Courtney Ragle

Interdisciplinary Materials Science

Overview:

Courtney works in both Josh Caldwell's nanophotonic devices lab and Lauren Buchanan's Physical Chemistry and Spectroscopy lab. Courtney’s interdisciplinary project requires her to spend plenty of time in the VINSE cleanroom and collecting spectroscopic data in both labs. The project is based on the fundamentals of vibrational strong coupling in phonon and molecular vibrational polariton systems and attempts to push the current limitations of strong coupling in organic molecules and organic materials.

Courtney started helping with the blackberry solar cell field trips a few months after arriving at Vanderbilt and hasn’t looked back. She started leading VINSE field trips and intends to continue doing so for her entire time at Vanderbilt. She is also involved with other educational outreach programs on campus providing field trips for area public schools.

Awards:

Graduate Women in Science, National Council Media Committee Lead Editor, 2023