Title: Near "zero-cost" paper-based electrical gas sensors for measuring food quality
Abstract:
Cellulose paper is a low-cost, flexible and biodegradable material that is ideally suited for the fabrication of near zero-cost sensors using high-volume printing methods. We have recently discovered that the intrinsic properties of cellulose as a highly hygroscopic biopolymer enable measuring gaseous analytes in a fundamentally new way. This new method of sensing gases allows detecting volatiles formed by the degradation of protein rich food products to measure food quality electrically. In this talk, Dr Guder will tell the story of paper-based electrical gas sensors (PEGS), their application in monitoring food spoilage and its future as a commercial solution to reduce food waste.
Biography:
Dr Firat Güder is a senior lecturer (US equivalent associate professor) in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. Prior to his appointment at Imperial, he was a research fellow in the group of Prof. George M. Whitesides at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He has a PhD in Microsytems Engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and a BSc in Computer Engineering (First Division) from the University of New Brunswick (UNB), Canada. Over the years, his achievements have been recognized through numerous awards such the UNB Class of 1939 Scholarship, N. Myles Brown Scholarship, Governor Thomas Carleton Scholarship, KU Leuven International Scholarship, Furtwangen University MTM Scholarship, German Research Foundation International Research Fellowship, Tom West Analytical Fellowship and most recently 2018 UNB Young Alumni Achievement Award. Firat and his team work in the interface of material science, electronics, chemistry and biology. His group focuses on the development of new materials, fabrication of low-cost sensors/actuators with the eventual aim of transforming the devices developed into fully functional portable systems for use in healthcare, agricultural and food sciences. In addition to his peer-reviewed papers, he is an inventor of multiple patents and cofounded four startups based on his own research. His research at Imperial is sponsored by the Wellcome Trust, EPSRC, BBSRC, GE Healthcare, The Royal Society, Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund, Innovate UK, EIT Health, Gates Foundation and others. For more information on Firat and his research activities, please visit his website at www.guderesearch.com