VINSE
Ambassador Spotlight
On October 24th, The Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) hosted an open house with facility tours and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Core Facilities here at the Wond’ry/Engineering Science Building. There were about 300 people in attendance. At 10,000 square feet, this new space more than triples the size of the pre-existing facility found in the basement of Stevenson. The space meets LEED gold building certification; it takes as much energy to power the 10,000 square foot space as it does to power the rest of the 220,000 square foot building. What makes the space especially unique to the casual passerby is its use of glass and natural light to highlight the experiments that typically take place behind closed doors. VINSE provides access and training on state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization equipment in its Core Facilities located in the Engineering and Science Building. Full-time staff provide training, process assistance and tool troubleshooting. The new facilities include a cleanroom, analytical/ nanocrystal support core, and an advanced imaging suite. The clean room provides cutting-edge nanofabrication tools for the development of materials and integrated devices as well as microfluidic and nanophotonic systems. An analytical laboratory conveniently located adjacent to the cleanroom contains a comprehensive range of characterization tools. The imaging suite hosts a number of advanced, high-performance imaging platforms. This brand new facility speaks to Vanderbilt’s growing investment and expertise in nanoscale engineering.
Oliva Steinmetz
Student Ambassador