March, 2012
Paul Laibinis wins Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching
Mar. 29, 2012—Five faculty members were recognized for their achievements in and out of the classroom by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos at the Spring Faculty Assembly. Professors Paul Laibinis, Emily Nacol, Sohee Park, Suzanna Sherry and Janos Sztipanovits were selected for the awards by Zeppos out of a pool of nominees nominated by faculty. “I must admit...
Barrier to faster graphene devices identified and suppressed
Mar. 13, 2012—These days, graphene is the rock star of materials science, but it has an Achilles heel: It is exceptionally sensitive to its electrical environment. This single-atom-thick honeycomb of carbon atoms is lighter than aluminum, stronger than steel and conducts heat and electricity better than copper. As a result, scientists around the world are trying to...
Science comes alive for middle school students during Vanderbilt lab visit
Mar. 13, 2012—During a visit to campus on March 12, members of the Joelton Middle School Art2STEM club – an after-school organization for middle school girls that highlights the importance of creativity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – got to see what a real future as a scientist might be like. The students...
Ultrafast sonograms shed new light on rapid phase transitions
Mar. 7, 2012—Vanadium dioxide crystal lattice (A. Julia Stähler / Fritz Haber Institute) An international team of physicists has developed a method for taking ultrafast “sonograms” that can track the structural changes that take place within solid materials in trillionth-of-a-second intervals as they go through an important physical process called a phase transition. Common phase transitions include...