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Vanderbilt joins Global Urban Humanities Network of scholars and practitioners
Apr. 24, 2025—Vanderbilt University has joined the Urban Humanities Network (UHN) as a consortium campus, solidifying the university’s place among leading institutions at the forefront of urban humanities scholarship. Established in 2022, UHN unites universities, organizations, and researchers dedicated to interdisciplinary study within the urban humanities, which operates at the nexus of humanities, urbanism, and design. As...
Growing academically and personally through undergraduate research
Apr. 21, 2025—In many ways, the Vanderbilt undergraduate experience is a unique one. One example is in the unparalleled, hands-on research opportunities that students have from the moment they step onto campus. Undergraduate research is a defining experience at Vanderbilt, providing students the opportunity to think critically, apply their knowledge, and engage in the scientific process. However,...
Every day needs a night: study examines impact of artificial light on life cycle of trees
Apr. 8, 2025—While taking a flight one evening, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Lin Meng observed that the landscape outside of her window was lit up entirely by artificial light. In that moment, a thought crossed her mind: artificial light is everywhere, but what are the ecological consequences? Meng explored that question in a recent...
A lot of nerve: One undergraduate’s path to treating brain cancer
Mar. 27, 2025—It all started during his senior year of high school, when Shanay Desai watched the world go digital due to the pandemic. During that time, Desai mentored lowerclassmen from other high schools through a virtual STEM outreach program. It was then that his interest in neuroscience was sparked. “We would teach them a little bit...
Art learning from science learning from art: worlds colliding in new Arctic exhibit
Mar. 24, 2025—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, …no footprints, even, co-curated by Jana Harper, professor...
New research showcases unsung history of female architects
Mar. 11, 2025—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 due to discrimination. Kevin Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and professor of history of art and architecture, and Mary Anne Hunting, BA’80, have uncovered the histories...
Jackson Lab reveals relationship between transport proteins and brain disease
Mar. 5, 2025—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 coordinate the transport of fatty...
Slow traffic, fast food: The effects of highway congestion on fast-food consumption
Feb. 17, 2025—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 your mind as your stomach grumbles. You are faced with a decision: stop at...
Students contribute to Nashville’s socially engaged art scene
Feb. 11, 2025—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, Socially Engaged Art Practice, students investigated and participated...
Katie Crawford named interim director of Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities; Holly Tucker steps down
Jan. 28, 2025—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 Humanities. Crawford’s appointment follows the five-year leadership of Holly Tucker, Mellon Foundation Chair in the Humanities and professor of French, who is stepping...