Listen Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory hope a new federal grant will help them turn plants into fuel. The Department of Energy announced this week that it’s providing $12 million next year to the lab in East Tennessee, with the potential for more than $100 million over the next five years.
Using Veterans’ Health Data, Oak Ridge National Lab Takes On Massive Medical Research Project
Listen What might be the most ambitious health care data analysis to date is happening in East Tennessee. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working through a massive batch of records from the Department of Veterans Affairs — the records that VA doctors keep on their more than 22 million patients. About a quarter of a […]
Nashville’s Total Solar Eclipse Will Be Live-Streamed, Thanks To Vanderbilt Students And NASA
Listen In the era of Facebook Live and other on-demand video, it’s perhaps no surprise that the largest celestial event in America this summer will be live-streamed. Students from Vanderbilt University will launch a high-altitude weather balloon — connected to a video camera — to send images of the total solar eclipse back to NASA on […]
Out-Of-State Investment In Local Tech Startups Is Booming, But Tennessee Investors Lag Behind
Listen Local tech startups are more popular than ever — with investors outside of Tennessee, that is. Data that tracks capital investment trends in the last five years show a steady rise in funding from out-of-state backers. But funding from investors in Tennessee hasn’t seen the same growth.
MTSU’s Next Big Ambition: Becoming A Research Powerhouse
Listen Middle Tennessee State University is setting its sights on big federal money — specifically, research grants from funding agencies like the National Science Foundation. After launching a number of Ph.D. programs in the past several years, the school is trying to establish itself as a research powerhouse.
Science Fans Try To Spark Enthusiasm In Nashville For This Summer’s Solar Eclipse
Listen Astronomy enthusiasts across the country are already planning out where they’ll be on Aug. 21, when a total solar eclipse will make a path across North America. As the largest city on that path, Nashville is expecting a boost in tourism from visitors excited about the eclipse. But the Adventure Science Center is also trying […]
Movers & Thinkers: Discovering Your Inner Nerd As An Adult
Sometimes, the desire to fit in stops people from doing things they really love. Morley Bankston, a computer programmer in Nashville, avoided anything related to math or science in high school because she was afraid of being labeled a “nerd.” She talked to WPLN’s Emily Siner as part of our live series Movers & Thinkers […]
Vanderbilt Doctors Make Progress On Diagnosing Rare Mystery Diseases
Listen Over the past year and a half, doctors and researchers in Nashville have diagnosed eight of the rarest genetic diseases. One doctor on the team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center says its progress is now speeding up.
Tennessee Astronaut Butch Wilmore Tours The State To Tout Science
Listen You could say Butch Wilmore has star power. The Tennessee native is an astronaut who spent six months on the International Space Station, and students at William Henry Oliver Middle School in Nashville were clearly excited that he was visiting Thursday. The school band welcomed him with a Star Wars medley. Students lined up […]
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