Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE)

Welcome!

We were delighted to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Vanderbilt University at the end of last year and into the start of 2024 with a special Nanoscience #RSCNano collection highlighting the breadth of high-quality work from the institute and commemorating the university’s sesquicentennial! We’re pleased to share this excellent collection with you, providing a snapshot of the nanoscale science and engineering research from Vanderbilt faculty, alumni, and collaborators in 2023 and 2024! Explore the collection to discover the work of Dan Fleetwood, Sokrates Pantelides, Michael King, Bin Wang, Janet Macdonald, Josh Caldwell, Ben Lawrie, Kannatassen 'Krishen' Appavoo, Terence Musho, Piran Kidambi, Peter Cummings, Haoxiang Luo, Kane Jennings, Cindy Reinhart-King, Rachel Carter, John Tanner Wilson, Evan Scott, De-en Jiang, Rick Haselton, Cheng Wang, Yuanmu Yang, Justus Ndukaife (Ph.D.) and many others at 👉 https://lnkd.in/e7TFWfRF Professors De-en Jiang, Janet Macdonald and Sharon Weiss served as guest editors for this collection and highlight the history of Vanderbilt University and of the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) their introductory editorial. Check it out here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eSFCNFwM We’re also delighted to showcase the work of Piran Kidambi et al, which featured on the cover of Nanoscale and their incredible cover artwork has been included in the graphic below! You can read their featured article about ultra-thin proton conducting carrier layers for scalable integration of atomically thin 2D materials with proton exchange polymers for next-generation PEMs at 👉 https://lnkd.in/e5yHncXZ

Shoutout to the 2024 VINSE Summer Nanoseminar Committee Owen Meilander and Amelia Soltes for organizing an exclusive lineup of speakers to share their current research with the larger VINSE community to foster discussion and collaboration. Seminars are held on Fridays at noon starting May 31! 2024 speakers include: Zane J. Parkerson, Benjamin Schmidt, Adam Abdulrahman, Alexandria Carter, Brandon Swartz, Sydney Henriques, William Lowery, Romario Lobban, Emma Endres, Jamie Hemstock, Huijin An, Allison Cordova-Huaman, Theodore Anyika, Andrey Shults, Bradly Baer, and Sarah P. Hall. #VINSEVandy #vinse

Greetings from A Cicada. Imaged in the VINSE facilities using the Zeiss Merlin Scanning Electron Microscope. (James McBride, VINSE) #VINSEvandy #VINSE

Congratulations to our 2024 Tech Crew graduates: Esther Ayoade, Laura Bertolami, Steven Edwards, Ivan Ntwari, Michal Perez, Lavonte Saunders, and Tara Stanley! Tech Crew members are critical to the VINSE research, education and outreach missions. Hear what our VINSE staff have to say about these incredible graduates:   Dr. Benjamin Schmidt, Cleanroom Manager: Thanks to all the Tech Crew graduates for their work to provide excellent service and support of the VINSE Cleanroom and other VINSE operations. I have enjoyed getting to know you and wish you all the best in the next chapters of your lives and careers!   Dr. Christina McGahan, Research Assistant Professor and Cleanroom Staff: It has been a pleasure to work with this group of graduating Tech Crew members and see them grow both as scientists and as people. Seniors, thank you for all your work in VINSE. I wish you all the best in whatever comes next!   Megan Dernberger, Cleanroom Staff: This group of graduating Tech Crew has been a joy and a blessing to work with! Seniors, it has been a pleasure seeing you all grow over the last few years, and I am so excited to see where your next steps take you! Thank you for all your hard work inside and outside of the cleanroom!   We are bursting with pride at your achievements and can’t wait to see where your next adventures take you. Congratulations once again to each of you—you’ve truly made a mark here at VINSE! #VINSEvandy #VINSE  

At the recent School of Engineering End of the Year Social, Dean Krishnendu Roy presented several awards. Four faculty members from Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) were honored for their outstanding contributions to research. - Rising Star Research Award: Marjan Rafat - Innovative Research Award: Justus Ndukaife (Ph.D.) - Interdisciplinary Research Award: Josh Caldwell - Best Paper Award: Deyu Li VINSE congratulates these faculty members on their outstanding research and contributions to the community! Vanderbilt University School of Engineering #VINSEvandy #VINSE

Congratulations to Alberto Esteban Linares and their research team! Their article, “Graphene-based microfluidic perforated microelectrode arrays for retinal electrophysiological studies” published in Lab on a Chip, is selected as VINSE Spotlight Publication. About the author: Alberto Esteban Linares received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2023, under the supervision of Prof. Deyu Li, with a focus on creating microfluidic devices for retina electrophysiology studies. Currently, he is a post-doctoral scholar in the Biomedical Microsystems Laboratory, University of Southern California, where he develops flexible implantable microelectrodes for recording and stimulating the central and peripheral nervous system. In a recent publication in Lab on a Chip, co-authored with fellow Ph.D. graduate Xiaosi Zhang, they report on the development of graphene-based microfluidic perforated microelectrode arrays (μpMEAs), which provides a tissue electrophysiology platform with new functionalities. This device integrates transparent graphene electrodes with local medium delivery capabilities, allowing for precise control over the chemical microenvironment during electrical recording of the neuronal tissue activity. The authors showcase the device's potential by measuring retinal ganglion cell responses to localized high K+ stimulation. Additionally, μpMEAs are compatible with high-resolution confocal imaging of retinal tissue atop graphene electrodes, facilitating identification of neuronal processes responsible for the detected signals. This platform holds promise for addressing fundamental questions in neuronal circuity studies. #VINSEvandy #VINSE

Congratulations to Simon Ward on winning Vanderbilt University’s Graduate Anchor Award for Mentorship! Simon’s leadership has been evident throughout his PhD, through both his research and teaching. He has led a total of 10 undergraduate and graduate mentees working interdisciplinary teams on 5 different research projects, investigating the application of machine learning to improve the stability, sensitivity, speed, ease of use, and cost of medical diagnostic tests. Simon has also enriched the Vanderbilt community through his representation of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering from countless public online information sessions to several in-person events including panels and career fairs, sharing his research and wider experience at Vanderbilt. Well done! #VINSEvandy #VINSE

Congratulations to VINSE members Zhiliang Pan, Youngji Kim, Ethan Ray and Emily Buckner, each who received awards at the 2024 MRS Spring Meeting in Seattle. #VINSEvandy #VINSE

Applications wanted for contributions to Nanotechnology! Prizes for Experiment, Theory, and a Student Award. Application deadline: July 31st, 2024. More information and to apply: https://lnkd.in/gKeis5SK #foresight #vinsevandy #nanotechnology