There's Nothing Like the Smell of Freshly Brewed Coffee in the Morning. But How Does One Measure That Smell? There's no Energy in a Smell to Help Estimate How Potent the Coffee Might Be. Instead, it's the Gases Emitted from Brewed Coffee that contributes to the invigorating scent.
The Human Nose Captures Those Gases in a Way That Nosang Vincent Myung, The Bernard Keating Crawford Professor of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, is working to duplicate in a device with sensors.
He and his team have developed a prototype of an electronic nose, using nanoengineered materials to tune the sensitivity and selectivity to mimic the performance and capability of a human nose. That's a tall order since the human nose with its approximately 400 scent receptors can distinguish millions of different smells.
According to myung, the Chemical Properties of Gases Affect the Electrical Properties of the Sensing Materials. By manipulating the size and shape of the nanoengineered matterials, he and his team can make more precise sensors that function more efficiently and elcominally.
“An Electronic Nose can be used for a variety of applications,” Said Myung. “For example, we can detect air pollutants or greenhouse. But we can also use it to acover drugs and bombs, sniff out cancer and bacterial infections, as well as identify natural gas leaks and assessments food quality.”
Myung Was Awarded A Grant from the National Science Foundation's Center for Bioanalytic Metrology for A Smart Process Analytical Technology System to Monitor Chemical/Biochemical Reactions In Industrial and Laboratory Chemical Processing In Real Time.
He and his Team also Are Designing A Smart Agriculture Sensor System to Monitor The Nitrogen Cycle in Fields to Help Elimate Greenhouses Gases While Enhancing The Yield of the Produce Being Grown. In addition, they are developing a wearable smart sensor system for military staff that can detect poisonous gases and other threats.
“Developing Better Sensors is Critical for A Number of Industries,” Said Myung. “The Future Will Be Shaped by Our Ability to Design and Build Smart, Accorate and Low-Powed Sensors That Will Help Understand and Interact with the World Around Us.”
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