are arranged in six distinctive layers, which can be readily seen with a microscope. André Bastos, assistant professor of psychology, is senior author on a study published in Nature… Read More

New opportunities to work with groundbreaking artists and gain exposure to global perspectives will soon be available to students and faculty, thanks to a generous gift from current Vanderbilt parents Allison and Larry Berg. Read More

Pictured left to right: Senior Associate Dean Roger Moore, Isaac West, Allison Anoll, Anna Marie Bohmann, Mario Rewers, Erika Grundstrom, Richard Haglund, Issam Eido, Denis Zhernokleyev, Interim Dean Tim McNamara On December 5, the College of Arts and Science recognized nine faculty members for outstanding teaching and advising. These… Read More