the Wond'ry

This Giving Tuesday, Make a Difference! The Wond’ry is where big ideas come to life – a place where students, staff, faculty, and community members innovate, collaborate, and create solutions that make the world a better place. Did you know? The Wond’ry doesn’t receive direct funding from student tuition. Your support ensures we can continue empowering the next generation of changemakers and providing the resources and programs that turn ideas into impact. By donating, you’re investing in a thriving innovation center that helps dreams take flight. Together, we can ensure the Wond’ry continues to spark creativity and drive innovation for years to come. Click the link below to donate and help us fuel the future of innovation: https://lnkd.in/euHkKp49 #GivingTuesday #SupportInnovation #FutureMakers

We’re thrilled to announce that the The University of Memphis has joined the National Science Foundation (NSF) Mid-South I-Corps Hub, led by Vanderbilt University through the Wond’ry! This partnership strengthens the innovation ecosystem across Tennessee, opening doors for groundbreaking research and entrepreneurial opportunities. Together, we’re building a more inclusive, collaborative innovation landscape for the region! Learn more about this exciting partnership: https://lnkd.in/eqUwHMw5 #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #ICorps #MidSouthHub #Vanderbilt #Memphis George Mason University Jackson State University Meharry Medical College Tennessee State University University of Kentucky University of Louisville University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Virginia Charleson Bell Jasbir Dhaliwal Padma Raghavan

Earlier this month we had an opportunity to celebrate a year's worth of collaboration between Bridgestone Americas and Vanderbilt University while also identifying new ways of working together in 2025 and beyond. Big thanks to Mandy Lalrindiki and the rest of the Wond'ry team for facilitating our collaborative networking sessions.

New Updates! 🚀 This past week, our co-founders Akhil Peddikuppa, Ishan Mahajan, and Dat Tran won the Grand Prize at the Spark Bowl Pitch Competition at Delaware Valley University for $12,000. A big thank you to the organizers of the competition, our competition mentor Jim Brennan, and student advisors Katia Holmes and Kory Corkins. We have also been recently selected to be part of the Founder program at the Wond’ry. We are extremely grateful to Stryker Warren and the rest of the Wond'ry team for giving us space at the Launch Incubator Space located in the Loews Office Tower. Finally, we’ve been selected for funding by the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program. The $5000 will go towards accelerating our development. 

🌟 Holiday Closure Announcement 🌟 The Wond’ry will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from 12 PM on Wednesday, November 27th, through Sunday, December 1st. We’ll resume normal hours starting on Monday, December 2nd. We hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with gratitude, joy, and creativity. 🍂✨ Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Wond’ry! 🦃🍁

We are currently accepting both student and team advisor applications for the Spring Climate Innovation Accelerator Program. The Climate Innovation Accelerator is a Nashville initiative that engages an inclusive network of local universities, small businesses, and nonprofits to advance the city’s leadership initiatives toward a climate positive future through a 10-week, no-cost, cohort learning journey. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/eNq28xiP

The Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) Makeathon brought together over 175 participants to work on projects that addressed the unique challenges of "need knowers"—individuals living with disabilities, the elderly, and underserved communities. This event highlighted TOM’s mission to create affordable, user-centered solutions. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gjx7M9T2 Vanderbilt University TOM Tikkun Olam Makers

Congratulations to the winning Map the System team who took first place at the Vanderbilt competition with their topic, "Frozen Fates: Unraveling the Cycle of Vulnerability to Dzud in Mongolia." Now we begin the fundraising to send this stellar team to the global stage, at the Oxford competition! If you are interested in this program, and any other Social Innovation programming, feel free to stop by our Lunch and Learn tomorrow or go to https://lnkd.in/emE9RRFp. Winning members: Aminta (Aimee) Permpoonwiwat, Garid Mendbayar, Namuun Zolbadrakh, and Anudari Naran-Ochir Vanderbilt University #MaptheSystem #SocialInnovation

Still on a high from the first ever PdM FTS Offsite last week!!!! Our team has gone through so many changes over the last 15 months, with a new mission, new people, and new purpose. This Offsite had three goals: connect with our FT Campbell teammates, understand the level of support to the 160th SOAR, and introduce Design Thinking as a critical tool for our formation. We accomplished all of this and more while checking out some key Nashville staples, including Hattie Bs, the Baked Bear, Peg Leg Porker, the Row, and Monell’s! A special thanks to our partners, the Nightstalkers at the 160th, the eaglewerx team, and of course the incredible team at the Wond'ry at Vanderbilt university for the incredible design thinking workshop. My vision for PdM FTS is that we are Champions of Specialized Training, and while we aren’t all the way there, we are so much better today than we were before, and there is nobody better! #PdMFTS PM CT2 PEO STRI U.S. Army PEO STRI #ILOVEMYJOB

Carbon offsets are a promising mechanism for financing efficiency upgrades in low-income households in the US, work in our CHEEL lab at the Wond'ry at Vanderbilt University finds. Such energy upgrades reduce energy use and carbon emissions - but they also reduce the energy bills and energy cost burdens of low-income households, helping boost physical and mental health for members of these households. Carbon offsets generated through low-income energy upgrades thus come with significant economic and health equity co-benefits. Investing in such offsets is a great way for US-based companies to meet climate goals while advancing human thriving in the communities where they operate. Purchasing locally generated, efficiency-based carbon offsets also comes with significant benefits to corporate reputation and the social license to operate. It has been a privilege and a joy to do this work with Carol Ziegler, NP-C, APHN-BC, DNP, James Muchira, Maya Maciel-Seidman, Aaditi Lele, Cindy Yan, and Samuel Lu. Clearloop continues to be an important source of inspiration for our Climate, Health, and Energy Equity endeavors at the CHEEL Lab. We are so grateful for the support that Jaclyn Mothupi, MS, PEM, LEED AP and the Social Innovation practice the Wond'ry are providing for the CHEEL Lab.