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Caldwell & Valentine annual canoe trip
Aug. 3, 2026—Caldwell and Valentine lab groups took time off out of the labs and onto the Harpeth River.
Congrats to Shubh Patel – Best poster award for VINSE REU
Jul. 30, 2026—Way to go Shubh for winning best poster award! Near-Field Characterization of Infrared Metaplasmonics: Mapping Tunable Plasmon Polaritons in Perforated Gold Films Traditional gold plasmonics are confined to the near-infrared because gold’s high free-electron density fixes its plasma frequency far above the range needed for longer-wavelength applications, limiting surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) support to short wavelengths....
Caldwell lab group attends the Plasmonics and Nanophotonics GRC July 19-24
Jul. 29, 2026—The group attended the Plasmonics and Nanophotonics GRC (Gordon Research Conference), Bridging the Fundamental Science and Engineering Applications of Light at the Nanoscale. Congrats to Youngji Kim for winning best poster award at the conference.
Prof. Josh Caldwell has been named the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Jul. 11, 2026—Congratulations to our very own, Josh Caldwell, on being named the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Mechanical Engineering (effective August 15, 2026). Endowed chairs are the highest honor bestowed upon faculty during their careers and signal peerless achievement in scholarship, research, artistic expression, teaching and service.
Emma Bartelsen awarded a SPIE Optics and Photonics Scholarship
May. 28, 2026—Emma received a 2026 Optics and Photonics Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, for potential contributions to optics, photonics, or a related field. Individual recipient information: https://www.spie.org/membership/student-hub/scholarships/optics-and-photonics-education-scholarships/current-winners Full press release: https://www.spie.org/news/spie-awards-351000-in-scholarships-to-85-students-shaping-the-future-of-optics-and-photonics
Congratulations to Ryan Kowalski on receiving the Founder’s Medal!
May. 7, 2026—Ryan was selected as the 2026 Founder’s Medalist from the Graduate School.The Founder’s Medal is awarded to the most outstanding Ph.D. graduate each year during the May commencement ceremony. This year the medal is being awarded in the subject areas of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Science. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2026/05/07/vanderbilt-university-honors-class-of-2026-founders-medalists/
Caldwell group members presenting posters at VINSE 25th Annual NanoDay!
Nov. 13, 2025—10 members of the Caldwell lab presented posters at the at 25th Annual VINSE NanoDay!
Check out Ryan Kowalski’s publication “Ultraconfined terahertz phonon polaritons in hafnium dichalcogenides”
Sep. 30, 2025—Ryan Kowalski’s recently published paper in Nature Materials “Ultraconfined terahertz phonon polaritons in hafnium dichalcogenides.” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-025-02345-0