Mary-Lou Watkinson

When physics and astronomy Ph.D. candidate Oem Trivedi was growing up in India, he had big dreams: becoming a wrestler in the World Wrestling Entertainment industry. Trivedi admits that as a kid he was not the best student; his parents were often called to the school for his behavior, as… Read More

William McLaughlin starts his day at 7 a.m. with a cup of coffee. A Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, he likes to keep his mornings slow and predictable before driving to campus to work in Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Megan Behringer’s lab. In the lab,… Read More

Hear Renee speak to the Vanderbilt community about her career path and her Vanderbilt experience on Monday, March 30 at 4:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall 206. Renee Gala, BS’94, was recently named the president and chief executive officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharmaceutical company. Renee Gala, BS’94 Previously… Read More

Extreme heat kills more people in the U.S. each year than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined. But how can we address a seemingly natural force? Heat can often seem solely weather-related, with policies trying to find a solution through temperature metrics, cooling technologies, and alerts. However, a new report from… Read More

As a little girl, Gabrielle (Gabby) Goodwin had a difficult time keeping barrettes in her hair. “My mom would spend 15-20 minutes doing my hair in the morning,” Goodwin recalled. “She would drop me off at school looking nice and then pick me up to find that half of my… Read More

Photo by Kate Snyder Most of us have heard the phrase “it takes a village” when it comes to childcare. This age-old saying holds true for some songbirds, and a new study has found that this “village” has evolutionary consequences for their songs. Birdsong is often framed as a sexually… Read More

Freshly brewed coffee. Cut grass. Campfires. Spring flowers. Reading these words may conjure a specific scent in your mind. Scent is everywhere, and there is a shared experience in how different cultures and individuals use and depict fragrance. A new exhibit currently on display at the Vanderbilt University Museum of… Read More

Steve Buckles, senior lecturer of economics, retired, died on January 10, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 82. Born on June 11, 1943, in Kansas City, Missouri, Buckles received a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College in 1965. Afterwards, he enrolled in the economics Ph.D. program at Vanderbilt. During… Read More

Photo by Lucius Outlaw Over the next year, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair and Professor of Psychology Sohee Park will work to develop a novel approach to examine the nature of the body and the self in those with schizophrenia. Park will be conducting this research as part… Read More

In the College of Arts and Science, teaching is a critical part of our mission, with our faculty at the heart of our school. Each year, we recognize our faculty for their dedication to not only teaching, but also for their mentorship and guidance. During the first faculty meeting of… Read More

Two seniors in the College of Arts and Science have been named 2026-2027 recipients of the Wattles Fellowship. The fellowship offers three women graduates from Vanderbilt University a one-year, fully integrated position in the London corporate risk management and insurance market. Meet the college’s two Wattles Fellows and learn about… Read More

Illustration by Liz Chagnon Artificial intelligence has become increasingly present in our everyday lives—embedded in our cell phones, popping up on social media platforms, and incorporated into many business operations. With this rapid adoption comes many emotions ranging from excitement about having a technological aid that makes life more efficient… Read More

Can you tell the difference between an artificial-intelligence-generated face and a real one? In an era of digital misinformation, where fabricated images can spread widely across news and social media, this skill is proving invaluable. A new study has found that a person’s object recognition ability, or the ability… Read More

Freedom is something many people in the world seek, but what factors contribute to a country being considered free? This is a question students in Associate Professor of Political Science Katherine Carroll’s course, Middle East Politics, explored by creating a mock report for Freedom House, a… Read More

There are more than 80,000 unaccounted-for American service personnel from past conflicts, according to the U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). More than 70,000 are missing from World War II alone, leaving their surviving families and descendants with questions, but no answers. Growing up, Associate Professor of the… Read More

The class met a tour guide at the airport upon arriving in Panama. Some students may use Fall Break as an opportunity to catch up on rest, see the fall foliage, or carve pumpkins. Students in Principal Senior Lecturer Lori Catanzaro’s class spent their break touring tropical… Read More

Three students in the College of Arts and Science were named 2025-2027 recipients of the Voyager Scholarship, the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. Awarded to students in their third year of undergraduate education, the two-year scholarship champions young leaders who can bridge divides and help solve the world’s biggest challenges. Read More

Adapted from an article by Andy Flick Aditya Kurre When you think of a sloth, an image of a slow, cuddly, furry creature hanging out in trees may come to mind—the picture of tranquility. But millions of years ago, sloths were around 9 feet tall and weighed anywhere from 400-2,500… Read More

Some people may worry about being bitten by a snake or spider, but have you ever considered what would happen if a small black hole tried to pass through your body? An article by Professor of Physics Robert Scherrer in the International Journal of Modern Physics D… Read More

On September 14, 2015, at 4:51 a.m. Central Time, scientists witnessed something no human had ever seen before: two black holes colliding. A computer simulation of two black holes colliding created by researchers from LIGO, the California Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These black holes, which… Read More