November, 2022
More than 500 students participating in the VINSE High School Field Trip Program
Nov. 29, 2022—25 Middle Tennessee High Schools representing 14 Middle TN counties have signed up to participate in the VINSE high school field trip program. Groups of up to 20 from each school will to visit our facilities, perform an experiment, utilize our electron microscope, and learn about nanotechnology and energy during a day visit. Participating Schools, Fall, 2022:...
Dissertation Defense: Joseph Matson, Interdisciplinary Materials Science
Nov. 28, 2022—DISSERTATION DEFENSE Joseph Matson, Interdisciplinary Materials Science *under the direction of Dr. Josh Caldwell “Gaining Nanophotonic Control through Crystalline Anisotropy” 12.05.22 | 3:00pm CST | 048 Engineering Science Building | Zoom Infrared (IR) optics form the basis for many important applications, including chemical spectroscopy for pharmaceuticals, medical testing, environmental monitoring, automotives, and aerospace, to name a few. However,...
Dissertation Defense: Nathan Spear, Interdisciplinary Materials Science
Nov. 28, 2022—DISSERTATION DEFENSE Nathan Spear, Interdisciplinary Materials Science *under the direction of Dr. Janet Macdonald & Dr. Richard Haglund “Enhanced Plasmonic Upconversion in Coupled Metal-Semiconductor Nanoparticle Films” 12.06.22 | 11:00am CST | 132 Olin Hall A large class of nonlinear materials show enhanced harmonic generation by exciting the localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) of metallic or semiconducting nanoparticles....
Dissertation Defense: Christopher Sharp, Chemistry
Nov. 28, 2022—DISSERTATION DEFENSE Christopher Sharp, Chemistry *under the direction of Dr. Janet Macdonald “Cation Exchange in Nanocrystals Towards Novel Ternary Copper Chalcogens” 12.02.22 | 1:00pm CST | 202 Light Hall (RLH) | Zoom This thesis concerns the synthesis of copper chalcogen nanocrystals through cation exchange with focus on ternary intermediate and final products. Firstly, synthetic targeting of metastable and thermodynamic CuFeS2...
“Mid- to Far-Infrared Anisotropic Dielectric Function of HfS2 and HfSe2” published in Advanced Optical Materials, selected as a VINSE Spotlight Publication
Nov. 28, 2022—About the author: Ryan Kowalski is a fourth-year graduate student pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Materials Science under the direction Dr. Josh Caldwell. Using infrared spectroscopy, the Caldwell group investigates the optical properties of semiconductor materials for optoelectronic devices. Ryan’s recent publication in Advanced Optical Materials characterizes the anisotropic dielectric functions of 2D van der...
Shihong Lin named Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate
Nov. 15, 2022—Congratulations to Shihong Lin, who has been named one of Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers for 2022. 6,938 researchers from 69 countries have been named this year. Of the world’s population of scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers are 1 in 1,000. Highly Cited Researchers have demonstrated significant and broad influence reflected in their publication of...
“Freestanding Bipolar Membranes with an Electrospun Junction for High Current Density Water Splitting” published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, selected as a VINSE Spotlight Publication
Nov. 10, 2022—About the author: Devon Powers earned his Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering PhD in May 2019 under the direction of Prof. Peter Pintauro. Devon’s studies were focused on fabrication techniques for ion-exchange membranes for H2/air fuel cells and water splitting applications. Through electrospinning, he was able to obtain intimate mixing of otherwise dissimilar materials, leading to...
VINSE Colloquium Series: “Photonic spin density of light: quantum magnetometry, acoustic waves and thermal radiation” Dr. Zubin Jacob, Purdue University 2/8/23
Nov. 9, 2022—Dr. Zubin Jacob Elmore Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Purdue University Noon – Engineering Science Building 044/048 Lunch available to the first 60 attendees. Abstract. The first part of the talk will be theoretical and introduce a quantum field theory to rigorously analyze the spin angular momentum of photons. The second part of the talk...
VINSE Colloquium Series: “Transient studies of vibration-cavity polaritons” Dr. Adam Dunkelberger, Naval Research Lab 3/22/23
Nov. 8, 2022—Dr. Adam Dunkelberger Research Chemist U.S. Naval Research Laboratory 03.22.23 | 4:10PM | Stevenson 5326 Light refreshments served at 3:45PM Abstract: Vibration-cavity polaritons, which are produced by strong coupling between an optical cavity and a molecular vibration, have been shown to modify chemical reaction rates and branching ratios. However, the underlying mechanisms for the observed...
DISCO Dicing Saw Seminar
Nov. 8, 2022—12.07.22 ESB 001 1:30-4:00 PM Please join us to learn about the capabilities of the DISCO DAD3220 dicing saw in Vanderbilt University’s VINSE cleanroom. Representatives from DISCO will provide an overview of dicing applications and techniques. Dicing is a standard microfabrication process to create custom-sized substrates and devices for a variety of electronic, optical, biomedical, and other applications. Silicon, sapphire, and fused...