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VINSE Director Sandra Rosenthal Elected AAAS Fellow
Dec. 14, 2011—Sandra Rosenthal has been elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Sandy was recognized for her distinguished contributions to the field of nanochemistry, particularly for synthesis and characterization of nanocrystals and the utilization of nanocrystals as biomarkers of protein expression. FULL ARTICLE>
New method for enhancing thermal conductivity could cool computer chips, lasers and other devices
Dec. 14, 2011—The surprising discovery of a new way to tune and enhance thermal conductivity – a basic property generally considered to be fixed for a given material – gives engineers a new tool for managing thermal effects in smart phones and computers, lasers and a number of other powered devices. The finding was made by a...
Microscopy method brings ‘nano-world’ into focus
Oct. 25, 2011—A new technique for imaging whole cells in liquid – with a nanometer resolution that brings into focus individual proteins and other intracellular structures – could dramatically improve the study of cancer, viral infections and brain function. The technique, electron microscopy (EM) of liquids, also may improve our understanding of reactions in energy storage materials,...
Yaqiong Xu receives NSF career development award
Oct. 25, 2011—What happens when you attach DNA and other biomolecules to tiny molecular tubes called nanotubes? Answering this question is the goal of the research of Yaqiong Xu, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and physics, who has been awarded one of the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development grants. According to the National Science...
Something big from something small: The 10th anniversary of VINSE
Oct. 7, 2011—Vanderbilt researchers working at the smallest scale celebrate a huge milestone this year. The Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE), seeded from a university-funded $16 million venture capital fund initiative, celebrates its 10th anniversary in December. There is much to celebrate, including the fact that in the past decade, VINSE has attracted more than $75...
VINSE Welcomes Janet Macdonald, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Oct. 3, 2011—Janet E. Macdonald, assistant professor of chemistry B.S., McGill University, 2002 Ph.D., University of Alberta, 2008 Macdonald recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Institute of Chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Her work on semiconductor nanostructures has led to the discovery of a novel, unpredicted semiconductor nanocage. At Vanderbilt, she proposes to synthesize novel semiconductor...
New technique maps twin faces of smallest Janus nanoparticles
Sep. 26, 2011—New drug delivery systems, solar cells, industrial catalysts and video displays are among the potential New drug delivery systems, solar cells, industrial catalysts and video displays are among the potential applications of special particles that possess two chemically distinct sides. These particles are named after the two-faced Roman god Janus and their twin chemical faces...
Qi Zhang receives NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
Aug. 8, 2011—With great pleasure we announce Qi Zhang has been selected to receive an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award! With this award Qi will develop multimodal nano sensors to study the structure and functionality of synapses in the mammalian central nervous system. These new nano-tools will not only reveal the dynamics and plasticity of the human...
VINSE Faculty Member Clare McCabe winner of Madison Sarratt Prize
Jun. 8, 2011—Clare McCabe, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering has been awarded the 2011 Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the 2011 Spring Faculty assembly. The Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching was established by the Board of Trust in 1964. Final selection of the award recipient is made by...
Stamping out low cost nanodevices
May. 31, 2011—A simple technique for stamping patterns invisible to the human eye onto a special class of nanomaterials provides a new, cost-effective way to produce novel devices in areas ranging from drug delivery to solar cells. The technique was developed by Vanderbilt University engineers and described in the cover article of the May issue of the journal Nano...