Skip to main content

‘VINSE Faculty News’

Four VINSE Faculty Win 2024 School of Engineering Research Awards

May. 9, 2024—  At the recent School of Engineering End of the Year Social, Dean Krish Roy presented several awards. Four faculty members from the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) were honored for their outstanding contributions to research.   Rising Star Research Award: Marjan Rafat Marjan Rafat, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,...

Read more


Lauren Buchanan wins NSF CAREER Award

Mar. 22, 2024—Lauren Buchanan, assistant professor of chemistry, has received a prestigious NSF CAREER Award. Her CAREER project, “Understanding Nanoparticle-induced Changes to Protein Structure,” will address a critical gap in our understanding of protein-nanoparticle interactions: the detailed surface-induced changes to protein structure and dynamics that that potentially impact protein function. The five-year, $675,000 grant will support the...

Read more


Vanderbilt engineering professor Joshua Caldwell elected SPIE Fellow

Feb. 9, 2024—Joshua Caldwell, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of Vanderbilt’s Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) graduate program, has been elected to the grade of Fellow of SPIE. Fellows are Members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. Dr. Caldwell is honored for his technical achievement and for his service...

Read more


New VINSE Faculty: Dr. Daniel Gonzales

Jan. 18, 2024—We are excited to welcome Dr. Daniel Gonzales as our newest VINSE faculty member! Dr. Gonzales is joining Vanderbilt’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute in January 2024. He attended university in his hometown of San Angelo, Texas and graduated from Angelo State University in 2013 with a BS in Physics. He then attended Rice University...

Read more


Rogers elected President of the American Vacuum Society

Nov. 7, 2023—Bridget Rogers has been elected President of the American Vacuum Society (AVS). She will serve a three-year term as President-elect for 2024, President for 2025, and Past President for 2026. AVS is comprised of approximately 4,500 members and supports networking and camaraderie among academic, industrial, government, and consulting professionals involved in emerging interdisciplinary research related to materials,...

Read more


Vanderbilt engineering professor Joshua Caldwell elected Optica fellow

Nov. 2, 2023—Joshua Caldwell, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of Vanderbilt’s Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) graduate program, has been elected to the 2024 Fellow Class of the Optica Society. Optica, formerly the Optical Society of America, is the preeminent professional society in the field of optics and photonics, with 22,000 members from 180 countries and...

Read more


A team led by VINSE Deputy Director Jason Valentine and American soldiers have partnered to make service members invisible on the modern battlefield.

Jul. 7, 2023—Vanderbilt engineers and American soldiers have partnered to make service members invisible on the modern battlefield. A team lead by VINSE Deputy Director, Jason Valentine, is designing innovative equipment that reduces soldiers’ detectability by thermal sensors, increasing their safety and operational effectiveness. Support for Vanderbilt’s Dare to Grow campaign makes this collaboration possible and furthers...

Read more


VINSE Faculty Shihong Lin and Ethan Lippmann Named 2023 Chancellor Faculty Fellows

Jun. 7, 2023—Thirteen outstanding faculty members from across the university have been selected for the 2023 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. This group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise.   “As we reflect on the 150th anniversary of our founding, we’re asking our university community to...

Read more


VINSE launches new video series to feature the faculty. Episode 1: Sharon Weiss

Jun. 6, 2023—VINSE is excited to kick-off a new video series that will introduce VINSE professors and show the broad range of the VINSE research areas spanning drug delivery, cellular communication, metamaterials, sensors, batteries, and photodetectors. To kick off this series, learn more about VINSE Director, Sharon Weiss. The Weiss Group engages in research involving photonics, optoelectronics, nanoscience,...

Read more


Caldwell collaboration wins prestigious Office of Naval Research MURI grant

Apr. 21, 2023—Josh Caldwell, director of the Interdisciplinary Material Sciences program and professor of mechanical engineering, has been awarded a grant from the Office of Naval Research’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative. The five-year grant, which provides up to $1.5 million in funding annually, will be shared among Vanderbilt University, the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota and Stanford University to...

Read more