Faculty News
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Inspired chemist uncovers a scientific superpower in women
Learn about the women who inspire Steven Townsend in his breakthrough research that puts a spotlight on women, their health and discoveries around the healing powers of breast milk. Read MoreApr. 3, 2025
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Legislative gridlock did not stop lawmaking
Vanderbilt’s Alan Wiseman co-directs the Center for Effective Lawmaking with University of Virginia professor Craig Volden. Using a combination of 15 metrics, the center defines legislators that “exceed expectations” as those who outperform the center’... Read MoreMar. 27, 2025
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Art learning from science learning from art: worlds colliding in new Arctic exhibit
If you could write a letter to someone 1,000 years from now, what would you say? And what would they think of the world today when reading it? These are some of the questions posed to visitors walking through the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art’s newest exhibit,… Read MoreMar. 24, 2025
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Residential Colleges welcomes three new faculty for the 2025–26 academic year
The upper-division residential colleges will welcome Jesús Ruiz, who will lead Moore College, and The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons will welcome Gilbert Gonzales as faculty head of Crawford House and Justin Quarry as faculty head of East House. Read MoreMar. 20, 2025
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New research showcases unsung history of female architects
From left: Mary Anne Hunting, BA’80, and Kevin Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and professor of history of art and architecture. In the decades preceding World War II, professional architecture schools started enrolling increasing numbers of women. However, career success for these women did not come easily… Read MoreMar. 11, 2025
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Jackson Lab reveals relationship between transport proteins and brain disease
Most of us rely heavily on shipping services like FedEx or UPS to ensure we receive the correct packages. If that system was disrupted, parcels would end up lost or in the wrong place. Similarly, all human cells require large protein coat complexes, working at transport hubs called endosomes, to… Read MoreMar. 5, 2025
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Major Jackson awarded inaugural Patricia Cannon Willis Prize
Major Jackson, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities, has been awarded the inaugural Patricia Cannon Willis Prize for American Poetry by Yale Library. Jackson was recognized for his acclaimed collection Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poe... Read MoreFeb. 20, 2025
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Sloan Foundation awards Vanderbilt’s Alexandre Tiriac prestigious research fellowship
Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships honor extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers who stand out as the next generation of leaders for their creativity, innovation and research accomplishments. Tiriac, an assistant professor of biological s... Read MoreFeb. 18, 2025
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Seven Vanderbilt faculty research projects get innovation catalyst funding
Vanderbilt’s Innovation Catalyst Fund has awarded seven new faculty-led projects, advancing translational research and innovation in health care, engineering and AI-driven solutions. Read MoreFeb. 17, 2025
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Slow traffic, fast food: The effects of highway congestion on fast-food consumption
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Health, and Society Panka Bencsik Sitting in your car at 5:15 p.m. on a Tuesday, vehicles line the highway as far as the eye can see. The GPS estimates you still have 30 minutes left in traffic, and a vision of your empty fridge passes through… Read MoreFeb. 17, 2025
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Psychologist, philosopher, and anthropologist discuss love’s biggest questions | Agree/Disagree from Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science
Is love real? Does it make you sick? From their unique perspectives across the arts and sciences, hear three Vanderbilt professors’ hot takes on age-old questions of love. Featured: Matthew Congdon, assistant professor of philosophy; Ashleigh Maxcey, senior lecturer and research assistant… Read MoreFeb. 14, 2025
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Students contribute to Nashville’s socially engaged art scene
Socially engaged art is defined as art that involves the community in debate, collaboration, and social interaction. But what does that look like in practice? A group of Vanderbilt students sought to answer that question. As part of Professor of the Practice of Art Jana Harper’s class,… Read MoreFeb. 11, 2025
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One geologist and filmmaker duo are helping us better understand the Earth | Dual Perspectives
What do geology and filmmaking possibly have in common? How can they work together to help us understand the Earth and our place in it? Faculty members Lily Claiborne (Earth and environmental sciences) and Jonathan Waters (cinema and media arts) answer these… Read MoreJan. 31, 2025
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Katie Crawford named interim director of Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities; Holly Tucker steps down
Katie Crawford, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair, professor of history, and chair of the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Katie Crawford, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair, professor of history, and chair of the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies, has been named the interim director of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the… Read MoreJan. 28, 2025
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Faculty members and alumni honored with Presidential Early Career Award
On Jan. 14, President Biden awarded nearly 400 scientists and engineers the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. ... Read MoreJan. 23, 2025
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Inaugural cohort of faculty fellows elevates Immersion Vanderbilt
Immersion Vanderbilt, now in its third year as a graduation requirement, consistently provides students with the opportunity to pursue a variety of in-depth experiences and independent projects. Students align their immersion projects with their intere... Read MoreJan. 16, 2025
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A picture is worth a thousand words: Advanced writing seminar offers students hands-on art historian experience
On a crisp fall evening in North Nashville, the sound of clapping emanates from Fisk University’s Carl Van Vechten Art Gallery. Inside, Vanderbilt students walk the large room, surrounded by a rich array of 20th century early modernist works from the collection of Alfred Stieglitz. As they tour the space,… Read MoreJan. 14, 2025
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White House awards Bartels and Stassun 2024 National Medal of Science
Larry Bartels and Keivan Stassun were among the 23 recipients of 2024 National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation—the nation’s highest honors for exemplary achievement and leadership in science and technology. Both rec... Read MoreJan. 8, 2025
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Undergraduate students co-lead study on carbon offset financing for energy-efficiency upgrades for low-income households
Vanderbilt senior Maya Maciel-Seidman [/caption] Climate change affects us all; however, disadvantaged communities are often the most vulnerable and negatively impacted. Low-income households have limited material and financial resources to build resilience to heat and other weather events. Low-income households in the U.S. spend 6 to 10 percent of their… Read MoreDec. 17, 2024
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Tony Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities, emeritus, has died
Stewart, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities and professor of religious studies, emeritus, died on Oct. 6, 2024, in Nashville. He was 70. Read MoreDec. 16, 2024