Energy
Do your part to help conserve energy during heat wave
Jun. 15, 2022—With temperatures expected to reach over 100 degrees in the Nashville area, the Vanderbilt University Facilities Department is asking faculty, staff and students to help reduce their energy consumption over the next two weeks. Nashville Electric Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority have requested that Middle Tennessee residents voluntarily reduce their electrical consumption during the...
Vanderbilt, Nashville to participate in Earth Hour to raise awareness about climate change
Mar. 23, 2022—Vanderbilt University and the city of Nashville will participate in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 26, to raise awareness about climate change. Started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund and partners, Earth Hour has become a global event with more than 185 countries and territories participating. For safety reasons, Vanderbilt will not turn...
Vanderbilt to collaborate on $4.8 million ARPA-E microgrid control project
Feb. 17, 2022—Vanderbilt computer engineers will collaborate with colleagues at North Carolina State University on a new $4.8 million project to develop technology to co-design and control microgrids. The award was among 68 grants exceeding $175 million announced this week by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The research and development projects are aimed aim at...
Solar farm groundbreaking advances Vanderbilt’s large-scale renewable energy partnership
Feb. 10, 2022—A bold partnership that will help Vanderbilt University power its campus entirely through renewable energy is a step further toward that goal with the Jan. 19 groundbreaking for a solar farm in Bedford County, Tennessee. In 2020, Vanderbilt announced two pioneering agreements with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nashville Electric Service to procure off-site large-scale...
Two Vanderbilt University buildings earn LEED certification
Feb. 4, 2022—Vanderbilt University has been awarded two Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications. The first is for the School of Nursing building, which opened in 2019, and the second is for the 1101 19th Avenue South building, formerly Disciples of Christ building, for its renovation in 2020. The university now has 24 LEED-certified buildings as designated by the...
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...
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 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,...
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...