Sarah Ross
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Spotlight Publication: “Fluorocarbon Minimization Via Semifluorinated Copolymer Films by Combining Spin Coating and Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization” published in Langmuir
Simultaneous Spin Coating and Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (scROMP) for the Rapid Synthesis of Semifluorinated Copolymer Films. aNorbornene (NB) is a fully hydrocarbon monomer, while 5-(perfluoro-n-alkyl)norbornenes (NBFn) are partially fluorinated monomers with perfluoro chains attached to norbornenyl rings. Congratulations to Matthew Vasuta in the Jennings lab! Matthew’s paper “Fluorocarbon Minimization Via… Read MoreMar. 10, 2026
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Spotlight Publication: “Porous Silicon on Paper: A Platform for Quantitative Rapid Diagnostic Tests” published in ACS Applied Materials Interfaces
Porous Silicon Membrane-on-Paper Biosensor Congratulations to Huijin ‘Ginny’ An in the Weiss group! Ginny’s article “Porous Silicon on Paper: A Platform for Quantitative Rapid Diagnostic Tests” has been selected as a VINSE spotlight publication. Porous silicon (PSi) is a versatile nanophotonic material widely utilized in… Read MoreMar. 3, 2026
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Matthew Vasuta Receives 2026 Provost’s Pathbreaking Discovery Award
Matthew Vasuta has been selected to receive the 2026 Provost’s Pathbreaking Discovery Award, a premier university honor recognizing doctoral students who demonstrate truly exceptional research and scholarship. Vasuta is a fourth-year PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program and a member of Professor G. Kane… Read MoreMar. 3, 2026
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Dissertation Defense: Kieran Nehil-Puleo, Interdisciplinary Materials Science
DISSERTATION DEFENSE Kieran Nehil-Puleo, Interdisciplinary Materials Science *under the supervision of Peter Cummings “Towards virtual autonomous material design” 3.4.26 | 3:00 pm | 134 Olin Hall | Zoom Virtual autonomous material design is a computational paradigm in which artificial intelligence, high-throughput simulations, and adaptive optimization algorithms work together… Read MoreFeb. 27, 2026
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Spotlight Publication: “Substrate stiffness and shear stress collectively regulate the inflammatory phenotype in cultured human brain microvascular endothelial cells” published in Fluids and Barriers of the CNS
BMECs subcultured on 6 kPa and 30 kPa GEL substrates under static conditions express CD31/PECAM-1 (red), claudin-5 (green). Merged images include DAPI (blue). Congratulations to Alexis Yates in the Lippmann lab! Dr. Yates article “Substrate stiffness and shear stress collectively regulate the inflammatory phenotype in cultured human brain microvascular endothelial… Read MoreFeb. 16, 2026
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Celebrating the Achievements of VINSE’s Graduating Tech Crew Members
VINSE is proud to recognize several outstanding members of the Tech Crew from the Class of 2026 whose dedication, curiosity, and service have made a lasting impact on cleanroom operations, research, and outreach. Their contributions support the daily success of VINSE and reflect the collaborative spirit at the heart of… Read MoreFeb. 14, 2026
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Spotlight Publication: “Proteomics in Practice: A Case Study Highlighting Tandem Mass Tag-Based MS for Quantitative Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles and Application to Irradiated Fibroblasts” published in Proteomics
Workflow for label- free and TMT-based proteomic profiling of control and irradiated EVs. EV indicates extracellular vesicle; TMT, tandem mass tag. Congratulations to Greg Berumen Sánchez! Greg’s article “Proteomics in Practice: A Case Study Highlighting Tandem Mass Tag-Based MS for Quantitative Profiling of Extracellular Vesicles and Application to Irradiated Fibroblasts”… Read MoreFeb. 9, 2026
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Spotlight Publication: “Photosystem I Photopolymerizes Pyrrole into Spherical Nanocomposites” published in Biomacromolecules
SEM and STEM images highlighting the spherical morphology of photopolymerization times >12 h. The panel on the left shows an SEM image of a film before it was removed for STEM imaging. The STEM EDX image on the right introduces a green highlight to the presence of sulfur suggesting PSI. Read MoreFeb. 2, 2026
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Varga awarded Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Teaching
Please join in congratulations Dr. Kálmán Varga for his exceptional achievements in teaching and undergraduate research. Prof. Varga recently received the Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Natural Sciences, honoring his dedication to students in the classroom and through research mentorship. He was recognized for his sustained… Read MoreJan. 21, 2026
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Spotlight Publication: “Potentiating cancer immunotherapies with modular albumin-hitchhiking nanobody–STING agonist conjugates” published in Nature Biomedical Engineering
a, Scheme depicting the concept of an albumin-hitchhiking nanobody–STING agonist conjugate for cancer immunotherapy. Anti-albumin nanobodies conjugated to STING agonists bind to circulating albumin in situ, resulting in improved pharmacokinetics and increased biodistribution to tumour sites that stimulates antitumour innate and adaptive immune responses. b, Computational model of the anti-albumin… Read MoreJan. 20, 2026