Clarkson University’s Institute for a Sustainable Environment (ISE) proudly presents the 2021 Clarkson Keynote Lecture:* “Advancing Environmental Sustainability through Custom-Designed Affordable Sensors,” presented Dr. Silvana Andreescu via Zoom on Wednesday, March 10, beginning at 3:00 PM.
Add the 2021 Clarkson Lecture to your calendar.
Join us on Zoom, March 10 at 3:00 PM.
Abstract:
Ensuring sustainability of our environment and food systems is critical in addressing food security challenges while achieving social, economic and environmental goals. A key approach for advancing environmental sustainability is to develop affordable technologies and universal tools to help the public and communities learn more about their environment, test and monitor their water and food supplies.
Portable and inexpensive sensors are increasingly important in providing rapid, real time and inexpensive measurements in the field. A key issue in the development of these devices is creating suitable surface chemistry with recognition capabilities for the selective binding of target analytes. This presentation will discuss development, manufacturing, analytical characterization and deployment of portable biosensors incorporating receptor molecules and smart receptor interfaces for: i) monitoring active and functional ingredients in food, ii) assessing contamination in water and environmental systems, and iii) evaluating exposure to UV irradiation; and their possible implementation in the field. These devices have a built-in detection mechanism, are portable and inexpensive and no specialized equipment is needed to perform analysis. Sensors are fabricated in large quantities from printable custom-made hydrogels or custom-designed paper and the low cost and ease of use are expected to advance large-scale food technologies, water and environmental monitoring applications. These systems can provide important insight to preserve and avoid waste of natural resources and enhance environmental sustainability.
Biography:
Silvana Andreescu is the Egon Matijević Chair in Chemistry and Professor of Bioanalytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, joining Clarkson in 2005 after receiving her PhD in Chemistry, specializing in biosensors from the University of Perpignan, France, and University of Bucharest, Romania. Between 2003 and 2005 she was a NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellow at the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Her research interests are in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, bionanotechnology, sustainable nanotechnology and the development of practical biosensors for food, clinical and environmental monitoring. Her work on sensing has been featured broadly by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Food Summit and the Institute for Food Technology (IFT), the largest international organization in the world focusing on food science and technology. She has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications, co-edited 3 books, was awarded three patents and has delivered some 150 presentations throughout the world (H45, Scopus, WebofScience). Scientific and popular media outlets regularly highlight innovations in inexpensive and portable sensing platforms developed in her lab with recent examples featuring a smart label technology for measuring food spoilage and a newly developed 3D printed wearable sensor for monitoring UV exposure.
* The ISE Clarkson Keynote Lecture Series celebrates the achievements of the Clarkson faculty. Clarkson faculty are invited to deliver keynote and plenary lectures at conferences across the world. The ISE Clarkson Keynote Lecture Series honorees deliver these lectures to us at home, with modifications for a broader audience.
If you are interested in nominating someone, including yourself, for the ISE Clarkson Keynote Lecture Series, please send an email to ise@clarkson.edu with the following information: name, department, lecture title, lecture abstract, and conference information for which the keynote lecture was delivered (e.g., a link to the conference page advertising the keynote/plenary lecture). The topic should be in the broad area of sustainability and the environment.