IMS

The Interdisciplinary Materials Science (IMS) program held its annual Sales Pitch Competition, where students were challenged to deliver a three-minute research talk (no slides allowed) using only a single image or prop to engage the audience. Incoming students served as judges, and cash prizes were awarded to the top presentations. First Place – Rahul Shah […] Read More

VINSE graduate student Chris Whittington, a Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Materials Science at Vanderbilt University, received the Best Poster Presentation Award at the 2025 SPIE Optics + Photonics Conference, held August 17–21 in San Diego, CA. His poster, “Heterogeneous Integration of VO₂ Nanopatches on Subwavelength-Engineered Antislot Photonic Crystal for Optical Switching,” tied for the top […] Read More

VINSE graduate student Owen Meilander, a Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Materials Science working under the direction of Professor Mona Ebrish, received the Best Student Poster Presentation Award at the 2025 Lester Eastman Conference on High Performance Devices, held August 11–12 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. His poster, “Gate Leakage Suppression of Enhancement […] Read More

DISSERTATION DEFENSE Aditha Senarath, Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program *under the supervision of Josh Caldwell and Ron Schrimpf “GaN for Space and Power Electronics: Radiation Effects Study and Development of a Nano-Optical Probe for Characterization” 07.11.25 | 9:00 am | FGH 132  | Zoom For decades, the semiconductor industry has followed Moore’s Law, predicting a doubling […] Read More

DISSERTATION DEFENSE Bradly Baer, Interdisciplinary Materials Science *under the supervision of Greg Walker “Calculating Interfacial Thermal Transport Using Atomistic Simulation Methods” 06.13.25 | 11:00am | ESB 044 At the nanoscale, many materials have properties different than they do in the bulk. Nanomaterials can exhibit interesting and useful optical, electronic, and physical properties. However, the very […] Read More

DISSERTATION DEFENSE Kellen Arnold, Interdisciplinary Materials Science    *Under the supervision of Sharon Weiss “Integrated Photonics for Intense Light-matter Interaction and Applications in Aerospace” 05.20.25 | 12:30PM | ESB 044 | Zoom: 965 0203 9030 Passcode: 069821 Over the last several decades, the technological revolution into a digital age has opened doors to endless possibilities […] Read More

DISSERTATION DEFENSE Ryan Kowalski, Interdisciplinary Materials Science    *Under the supervision of Josh Caldwell and Richard Haglund  “Infrared Light at the Nanoscale: Confinement and Spectroscopy”  04.25.25 | 10:30AM | Buttrick Hall 206 | Zoom: 942 8904 4051 Passcode: 450959 Conventional optical microscopy and spectroscopy are limited by the diffraction limit, which restricts spatial resolution to […] Read More

DISSERTATION DEFENSE Alexis Yates, Interdisciplinary Materials Science *under the direction of Ethan Lippmann and Angela Jefferson “Investigating brain endothelial cell mechanics with engineered in vitro models” 04.07.25  |  1:30PM |  298 Featheringill Hall | Zoom: 970 4846 2694 Passcode: 714340 As life expectancy in the US has increased, a growing percentage of the adult population […] Read More

Vivian Nwosu Madueke Graduate Student, Interdisciplinary Materials Science Silvera Batista Research Group Most natural processes occur under conditions that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium but constantly experience flows of energy and matter. For instance, microorganisms survive by responding to dissipative chemical energies such as food in their environment by positive or negative chemotaxis. To enable […] Read More

Jojo Pearson, a swimmer and Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Materials Science at Vanderbilt, is conducting cutting-edge research in tissue engineering that could significantly impact the fight against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Her work, led with advisor Leon Bellan, focuses on neurovascular coupling, exploring how stem cell models could improve understanding and treatment of brain diseases. […] Read More