GE awarded $6.3 million DARPA grant to develop bio-inspired sensors

Niskayuna, NY--Scientists at GE Global Research, in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, New York State University at Albany, and University of Exeter, received a four-year, $6.3 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop new bio-inspired (biomimetic) nanostructured sensors that would enable faster, more selective detection of dangerous warfare agents and explosives.

Three years ago, GE scientists discovered that nanostructures from wing scales of butterflies exhibited acute chemical sensing properties. Since then, GE scientists have been developing a dynamic, new sensing platform that replicates these unique properties.

Radislav Potyrailo, a principal scientist at GE Global Research and principal investigator, said, "GE's bio-inspired sensing platform could dramatically increase sensitivity, speed and accuracy for detecting dangerous chemical threats. All of these factors are critical, not only from the standpoint of preventing exposure, but in monitoring an effective medical response if necessary to deal with such threats."

Potyrailo noted that GE's sensors can be made in very small sizes, with low production costs. This would allow large volumes of these sensors to be readily produced and deployed wherever needed. Unique sensing properties, combined with the size and production advantages offered by GE's bio-inspired sensors, could enable an array of other important industrial and healthcare applications, including emissions monitoring at power plants, food and beverage safety monitoring, water purification testing, and breath analysis for disease detection.

For the DARPA project, GE has assembled a world-class team of collaborators who are recognized experts in their fields. They include: Dr. Helen Ghiradella, from State University at Albany, an expert on the biology of structural color; Dr. Peter Vukusic, from the University of Exeter, an expert on the physics of structural color; Dr. Rajesh Naik, from the Air Force Research Laboratory, with a strong background in bio-inspired functional materials and surface functionalization; and Dr. John Hartley, also from State University at Albany, specializing in advanced lithographic nanofabrication. These team members will complement GE’s strong multidisciplinary team of analytical chemists, material scientists, polymer chemists, optical engineers and nanofabrication engineers who are contributing to development of this new platform.

SOURCE: GE Global Research; www.genewscenter.com/content/detail.aspx?releaseid=10793&newsareaid=2

--Posted by Gail Overton; [email protected]; www.laserfocusworld.com