IMS

Emanuela (Emi) Riglioni and Owen Meilander, graduate students in interdisciplinary materials science at Vanderbilt University, have been awarded Best Student Poster Presentation at the 2026 Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences Users Meeting, held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Their presentations, “Photonic Crystal Platforms for Optical Communication and Quantum Technologies”… Read More

Soren Smail, a graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program at Vanderbilt University, has been awarded Talk of the Day at the recent Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology (PSST) Conference in Naples, Italy. The honor was selected by conference attendees, participants, and session chairs in recognition of the… Read More

Emma Bartelsen, a PhD candidate in Vanderbilt University’s Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) Graduate Program, has been awarded a 2026 SPIE Optics and Photonics Scholarship, recognizing her potential contributions to optics, photonics, and related fields. SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, selected 85 outstanding student members worldwide to… Read More

The Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) graduate program is pleased to announce the arrival of 10 new PhD students who will join the program this upcoming academic year. This cohort reflects the program’s commitment to bringing together scholars from diverse academic disciplines and institutions to advance… Read More

Janet Macdonald, professor of chemistry and associate director of Vanderbilt University’s Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) program, has been named director of the program effective July 1. She succeeds Josh Caldwell, who has served as director since 2021. Macdonald has served as associate director of IMS since 2021 and has been… Read More

Ryan Anthony Kowalski, from Taunton, Massachusetts, is this year’s Founder’s Medalist for the Graduate School. He is graduating with a doctor of philosophy in interdisciplinary materials science. Kowalski is the first student from the interdisciplinary materials science (IMS) program to receive this honor. Kowalski’s research… Read More

Huijin (Ginny) An, a graduate student in interdisciplinary materials science at Vanderbilt University, has been awarded the Parkhutik Prize for the most outstanding poster at the recent Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology (PSST) conference in Naples, Italy. The Parkhutik Prize recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of porous silicon… Read More

We are excited to announce that Interdisciplinary Materials Science at Vanderbilt University graduate students Sariah D’Empaire-Salomon and Andrew Steiner have been selected for the 2026 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP). This highly competitive fellowship selected approximately 2,500 recipients from nearly 14,000 applicants nationwide and is… Read More

Sajal Islam has been named a recipient of the highly competitive 2026 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) Graduate Scholarship Award. He recently completed his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University’s Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) and will graduate in May 2026. The award includes a $2,500 prize and certificate and recognizes… Read More

DISSERTATION DEFENSE Brayden Terry, Interdisciplinary Materials Science *under the supervision of Al Strauss “Friction Stir Welding of Thin Sheet Nitinol: Dissimilar Materials and Heat Treatment” 3.25.26 | 9:00 am | 132 Olin Hall| Zoom Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining method that sees use in the… Read More