News Category
2021 Nanoseminar Schedule
May. 18, 2021—The VINSE summer nanoseminar series provides an opportunity for graduate students or post-docs to share their current research with the larger VINSE community to foster discussion and collaboration. Each seminar will consist of 2 talks of 15-20 minutes each with 10-15 minutes of questions. The goal of these talks is to discuss and challenge the...
VINSE Welcomes Summer 2021 Undergraduate Students
May. 10, 2021—Meet the Summer NSF REU Fellows and VINSE Tech Crew Members
Spotlight Podcast Episode 39: Kent Hallman – using VO2 a phase change material to build photonic devices
May. 7, 2021—This week in the VINSE Spotlight Podcast Kent Hallman tells Alice Leach about using VO2, a phase change material, to build photonic devices. Kent’s paper “Sub-Picosecond Response Time of a Hybrid VO2 :Silicon Waveguide at 1550 nm” was published in Advanced Optical Materials. Kent graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics in 2018. Kent Hallman – sing VO2...
Engineers’ groundbreaking discovery points to a new route to create thermal superconductors
Apr. 29, 2021—The relentless increase in heat loads imposed on devices in modern technologies is driving renewed interest among engineers and materials scientists in the area of heat transfer. A key challenge is finding approaches to enhance the materials’ capability of conducting heat. Deyu Li A team of engineers led by Vanderbilt mechanical engineering Professor Deyu Li...
Research Snapshot: New microscopy technique unveils feature that can shape applications of a class of quantum materials
Apr. 23, 2021—A team of researchers led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory microscopist Miaofang Chi and Vanderbilt theoretical physicist Sokrates Pantelides has used a new Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope technique to image the electron distribution in ionic compounds known as electrides— especially the electrons that float loosely within pockets and appear separate from the atomic network. Miaofang Chi; Sokrates Pantelides (Vanderbilt...
A drop of rubbing alcohol and office laminator provides manufacturability boost for single atom thick membranes
Mar. 31, 2021—Vanderbilt engineers used a drop of rubbing alcohol, an office laminator and creativity to develop scalable processes for manufacturing single atom thin membranes. Their membranes outperformed state-of-the-art commercial dialysis membranes and the approach is fully compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing. Details of the imaginative experiment are recently published in the journal of the Royal Chemistry Society: “Scalable Synthesis...
Photonics discovery portends dramatic efficiencies in silicon chips
Mar. 24, 2021—Researchers devised a hybrid, hyperbolic-silicon photonic waveguide platform that transmits mid-IR and near-IR light at the same time, on the same chip, demonstrating dual-band optical processing. Illustration: Caldwell Lab A team led by Vanderbilt engineers has achieved the ability to transmit two different types of optical signals across a single chip at the same time. The...
Spotlight Podcast Episode 38: Brian O’Grady – a new biomaterial that supports the growth of neurons into neural networks
Mar. 24, 2021—This week in the VINSE Spotlight Podcast Brian O’Grady tells Alice Leach about a new biomaterial that supports the growth of neurons into neural networks. Brian’s paper “Development of an N‑Cadherin Biofunctionalized Hydrogel to Support the Formation of Synaptically Connected Neural Networks” was published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. Brian graduated with a Ph.D....
Leon Bellan among five engineering faculty recognized with innovative teaching awards
Mar. 17, 2021—The extraordinary, creative efforts of five engineering faculty members to adapt to their new teaching environments in Fall 2020 were recognized recently with a Teaching Innovation Award from Philippe Fauchet, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering. The honorees quickly converted their in-person classes to online formats due to the COVID-19 pandemic and made innovative,...
Inspiring Women in STEM: Interview with Prof Sandra J Rosenthal
Mar. 15, 2021—Valpo Women in STEM interview Dr. Sandra J. Rosenthal, Professor of Chemistry, Biomolecular & Nanoscale Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Rosenthal is the ACS Herty Medalist and SEC Distinguished Faculty award winner as well as former VINSE Director. Watch Instagram Interview Now Join in at 6:53