Janell Lees

VINSE was excited to participate in TWISTER (Tennessee Women in Science, Tech, Engineering, and Research) at the Adventure Science Center on Saturday, February 7th. The Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) hosted three hands-on activities to showcase nanoscience and give over 100 high school girls a glimpse… Read More

While much of the campus enjoys spring break, VINSE NanoGuides welcomes 50 students from three middle Tennessee high schools: Cookeville, Greenbrier, and Springfield. They’re here to take part in our Blackberry Solar Cell hands-on lab to learn how nanoscale materials affect renewable energy technologies. Students made their own dye-sensitized solar… Read More

What role does design play in controlling fluid motion? Today, VINSE welcomed 16 students from Hillsboro High School for an interactive experience in the Cleanroom Microfluidics Lab. The visit introduced students to the VINSE cleanroom, a room with the cleanest air in Middle Tennessee, where they explored microfluidics with hands-on… Read More

The Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, represented by Sarah Ross, has received the Community Partnership Excellence Award from Vanderbilt Compliance Services in recognition of its longstanding commitment to collaboration, education, and responsible community engagement. The award honors programs that exemplify meaningful partnership in higher education. In its official… Read More

VINSE offers customized photolithography patterning for direct-write or photomask applications. Tanner [Siemens] L-Edit IC software is a CAD package capable of complex, multi-layer layout editing for cleanroom tools such as the Bungard photoplotter, Heidelberg uPG101 laser writer, Raith eLine electron beam lithography system [EBL], and the future Elionix ELS-BODEN 50… Read More

The Buehler Ecomet 30 is a new grinding and polishing system located in VINSE’s specimen preparation laboratory. This tool enables both manual polishing of devices and materials and automatic polishing of resin-embedded samples. Rapid, but controlled material removal is achieved by varying the grit… Read More

Courtney Ragle Graduate Student, Interdisciplinary Materials Science Lauren Buchanan Research Group When I started graduate school, I knew I wanted to make a meaningful contribution to the scientific community, but I wasn’t exactly sure how. During my undergraduate years, I realized my passion lies in research. After… Read More

How can differences in designs alter the behavior of the fluid? On Thursday, February 12, 2026, VINSE welcomed 16 students from Lebanon High School to our Cleanroom Microfluidics Lab. They went inside the VINSE cleanroom, home of the cleanest air in Middle Tennessee, and found out with hands-on activities! The students… Read More

VINSE is pleased to announce that the Ion Wave 10 Batch Plasma System has been successfully repaired and returned to service in the VINSE cleanroom. The Ion Wave 10 is a microwave plasma processing system that delivers higher ion and radical densities at lower substrate bias voltages than traditional RF… Read More

Starting in January 2026, Dr. Asheley Chapman joined Vanderbilt University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Asheley’s research strengthens Vanderbilt’s efforts at the interface of nanotechnology, immunology, and translational medicine.  … Read More