Watch the video series

Discover groundbreaking research and dynamic collaborations as Vanderbilt’s leading scholars push the boundaries for what’s possible.

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AI Unearths Untold Stories

Jane Landers and Daniel Genkins use AI to piece together the untold history of enslaved populations in the Atlantic World from the 16th through 20th centuries.

Art & Antibodies: Vaccine Visionary

Meet Dr. James Crowe, the visionary immunologist who fused art and science to play a pivotal role in discovering COVID-19 antibodies.

The Faith-Fueled Brain Scanner

Audrey Bowden shines a light on breakthroughs in biophotonic technology for better diagnosis of and therapy for ADHD and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Generations of Chemistry

Steven D. Townsend researches how chemicals in human breast milk can be used to improve human health and society. He follows in the footsteps of his ancestors, who themselves were early chemists.

Less Traffic on the Road to Tomorrow

Daniel Work and Jonathan Sprinkle conduct the world’s largest real-world road test to see how semi-autonomous vehicles can mitigate traffic and reduce gas use.
Portrait of Jad Abumrad

Meet the Host, Jad Abumrad

Jad Abumrad, public radio icon and podcast pioneer, joined Vanderbilt University in 2022 as a Distinguished Research Professor of Cinema and Media Arts and of Communication of Science and Technology at the College of Arts and Science. Abumrad created Radiolab and Dolly Parton’s America, both Peabody Award–winning podcasts that explore big questions in philosophy and humanity. Abumrad was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2011 for innovation in the podcast field.

The idea for Quantum Potential was born soon after Jad Abumrad joined Vanderbilt University and began meeting the university’s researchers and scholars. He quickly realized: “These people are not just brilliant. If the ideas of any one of these people pop off, we could suddenly be living in a different, better world.”