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Wikswo receives $1 million NSF award
Oct. 5, 2022—John Wikswo, founder and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education and Gordon A. Cain University Professor, is the principal investigator of a $1 million award from the National Science Foundation. The object is to build a pathbreaking “robot scientist”—a fully automated microfluidic system for parallel, independent, long-duration, machine-guided experiments. The...
Researchers receive $3 million NSF award
Oct. 5, 2022—Vanderbilt University researchers from the departments of physics and astronomy, math, electrical engineering, and history have received a $3 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Award to establish a graduate certificate program in the emerging field of multimessenger astronomy (MMA). Over five years, the program will train and educate 300 physics, astronomy, math, and engineering...
Holley-Bockelmann receives 2022 mentor award
Oct. 5, 2022—Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, Stevenson Professor of Physics, has received the 2022 Mentor Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The award is for individuals who have mentored significant numbers of underrepresented students (e.g., women, minorities, and persons with disabilities) who are working toward doctorates in STEM. Holley-Bockelmann is being recognized for her leadership...
Vanderbilt researchers part of collaboration that manipulates atomic vibrations and nanomaterials
Oct. 5, 2022—This breakthrough could make it possible to develop customized functionalities to improve on and build new technologies. Electron beams in powerful microscopes have probed materials and nanostructures with atomic-scale resolution, imaged the atomic arrangements and, in combination with theory, unveiled electronic and magnetic properties. Recent developments in microscopy help make it possible to get direct...
Esteemed astrophysics professor Keivan Stassun co-authors NASA study on increasing diversity and inclusion
Oct. 5, 2022—The recent National Academies’ decadal report for astronomy and astrophysics strongly recommended that NASA take serious steps to address the very low numbers of women and underrepresented minorities involved in NASA science,” Stassun said. “In a sense, this new report is part of NASA’s response to that high-level recommendation. See Full Story
Laser-Driven Petahertz Electron Ratchet Nanobubbles (Luke Bhan, Cody L. Covington, and Kálmán Varga)
Oct. 5, 2022—The ratchet consists of a series of disconnected bubble-shaped nanodiode structures with a sharp tip to induce a large field enhancement. A laser pulse is used to create a plasmon oscillation in the vertical direction, and the shape of the bubble funnels the electrons toward the sharp tip leading to net electron transport in the...
Wikswo and VIIBRE team on track to build third-generation ‘self-driving lab’ with $1M from National Science Foundation
Sep. 30, 2022—John Wikswo, founder and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education and Gordon A. Cain University Professor, is the principal investigator of a $1 million award from the National Science Foundation. The object is to build a pathbreaking “robot scientist”—a fully automated microfluidic system for parallel, independent, long-duration, machine-guided experiments. The target organisms...
Course Improvement Grant spotlight:“The Physics of Yoga: Connecting Body to Mind”
Sep. 30, 2022—Savanna Starko, senior lecturer in physics & astronomy, recently told us about her Course Improvement Grant on connecting mind to body through examining physics in yoga. Read full article
College of Arts and Science astronomers—a small team making big waves
Sep. 30, 2022—The past academic year has been monumental for A&S astronomy faculty, a small cohort achieving on a meteoric scale. Their groundbreaking findings and numerous awards have kept the department at the forefront of the discipline, as they work to enhance the scientific understanding of our universe and train future scientists to push forward with exploration...