The Wond'ry

08/31/2026

Welcome back to campus, Commodores!

We’re open! Stop by the makerspace this semester, or visit our website to sign up for one of our upcoming workshops.

08/21/2026

08/14/2026

🔦 MakerTech Spotlight: Ray Nakagawa

This summer, Ray spent her days helping students, researchers, and project teams navigate the Wond'ry Makerspaces. Whether it was 3D printing, CAD, laser cutting, or prototyping, she supported dozens of projects while continuing to grow as a maker herself.

“It’s everything I’ve been looking for in a job this summer. It helped me figure out if I like engineering and get experience doing projects. It was a great time.”

Interested in making something of your own? Stop by the Wond'ry Makerspaces and see what's possible.

Thank you Ray for all your work this summer!

07/31/2026

The Wond'ry's 2026 IMPACT Summer Cohort concluded an incredible summer by presenting their work at the VINSE Poster Symposium.

Over the past 10 weeks, students progressed through the IMPACT Arc. Through research, stakeholder engagement, prototyping, and iterative development, they advanced promising deep technology concepts while strengthening the skills needed to translate innovation into real-world impact.

While the summer experience has concluded, the journey continues. Several teams will continue refining their work, pursuing additional research and funding opportunities, and advancing their technologies through the IMPACT Program.

Thank you to our students, mentors, Vanderbilt faculty, staff, campus partners, and industry collaborators for investing your time, expertise, and encouragement throughout the summer. Your commitment created an exceptional learning experience and helped shape the next generation of deep technology innovators.

07/29/2026

Reminder: The priority deadline to apply for the 2026–27 Vanderbilt Innovation Fellowship is tomorrow, July 30!

Whether you're interested in healthcare, sustainability, technology, entrepreneurship, or simply want to make an impact, VIF welcomes students from all majors to tackle challenges through hands-on innovation.

📅 Priority deadline: Tomorrow, July 30
📅 Regular deadline: September 1

Returning Vanderbilt students are encouraged to apply by the priority deadline.

Scan the QR code or click the link below to learn more and submit your application!

https://ow.ly/Rkh550ZtSxK

07/24/2026

Our IMPACT Summer Cohort has reached an important milestone in the IMPACT Arc, completing the Invent phase of the program. Building on the insights generated during Uncover, students translated validated opportunities into early-stage concepts through brainstorming, rapid prototyping, testing, and iterative design.

Their insights highlighted emerging approaches to addressing complex challenges across four verticals - Healthcare for All Humans, Ensuring a Sustainable Planet, National Security and Defense, and Innovation Beyond Earth.

As the cohort now enters the Propel phase, students will focus on refining their concepts, evaluating implementation pathways, and exploring how deep technologies can create meaningful real-world impact. We look forward to following the continued evolution of these ideas as they progress through the IMPACT journey.

07/16/2026

🚀 Applications for the 2026–27 Vanderbilt Innovation Fellowship are now open!

The Vanderbilt Innovation Fellowship (VIF) is an immersive program where students work alongside campus and industry partners to tackle real-world challenges. Through design thinking and human-centered design, Fellows gain hands-on experience developing innovative solutions that make an impact.

📅 Priority application deadline: July 30
📅 Regular application deadline: September 1

Returning Vanderbilt students are encouraged to apply by the priority deadline.

Apply here ⬇
https://lnkd.in/eY9DZPdS

07/14/2026

Congratulations to Professor Alexandra Sargent Capps and her students for showcasing Vanderbilt innovation on a global stage! Their wearable design, worn by the acclaimed artist María Magdalena Compos-Pons to lead an opening procession at the Venice Biennale, demonstrates how engineering, design, and creativity can come together to create a meaningful outcome.

Want to build products like these? This fall, students can learn directly from Professor Sargent Capps in ES 3890: Special Topics - Wearable Product Design, where they’ll explore the design and development of wearable products through hands-on projects. The course counts towards Vanderbilt’s new Innovation & Design Strategy (IDS) minor, making it a great way to combine technical skills with human-centered design.

07/10/2026

Invent is where ideas become tangible.

The summer cohort of Vanderbilt's IMPACT Program is officially kicking off the Invent phase! Over the coming weeks, undergraduate students will transform research into real-world solutions through rapid prototyping, hands-on design, testing, and iteration at the Wond'ry. Working alongside faculty and industry mentors, they'll develop innovative technologies while strengthening the skills needed to bring ideas from concept to impact.

Featured speakers: Nassos (Economics and Computer Science), Jalen (Mechanical Engineering), Enoch (Civil Engineering), and Research Engineer Anupam Kumar.

Are you an incoming first-year or rising sophomore interested in innovation, research, and entrepreneurship? Applications are now open for the Fall IMPACT cohort—learn more: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/the-wondry/impact-program/

06/30/2026

💡 Every great solution starts with asking the right questions.

Congratulations to our IMPACT Summer Cohort on completing the Uncover phase of the IMPACT program! Over the past several weeks, students have interviewed stakeholders, identified unmet needs, and explored real-world challenges through human-centered design.

Their final presentations highlighted issues including reducing energy consumption in water treatment aeration systems, enabling efficient hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing workflows, developing air traffic management for electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, and reducing downtime during power transformer inspection and maintenance. Now they're ready to move into the Invent phase, where ideas begin to take shape.

We can't wait to see what's next! 🚀