Faculty News

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

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

Patrick Trent Greiner, assistant professor of sociology and C. Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Grand Challenges: Climate and Society, studies the intersection of environmental justice and sustainability. He investigates how public policy has created social inequality in the past, increasing environmental risk to marginalized… 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

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

A fresh political news site has just launched with John Sides, William R. Kenan Jr. Chair and professor in political science, at its helm. Goodauthority.org draws on the expertise of leading political scientists to provide the public with evidence-based, non-partisan information about the most… Read More

Stephen Taylor, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, has been selected to give the opening lecture at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) semiannual meeting. The meeting, the largest regularly occurring astronomy conference in the world, will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7-11, 2024. Stephen… 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

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 American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced the election of three College of Arts and Science faculty among its 2023 cohort of 270 new members. They are:  María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art… Read More

  Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science is honored to welcome for the fall 2023 academic term 35 new faculty members, who add to our growing community of distinguished researchers and teachers. “We’re excited to welcome these exceptional scholars to our vibrant academic community,” said Timothy P. McNamara, interim dean… Read More

Dan Margalit has joined the Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science as professor of mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics. Margalit is a highly accomplished mathematician whose research expertise lies at the intersection of low-dimensional topology and geometric group theory, with a particular focus on… Read More

Raheleh Filsoofi, assistant professor of art and Steinert Family Dean’s Faculty Fellow in Race, Racial Justice, and Social Justice, has been awarded a Tennessee Art Commission Grant for her project, “The Resonance of the Lands: Finding Identity and Place in Tennessee Through Clay, Music, and Community.” Raheleh Filsoofi The program… Read More

Gilbert Gonzales, assistant professor of medicine, health, and society, works at the intersection of LGBTQ health and public policy. A subject area where there once was limited data, Gonzales and colleagues have worked to bolster the research available to help inform both the public and… Read More

Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and University of Virginia study shows the benefits of working together persist even as polarization in Congress has risen After weeks of tense speculation over a looming financial catastrophe should the U.S. default on its debts, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and President Biden are finalizing terms for… Read More

The College of Arts and Science has recognized its most dedicated instructors with the new Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Fellows program. The fellows represent faculty excellence in teaching effectiveness, imaginative and innovative teaching practices inside and outside of the classroom, and extraordinary contributions in designing and advising undergraduate Immersion experiences. Read More

Rebecca VanDiver, associate professor of art and architecture, discusses the work of Elizabeth Catlett, an African American printmaker and sculptor. VanDiver looks at how art functions not only as a lens into society, but also as a cultural vehicle between the movement and the museum. Read More