Profiles
Jonathan Rattner: Film Professor Explores Alaskan Dog Sledding
Oct. 5, 2017—Jonathan Rattner’s passion for creating observational films that draw the audience into places often unseen or forgotten is reflected in The Interior, his award-winning experimental documentary that will be screened at the 2017 Southern Festival of Books.
Fashion Design professor Alexandra Sargent-Capps: Mr. Commodore’s makeover
Aug. 30, 2017—When it comes to getting a stellar makeover, Mr. Commodore goes straight to Vanderbilt fashion design professor Alexandra Sargent-Capps.
Sam Reilly turns his love of fine coffee into a social media app
May. 9, 2016—You may like your coffee in the morning, but chances are you don’t savor it as much as Sam Reilly, an intern at The Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee Studies who is marketing his new app for lovers of a good cup of joe.
Ariel Helms’ past inspires her path for the future
Apr. 20, 2016—For Ariel Helms, a genealogy search when she was young revealed a long-kept secret: Her ancestors were Cherokee Native Americans. “My great-grandparents had taken this knowledge to the grave,” she said. “My dad grew up thinking he was of German heritage. It was, at the time, a difficult thing to be Native American, so it...
Rani Banjarian discovers America—and his voice as a writer
Apr. 20, 2016—For Rani Banjarian, the summer of 2006 was the defining moment of his young life. For a month that summer, artillery and airstrikes were a daily occurrence as the unrest between his home country of Lebanon and neighboring Israel grew into the July War.
Jessica Oster: Exploring caves for clues to climate change
Sep. 1, 2015—It’s not your normal trip to the lab. For Vanderbilt assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences Jessica Oster, getting data means getting dirty. Oster and her team are collecting mineral deposits deep inside caves to find clues to climate change.