Research
Friend or foe? A&S faculty discuss benefits and concerns of AI
Jan. 29, 2026—Artificial intelligence has become increasingly present in our everyday lives—embedded in our cell phones, popping up on social media platforms, and incorporated into many business operations. With this rapid adoption comes many emotions ranging from excitement about having a technological aid that makes life more efficient to despair about the potential impacts on the environment...
Vanderbilt’s Center for Global Democracy becomes U.S. home for the Comparative Study of Election Surveys
Jan. 28, 2026—Vanderbilt University’s Center for Global Democracy is the new U.S. institutional home for the Comparative Study of Election Surveys, a leading global resource for understanding elections and democratic governance. This move strengthens Vanderbilt’s le...
New study examines why some people can more easily detect AI imagery
Jan. 28, 2026—Can you tell the difference between an artificial-intelligence-generated face and a real one? In an era of digital misinformation, where fabricated images can spread widely across news and social media, this skill is proving invaluable. A new study has found that a person’s object recognition ability, or the ability to distinguish visually similar objects, can...
Political science students create mock “Freedom Report” on Middle East countries
Dec. 17, 2025—Freedom is something many people in the world seek, but what factors contribute to a country being considered free? This is a question students in Associate Professor of Political Science Katherine Carroll’s course, Middle East Politics, explored by creating a mock report for Freedom House, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that promotes democracy, political freedom, and...
Never forgotten: Tiffany Fracchia’s class helps identify missing American WWII soldier in France
Dec. 10, 2025—There are more than 80,000 unaccounted-for American service personnel from past conflicts, according to the U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). More than 70,000 are missing from World War II alone, leaving their surviving families and descendants with questions, but no answers. Growing up, Associate Professor of the Practice of Anthropology Tiffany Fracchia...
Vanderbilt University and EPB launch innovation institute to accelerate quantum science and technology breakthroughs
Dec. 9, 2025—Vanderbilt University and EPB of Chattanooga, home of America’s most comprehensive quantum commercialization infrastructure, announced plans to establish the Institute for Quantum Innovation, further positioning Chattanooga—and Tennessee—as a national ...
What would a small black hole do to the human body? Robert Scherrer aims to answer that
Nov. 19, 2025—Some people may worry about being bitten by a snake or spider, but have you ever considered what would happen if a small black hole tried to pass through your body? An article by Professor of Physics Robert Scherrer in the International Journal of Mode...
Study reveals role giant ground sloths played in the environment, potentially aiding in ecological restoration today
Nov. 19, 2025—A new study led by Aditya Kurre, BA’22, and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Guggenheim Fellow Larisa DeSantis has revealed the specific diet of two species of giant ground sloth, uncovering the vital roles they played in their environmen...
Vanderbilt University Unity Poll: Americans say college should teach “how to think,” not “what to think”
Nov. 18, 2025—As conversations about the value and nature of higher education continue at colleges and universities nationwide, a new national Vanderbilt Unity Poll finds that Americans are largely united on the fundamental value of higher education—and in their dis...
Research Investment: Vanderbilt finds ways to set up new faculty for success
Nov. 11, 2025—By Elizabeth Cook Jenkins, BS’99 Photos by Harrison McClary Finding a place to live, designing a course and hiring research assistants are just a few of the tasks that new faculty face when they arrive in Nashville. Not long after they’ve set up their...