Sarah Ross

VINSE graduate student Owen Meilander, a Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Materials Science working under the direction of Professor Mona Ebrish, received the Best Student Poster Presentation Award at the 2025 Lester Eastman Conference on High Performance Devices, held August 11–12 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. His poster,… Read More

Şahpar Nil Özer Undergraduate Student, Mechanical Engineering & Economics Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar As an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University, I’ve built my academic path around the intersection of mechanical engineering, economics, and nanoscience, a combination that reflects my curiosity about both how the world works and how innovations move… Read More

Patricia Poley Biomedical Engineering Craig Duvall Research Group Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are chemicals that contain oxygen and are chemically reactive and unstable due to their possession of an unpaired electron. Common ROS species in the body include hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anions. At low levels, ROS exist… Read More

Jacob “Jake” Grayson Graduate Student, Physics & Astronomy Richard Haglund Research Group My research focuses on harnessing optical phase-change materials to enable new forms of active control in nanophotonic devices. In particular, I have been working to integrate vanadium dioxide (VO₂)—a material that undergoes a dramatic, reversible metal–insulator… Read More

Sk Md Ali Zaker Shawon Graduate Student, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Shihong Lin Research Group As a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, my research in the Lin Research Group advances membrane and electrochemical separation technologies to enable more sustainable chemical processes. I develop high-performance pervaporation… Read More

VINSE is pleased to announce the promotion of four outstanding members of the Tech Crew in recognition of their contributions to research, education, and cleanroom operations. Senior Tech Crew Promotions Ella Dzialowski has been promoted to Senior Tech Crew for her extensive troubleshooting on the photoplotter tool, work on… Read More

VINSE welcomes Andrea Locke, who joined the institute in August 2025. Locke leads the Locke Biosensing Lab, which develops optical biosensing platforms to address clinical diagnostic challenges at the point of care. The lab integrates nanoplasmonic structures into paper- and microfluidic-based systems to create rapid, user-friendly diagnostic tools. Current projects… Read More

Dr. Jason Valentine, VINSE Deputy Director, will play a key role in a research initiative recently awarded $1.2 million in funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project “Intelligent Cyber Microscopy System for Long-term Microscope Imaging” seeks to develop an Intelligent Cyber Microscopy System (iCMS) by introducing a cutting-edge, AI-powered… Read More

This summer, 11 graduate students joined the VINSE NanoGuides program, a student-led outreach initiative in VINSE. The program trains students to lead science demonstrations, facility tours, and educational events aimed at K-12 students and the public. New NanoGuides include: Huijin An, Kauryn Datcher, Sebastian Flores, Darby… Read More

VINSE will host the 14th Annual VINSE Undergraduate Research Symposium on Thursday, July 31, from 1:30–3:30 p.m. in the Engineering and Science Building (ESB) lobby. —> Click here for full event program This event marks the culmination of a 10-week summer… Read More