VINSE General News

Xiaomeng Zhang, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Scholar, Mechanical Engineering Deyu Li Research Group and Josh Caldwell Research Group My current research was inspired by the mentorship of several exceptional advisors who shaped my perspective on science. Working with Professor Jason Valentine, I discovered how light-matter interactions can be harnessed through… Read More

Segmented tomogram showing subcellular components of a human synapse, including plasma membranes (cyan), microtubules (orange), endoplasmic reticulum (blue), mitochondria (yellow), and synaptic vesicles (green). A key component of any imaging workflow is a robust platform for image analysis. This became critical with the advent of volume EM imaging on VINSE’s… Read More

Zack Wallace Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering John Wilson Research Group My interest in biomedical research, specifically cancer, developed during high school. As someone raised in Mississippi, I often would see statistics emphasizing how unhealthy and undereducated my state and the South were. Knowing this and having family members… Read More

Collected QCM-D data of fibronectin absorption can be used for viscoelastic modelling and quantification of mass, thickness and viscoelastic properties of the adsorbed layer. With the completed upgrades to VINSE’s Biolin Scientific QCM-D analytical software package, DFind, users can now access a comprehensive toolkit designed for real-time analysis of surface-interaction… Read More

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

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 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