Meet Our Graduates

Anna Douglas earned her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Materials Science at Vanderbilt University in 2019.  While at Vanderbilt, Anna began her studies developing nanostructured materials that can improve the performance of energy storage devices including lithium and sodium ion batteries. During her graduate studies, Anna co-invented a novel electrochemical synthesis… Read More

Justin Mollison graduated from the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering in 2020 with a B.E. in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Nanoscience. As an undergrad, Justin was a member of the VINSE Technical Crew where he learned fundamental micro- and nanoscale fabrication skills… Read More

Westley Bauer earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry under the tutelage of Dr. David Wright. His research was focused on developing new and improving existing diagnostics for the “big three” infectious diseases most closely linked to poverty: Malaria, Tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. This research pursuit afforded him the opportunity… Read More

Rayni Jules received his B.E. in Electrical Engineering in 2019 from Vanderbilt University. As an undergraduate, Rayni was part of the inaugural VINSE Technical Crew where he learned valuable skills in process development, photolithography, and deposition. Rayni’s concentration was on using Electron Beam Lithography to create fine… Read More

You Zhou earned his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Materials Science in August 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Jason Valentine. You Zhou’s PhD research is to address the current trend towards miniaturization of photonic devices and nanophotonic systems. In one key advance, You developed 3D cascaded flat optics as a… Read More

Brandon Jacome-Mendez received his B.A. in Chemistry with a minor in Psychology from Vanderbilt University in May 2021. As an undergraduate, Brandon worked on the VINSE tech crew during the academic year and mainly focused on process development for various cleanroom services. These included photolithography, soft lithography for microfluidics devices,… Read More

Amy Ng earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University in December of 2014 under the supervision of Sandra Rosenthal.  In the research team, Amy synthesized, fabricated, and characterized nanocrystalline-polymer photovoltaics.  Her passion in electron microscopy opened an opportunity to work at Oak Ridge National… Read More

Samantha Kaczaral graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2019 with a degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. While an undergraduate, Samantha was a member of the VINSE Technical Crew. She learned valuable skills including photolithography, thin film deposition techniques, and selective material etching. These skills we… Read More

Patia Fann received her B.E. in Electrical Engineering in May 2020. While an undergraduate, Patia worked as part of the VINSE Tech Crew. She assisted in the cleanroom’s move to the new Engineering and Science building and the optimization of photolithography and metal deposition processes. She currently works in Covington,… Read More

Scott Niezgoda earned his Ph.D. in Dr. Sandra Rosenthal’s lab at Vanderbilt University, where he studied the photophysics and surface chemistry of quantum dots for application in solar cell technology. While at Vanderbilt, Scott was active in VINSE-lead community outreach to local public high schools in an… Read More