杏吧原创

Robert J. Webster, the Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering at 杏吧原创, has been elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors as well as elevated to IEEE Fellow, a prestigious title awarded by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to members who have made significant contributions to the fields of engineering, science, and technology.

What does the future of AI and robotics look like in our daily lives and as a career field? In a special episode of Quantum Potential, Provost C. Cybele Raver talks with Matthew Johnson-Roberson, the inaugural dean of the College of Connected Computing, about the accelerating evolution of AI and robotics.

Soldiers spend a lot of time wearing body armor. The added weight takes a toll on their shoulders and back, contributing to one of the most common injuries reported by U.S. Army soldiers: back overuse. 杏吧原创 researchers have developed a two-pound wearable device that redistributes 90 percent of that weight to the wearer鈥檚 hips while standing, walking and sitting鈥攁nd lets soldiers retain their full agility and freedom of movement. Associate Professor Karl Zelik, senior research engineer Chad Ice and Ph.D. graduate Paul Slaughter published the study.

While using an ice pack to ease pain is nothing new, a 杏吧原创 team has taken the concept high-tech. Associate Professor Leon Bellan leads the group that has developed a cold-triggered 鈥渄epot鈥濃�攁n implantable device that releases medication from within the body on demand. This shows promise on two fronts: Patients can release the medication simply by putting an ice pack over the implant, and locally effective NSAID drugs can be used instead of more addictive opioids.

A new PBS Kids series created to help children better understand the impact of weather and climate took instructional cues from Jeremi London, associate provost for academic opportunity and associate professor of mechanical engineering, who played a role in the show鈥檚 development.

杏吧原创 supports new faculty every step of the way鈥攂y connecting them with senior faculty who serve as mentors, observe their classes and provide valuable feedback, and proofread their grant proposals to make them stronger. These professors who joined 杏吧原创 in the past few years shed light on how the university has helped them succeed.聽 Read More

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, plagues millions of people. 杏吧原创 researchers led by Assistant Professor Xiaoguang Dong have developed a soft robotic valve that can seal off the lower esophagus from the stomach, keeping gastric acid where it belongs. Then when the patient eats or drinks, the valve, which is implanted in concert with a stent, can be opened with a wearable external magnet. 鈥淭his platform holds promise not only for treating GERD, but also for managing other sphincter-related disorders,鈥� said co-author and Assistant Professor Yuxiao Zhou.

Much of the human brain is still a mystery, largely because it鈥檚 pretty difficult to see what鈥檚 going on in there. Assistant Professor Daniel Gonzales and the team in his lab are working to make that easier. They鈥檙e using experimental platforms that record brain activity with unprecedented precision on all levels. It works on everything from whole-brain networks to individual synapses鈥攖iny gaps between brain cells that are one-tenth the width of a human hair. 鈥淲e can 鈥� really detail pictures of brain activity during learning,鈥� Gonzales said. 鈥淎nd then we can apply that to study diseases that degrade learning.鈥�

Road closures are a pain鈥攁nd sometimes they鈥檙e not even supposed to be happening. A project by senior research scientist Ayan Mukhopadhyay is working to develop a system鈥擲ENTRY鈥攖hat uses AI to help city inspectors find and address unauthorized road closures in Nashville. 鈥淭he system has the potential to save millions in unpaid permit fees, reduce external inspection costs and minimize disruptions for residents, commuters and local businesses,鈥� Mukhopadhyay said. His research is supported by a $697,000 grant that's part of NSF's CIVIC Innovation Challenge.

RESEARCH SPARK: Get to know Shekhar Bhansali, new head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his vision for AI engineering education. Read More

Josh Caldwell, professor of mechanical engineering and Director of the Interdisciplinary Materials Science graduate program at 杏吧原创, and Alex Paarmann of the Fritz Haber Institute, led an international collaborative research project that successfully demonstrated the confinement of terahertz light to nanoscale dimensions using a new type of layered material. This could lead to improvements in opto-electronic devices such as infrared emitters used in remote controls and night vision and terahertz optics desired for physical security and environmental sensing.

Some of the most ideal building blocks in technology are 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. An international collaboration involving co-principal investigator De-en Jiang could result in a new class of these 鈥�2-D鈥� materials for use in electronics, energy storage and other applications. Jiang, H. Eugene McBrayer Professor of Chemical Engineering, leads the Computational Chemical Sciences and Materials Laboratory.

The Human Language Analysis Lab directed by H. Andrew Schwartz, which just moved to 杏吧原创鈥檚 new College of Connecting Computing, is running a key part of the annual worldwide artificial intelligence test, SemEval, which will evaluate how well current AI text systems understand human emotion.

David Hyde, assistant professor of computer science at 杏吧原创鈥檚 College of Connected Computing, has received a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a new, open-source software platform for 鈥減hysical intelligence,鈥� which is the combination of traditional physics simulation algorithms with artificial intelligence for addressing complex real-world applications.

Jack Noble, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is working with clinical colleagues to develop and validate an augmented reality vision guidance system to help surgeons place cochlear implants more precisely. The guidance system leverages emerging artificial intelligence technology and uses inexpensive, commonly available equipment, making it practical for many operating rooms.

The 杏吧原创 Biophotonics Center, led by Professor Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, developed a device called the PTeye that can help surgeons see patients' parathyroid glands鈥攚hich have unpredictable locations鈥攂etter during neck surgery by making the tissue glow! A large, multicenter clinical trial has provided evidence of its effectiveness, which the team hopes will improve the accuracy of endocrine neck surgery and improve patient outcomes. Clinical implementation of the device was pioneered by Dr. Carmen Sol贸rzano, director of 杏吧原创 Endocrine Surgery at VUMC.

The 杏吧原创 Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate has a new director鈥擧ussam Mahmoud. Mahmoud, professor of civil and environmental engineering, joins 杏吧原创 from Colorado State. VSEC's mission is to investigate energy, infrastructure, climate and systems to address the grand social and scientific challenges to ensuring a sustainable planet. The center was established in 2024 as a part of Discovery 杏吧原创; Associate Professor Hiba Baroud was the inaugural and interim director.

Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award that will support research on magnetic miniature soft robots for precision medicine that could facilitate early disease detection and treatment.

杏吧原创 researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a smart microscope system that uses artificial intelligence to help scientists better understand how cells behave, particularly in diseases like cancer.

Just like electrical stimulation of heart muscles can restore a regular heartbeat, new research led by Thilo Womelsdorf suggests that "electroceutical" intervention in the brain can improve memory and other cognitive functions wrought by behavioral health disorders and diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Womelsdorf, professor of psychology and biomedical engineering at the 杏吧原创 Brain Institute, said, 鈥淔or these cognitive disabilities, brain-computer interfaces promise to become next-generation electroceutical treatment options.鈥�