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Sustainability, inclusion advancements highlighted in FutureVU FY2021 Progress Report
Dec. 1, 2021—Written by Shelby Pendowski Vanderbilt University made significant strides during FY2021 in sustainable building and landscape projects, accessibility improvements and transportation and mobility initiatives, even through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability was a key area of focus, with many initiatives launching throughout the year. Vanderbilt University announced a collaboration with the nonprofit organization Climate Vault...
WeGo Public Transit forum on Dec. 8 to seek input from Vanderbilt community on service changes
Nov. 30, 2021—Vanderbilt’s EasyRide program provides all full-time and part-time Vanderbilt University faculty, staff and students with free access to WeGo local buses, regional buses and WeGo Star with a swipe of their Vanderbilt ID card. This service is available for any place and time, not solely for commuting to and from campus. In order to gain insight into the...
Vanderbilt eliminates single-use plastic bottles at athletics venues
Nov. 19, 2021—Vanderbilt University continues to make significant progress in reducing its overall environmental impact, recently eliminating single-use plastic bottles at all athletics venues across campus. This bold step is the latest in a series of waste-reduction initiatives as part of Vanderbilt Campus Dining’s “No More Plastic” campaign. Initially launched in 2019, this effort eliminated single-use plastic water...
Vanderbilt University signs on to U.N.-backed Race to Zero campaign
Nov. 8, 2021—14 Vanderbilt students participate in international climate change negotiations Vanderbilt University, which already has taken significant steps in its commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, has joined the Race to Zero—Universities and Colleges coalition. By joining the global coalition of more than 1,000 educational institutions, Vanderbilt has pledged not only to attain net-zero carbon...
Smart power grid leader to deliver Nov. 8 Hall Engineering Lecture
Oct. 27, 2021—Yilu Liu led the effort to create the North American power grid Frequency Monitoring Network or FNET and is known for her research on electric power systems and smart grids. Liu was named an IEEE Fellow in 2003 and she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2016 for innovations in electric power grid monitoring, situational awareness,...
Vanderbilt acorns to become forests of the future
Oct. 27, 2021—With the crisp, cooler temperatures, Vanderbilt’s iconic white oaks have begun dropping their acorns. While the campus squirrels are busily storing their share, Vanderbilt has partnered with the Tennessee Department of Forestry to collect acorns to plant the forests of the future. Vanderbilt Facilities and the Department of Forestry set up nets on the Peabody College...
Vanderbilt engineering faculty selected as co-author for Fifth National Climate Assessment
Oct. 11, 2021—By Aran Sullivan Janey Camp, research associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been selected as a contributor to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a quadrennial report on the varied impacts and risks presented by global climate change across the country. The NCA5 is published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, itself a federally mandated...
Vanderbilt chapter advisor, student leaders win 2021 ASCE awards
Oct. 8, 2021—Professor Lori Troxel has received the 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers’ Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award. The award goes to faculty advisors who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and support to their ASCE student chapter. She is one of two recipients nationwide. Lexi Revis, BE’21, the conference planning chair of the 2021 ASCE Southeast Student Conference,...
Vanderbilt to host Oct. 15 cooking demonstration to shed light on food waste
Oct. 8, 2021—An estimated 40 percent of food produced annually in the United States goes uneaten while more than 10 percent of Americans are food insecure. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food is the nation’s single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills, where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. As part of its commitment...
Electric Avenue: Vanderbilt alumni are helping steer General Motors—and the automotive industry as a whole—toward a future driven by electric vehicle sales
Oct. 7, 2021—By Michael Blanding All images courtesy of General Motors It was a declaration of war unlike any the world had ever seen before. The comedian Will Ferrell—in an online video that appeared several weeks before it ran as one of this year’s most well-received Super Bowl commercials—indignantly discovers that Norway sells more electric vehicles per...