SSP Monthly Meeting

MONTHLY MEETING FLYER

5:30 PM Social Hour: Power Center Ballroom
6:30 PM Dinner: Power Center Ballroom
Student Affiliate Meeting: Shepperson Suite
7:30 PM Business Meeting: Power Center Ballroom
8:00 PM Technical Program: Power Center Ballroom

SSP TECHNOLOGY FORUM

Emily Ruby, Curator, Heinz History Center

“From Pittsburgh to the Moon”
This talk focuses on the Destination Moon exhibition that the Heinz History Center hosted in the fall of 2018. A national touring exhibition put together by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, this exhibit marked the first time the Command Module Columbia left the Smithsonian since it was installed there in the early 1970s. This talk highlights the important contributions that Western Pennsylvania made to the success of the space program and to the Apollo 11 mission.

SACP TECHNICAL PROGRAM

Dr. Silvana Andreescu, Clarkson University

“Chemical and Biological Sensors for Improving Food Quality through Sensitive Packaging”
The growing interest in food quality and safety requires the development of sensitive and reliable methods of analysis as well as technology for the preservation of freshness and quality of food. Portable and inexpensive biosensing devices show potential for addressing the need for rapid on-site measurements. 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 a smart redox active interface for monitoring active and functional ingredients in food, and their possible implementation in smart packaging. To fabricate the sensors, we use nanoparticles that have tunable redox activity, optical and catalytic properties and can transduce and catalytically amplify signals in chemical and biological detection schemes involving biomolecules. Examples of sensors that utilize printable paper as a functional (bio)sensing platform, modification of paper and procedures enabling roll-to-roll fabrication will be discussed. A unique feature of these devices is the built-in detection mechanism with all the sensing components needed for analysis fixed onto the sensing platform, functioning as a fully integrated reagentless biosensing device. The sensors have been interfaced with portable databases and user-friendly signal transduction methods, and have demonstrated excellent performance when used in the field. Several prototypes designed for food freshness, safety and quality monitoring will be discussed, with examples of applications.

MONTHLY MEETING FLYER