April Evans

By Ann Marie Deer Owens Many have voiced concerns that artificial intelligence will take jobs away from humans. But Assistant Professor of Chemistry Zhongyue (John) Yang, along with his former doctoral student Qianzhen Shao (now a postdoc at Stanford) and other team members, have created an AI… Read More

Classical and Quantum Computations of Atomic Nuclei Featuring: Thomas Papenbrock, University of Tennessee-Knoxville October 7, 2026 Abstract: Computing has reshaped nuclear theory in the past two decades. The ever-increasing power of computers now allows one to model properties of the atomic nucleus with high fidelity, As a consequence,… Read More

Brooke Ackerly, professor of political science, has received a Volkswagen Foundation Transatlantic Bridge Professorship at the University of Hamburg for the next three years. She is the first Vanderbilt faculty member to receive this award. The Transatlantic Bridge Professorship program engages internationally renowned U.S. scholars in the humanities and social… Read More

The Physics of Biological Active Matter Featuring: Jenny Ross October 21, 2026 Host: TBD Abstract: Biological systems are unique because they are hierarchically assembled from energy-using subunits, from the nanoscale all the way to the macroscale. This gives biological systems novel abilities such as self-organized development, self-healing, and memory… Read More

Stabilized and Multiscale Methods: Unifying CFD for Science and Engineering Featuring: Yuri Bazilevs September 30, 2026 at 1 p.m. in The Commons Rooms 235/237 Host: Kalman Varga Abstract: After several decades of method development, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is now considered to be a mature discipline by many. However,… Read More

How can one person’s health decision affect an entire community? Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Nicole Creanza is helping middle and high school students answer that question through a free interactive classroom resource based on real-world data. “Community Immunity: A simulation-based exploration of vaccination choices” is a… Read More

By Ann Marie Deer Owens Today’s biggest pressing and complex challenges are most effectively addressed through interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives. The Collaborative Humanities Postdoctoral Program (CHPP) fully embodies that approach, bringing together early-career scholars to address important contemporary issues through a critical humanities lens. For the past… Read More

The Monsters of the Universe: Exploring Supermassive Black Holes and Quasars with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Featuring: Kate Grier, University of Wisconsin-Madison September 23, 2026 at 4 p.m. in room 235/237 The Commons Host: Jessie Runnoe Abstract: Supermassive black holes are some of the most extreme and fascinating… Read More

Creating Droplets of the Early Universe in the Laboratory with Nuclear Collisions Featuring: Ron Belmont, University of North Carolina-Greensboro September 16, 2026 at 1 p.m. in Commons Center 237 Host: Julia Velkovska Abstract:The universe today is very sparse and very cold. However, as we turn back the clock, things… Read More