Research

Nanoscale Sensors

 

Conducting research under the auspices of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Pranav Shrotriya is hoping to build a working model of a sensor that is able to detect the presence of substances such as drugs, bacteria, or explosives that pose a threat to health, national security, or the environment. Working at the nanoscale, he has developed a high-resolution interferometry-based technique that can measure the deformation differences between a reference surface and a sensor surface. The presence of the harmful species will be indicated by the measurements of the surface stress change that causes the original structure to deform or bend. The National Institute of Justice is funding Shrotriya’s research into using that platform for cocaine detection. The advantage of using small surfaces is that they are capable of detecting the very small amounts of the drug that may appear only as trace elements in other substances, making the process much easier and less expensive.

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