email : Webview : VINSE Nano News Spring 2023

On behalf of the entire VINSE team, I wish you a happy New Year! If you are resolved to learn and apply new skills this year, VINSE can help in the area of nanoscience! Please stop by our first annual Analytical Lab Open House on February 1st when you can test – at no charge – how our suite of tools can be useful for characterizing your samples. We will also be offering short courses in atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and microfluidics at the beginning of the summer. Please also join me at the Director's Coffee Hour on February 3rd to discuss new ideas in research, education, and outreach that will keep VINSE at the forefront of nanoscience activities. And mark your calendars for an afternoon of food and outdoor fun at the VINSE community picnic in Edwin Warner Park on April 15th. See the right sidebar for more information on all upcoming events. Finally, I want to take a moment to welcome Prof. Mona Ebrish, a new faculty member in ECE who has joined the VINSE community and carries out research on wide-bandgap semiconductors, 2D materials, and heterogeneous integration for high power, sensor, and Internet of Things applications.

Have a great semester!

Sharon Weiss
Director, VINSE

Welcome Dr. Mona Ebrish! Dr. Ebrish started working at Vanderbilt this spring in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and is our newest VINSE faculty member.

"My research group will innovate and develop new building blocks for standalone IoT technology from different types of emerging materials and capitalize on their unique and overlooked properties," Dr. Ebrish said. "Under my leadership, I envision developing multiple techniques to fabricate and evaluate biological and chemical sensors that can be heterogeneously integrated with efficient power management devices on foundry compatible chiplets."

Interested in learning more about the VINSE Analytical Lab and how our tools could impact your research? Bring your samples to the VINSE Analytical Open House on February 1, 2023 from 1:00-4:00 and use any tool... at no cost! This event is open to everyone, both current and potential new users. VINSE staff will also be available to discuss tool capabilities and answer specific questions related to your research needs.

VINSE's Analytical laboratory contains a comprehensive set of processing and characterization tools for extensive chemical and structural characterization of the materials. This is a great opportunity to check out our suite of high-performance analytical instruments to see if you could utilize them for your own research!

VINSE will offer a new short course, Atomic Force Microscopy, during the spring semester along with the popular Electron Microscopy and Microfluidic Device Fabrication Short Courses.

These professional development short courses are open to everyone, not just Vanderbilt or VINSE users.

+Learn more about Atomic Force Microscopy

+Learn more about Electron Microscopy

+Learn more about Microfluidic Device Fabrication

Read more about De-en and Marjan

Read more about Marsalas, Alex, and Tian

Immersion Vanderbilt is one of the more unique aspects of attending the university, aiming to help students seek out work that they are passionate about. VINSE has been a leader in immersive education and outreach for more than twelve years and has developed numerous hands-on activities to train the next generation of scientists and engineers. More than 500 students from Vanderbilt and across Middle Tennessee will participate in immersive coursework in VINSE and the VINSE High School Field Trip Program during the current academic year! Learn more about VINSE's immersion and outreach opportunities at the link below.

LEARN MORE

The VINSE solar cell field trips are a wonderful way to give back to the Tennessee community! While VINSE hosts a variety of outreach activities, including a cleanroom solar cell experiment, VINSE is always looking for graduate student volunteers for the blackberry solar cell field trips!

During a solar cell field trip we host high school students and teach them how to make solar cells using blackberries and TiO₂ nanoparticles. They then characterize their fabricated solar cells using some of the instruments that VINSE has to offer. These field trips are a great and convenient way to connect with the high school students who have shown interest in STEM, and an opportunity to inspire them to pursue careers in nanoscience! Volunteers of these field trips always rave about how fun and fulfilling these one-day experiences are. Click the button below to get started!

VOLUNTEER NOW!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Imaged on the Bruker Dimension Icon AFM by S. Budko

The Dimension Icon® Atomic Force Microscope brings new levels of performance, functionality, and AFM accessibility to nanoscale researchers in science and industry. The culmination of decades of large-sample AFM technology, the system has been designed from top to bottom to deliver revolutionary low drift and low noise that allows users to achieve artifact-free images in minutes instead of hours. The Icon is also equipped with a heater controller to be used in conjunction with the fluid cell kit. The cell kit allows real-time observations of samples under native conditions while providing sample heating and temperature control when liquids are being studied. Proprietary ScanAsyst® automatic image optimization technology enables easier, faster, and more consistent results, regardless of user skill level. The Icon’s uncommon ease of use, ultimate performance, exceptional productivity, and superior versatility make it an ideal choice for practically every AFM application.

The AFM and all the capabilities mentioned are available in the VINSE Analytical Lab.