April Evans

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

John Lachs, professor emeritus of philosophy and Centennial Professor Emeritus, died November 14 in Nashville. He was 89. Lachs was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1934, and emigrated to Canada as a child. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1956 and a master’s degree in 1957 from McGill University in Montreal,… Read More

Gabrielle Beck Neuroscience and English, ‘26 Hear from sophomore Gabrielle Beck, who attended the National Climate Assessment report release at the White House, about her interest in climate change and public health disparities and her plans for the future. Gabrielle Beck inside the White House for… Read More

Lars Plate, assistant professor of chemistry and biological sciences, has received a $2.76 million collaborative grant to investigate medical therapy for people with cystic fibrosis. The interdisciplinary project brings together teams with varied expertise in computational structural biology, proteomics, biophysics, and physiology in hopes of improving the quality of life… Read More

Dan Church, professor of French, emeritus, and former director of the Vanderbilt Language Lab, died October 9 in Nashville. He was 84. Church was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1939 and grew up in North Wilkesboro and Statesville. He received his bachelor’s degree in French from Wake Forest… Read More

You might not have ever thought about how art made of snow can communicate the threats of global warming. Or how an underwater opera can highlight the distress of our oceans. These unusual pairings—and many more—are the focus of a new podcast that explores unexpected connections between the arts and… Read More

Nadia McGlynn, a senior double majoring in Earth and environmental sciences and anthropology, recently won first place for her poster presentation at the National Association of Black Geoscientists 42nd annual technical conference. McGlynn conducted research on Antarctic glaciers that furthers our understanding about how they respond to… Read More

Enrique Pupo-Walker, Centennial Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and former director of the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies, died September 25 in Nashville. He was 90. Pupo-Walker was born in Holguin, Cuba, in 1933. He received his undergraduate degree at La Universidad de la Habana, in Cuba, in… Read More

The College of Arts and Science has added two new minors and a new major concentration to its robust list of academic offerings. The minor in political economy, minor in Spanish for the professions, and Korean concentration in the Asian Studies major were developed to leverage faculty expertise, respond to… Read More