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Lyra Cao, Vanderbilt University The ROle of magnetic starspots in modern stellar astrophysics Stars are essential to much of astrophysics—whether as building blocks of galaxies, as courteous or cranky hosts to planets, or even as companions to more exotic objects. Our precise understanding of stellar behavior is therefore critical to… Read More

William Bialek, Princeton University physics (and a little chemistry) for maggots The development of a single cell into a fully functional organism is one of Nature’s most extraordinary phenomena. In a fruit fly, the larva—a maggot—can walk away from the discarded egg shell just 24 hours after the egg is… Read More

Rebecca Surman, University of Notre Dame The nuclear physics of multimessenger astrophysics The groundbreaking discovery of the neutron star merger event GW170817 ushered in a new era of multimessenger astrophysics. Potential and observed multimessenger signals such as gamma rays, neutrinos, and kilonovae arise from nuclear processes. Decoded properly,… Read More

Maura McLaughlin, West Virginia University Pulsar Timing Arrays: A new window on the gravitational wave universe Millisecond pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars with phenomenal rotational stability. Pulsar timing arrays worldwide monitor over 100 of these cosmic clocks in order to search for perturbations due to gravitational waves at nanohertz… Read More

Vanderbilt University has announced that it will host its first public programming in New York City: "Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America," beginning March 6. The three-event series, planned for Vanderbilt University–New York City, 440 W. ... Read More

Mengke Liu, Harvard University Quantum Materials with Reduced Dimensionality In the emerging post-Silicon era, the search for revolutionary materials necessitates principles that transcend those underpinning silicon’s success. Quantum materials with reduced dimensionality hold immense promise due to their reduced symmetry, enhanced electron correlation, and unprecedented tunability. Unlike in silicon, electrons… Read More

Matthew Day, Columbia University Optical Control over Topology in Quantum Materials The geometric texture of quantum states can shape macroscopic behaviors. In ‘topological’ systems, special geometric textures can lead to features such as dissipation-less energy transport or fractional quasi-particles which could revolutionize our computing and communication technologies. Therefore, a current… Read More

Haoning Tang, Harvard University Twisting Light with Nanomachines Optical metamaterials and quantum materials have optical properties that are widely tunable via several approaches, such as heating, electrostatic gating, and interfacial engineering such as twisting. Being able to tailor the interfacial properties in a similar real-time manner represents the next leap… Read More

Leah Weiss, University of Chicago Engineering interactions between spins and light with molecular qubits Coherent coupling of spins and light can enable photon-mediated scaling and control in quantum technologies, as demonstrated in trapped atom, ion, and solid-state spin qubits. Molecular analogs of such systems hold promise as a nascent qubit… Read More

Souvik Biswas, Stanford University Programming Quantum Materials for Next-Gen Photonics Abstract Technological breakthroughs have long been driven by our ability to understand and engineer materials at the atomic scale. Quantum materials, in particular, have recently unlocked exciting opportunities in nanophotonic systems, offering ultrafast speeds, low loss, and compact… Read More

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 More

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 More

Priya Vashishta, University of Southern California, Los Angeles Deep learning and quantum materials Dynamics Machine learning has become powerful tool in computational sciences. Among diverse applications, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation based on neural network (NN) has been attracting great attentions. With the highly accurate energy landscape encoded by ab-initio molecular… Read More

Jung-Shen Tai, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Yale University Heterogeneity in bacterial biofilms: Pattern formation, adaptive fitness, and social evolution Summary Pattern formation and adaptive fitness in phenotypically heterogenous biofilms Social evolution of shared biofilm matrix components Special Joint Seminar with Dept. of Biological Sciences… Read More

Fabian Voigt, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University Expanding the Bag of Optical Tricks for Neuroscience Summary Seeing is believing and thus, optical imaging techniques are extremely useful to study brain structure and function. I will present two projects aimed at providing the neuroscience community with better imaging… Read More

Ben Donovan, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute Real-Time Visualization of Spliceosome Assembly Reveals Basic Principles of Splice Site Selection Summary We developed a kinetic model of splice site selection based on single-molecule imaging of the U2AF heterodimer in vitro and in vivo. The RNA helicase DDX42 accelerates U2AF… Read More

Ryota Sakamoto, Yale University ENGINEERING LIFE FROM THE BOTTOM-UP: CHEMO-Mechanical interplay in cell migration & division Summary How do cytoskeleton-generated forces coordinate cell migration and division? How does energy consumption impact cytoskeletal assembly and cell division? How far can we push the boundary of microscale engineering? Joint Colloquium… Read More

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 More

From integrating literacy into music education to empowering teens to lead a more balanced digital life, seven innovative projects have been awarded funding through the fall 2024 cycle of the Community Engagement Collaboration Fund. Faculty and staff f... Read More

Wiseman, an acclaimed political economist, was appointed associate provost for strategic projects and Gavin Loss, scholar of education history and policy, was appointed associate provost for academic affairs. Both will serve two-year terms within the O... Read More