With money from the U.S. Department of Defense, University of Arizona researchers built a sensor able to detect tiny amounts of a byproduct of an odorless, tasteless and toxic gas.
Now the U.S. Army has awarded the group another $2.1 million to rebuild their device as one that soldiers could carry.
The team of UA researchers first made a laboratory device able to sense miniscule amounts of chemical weapons in the air, such as of the deadly nerve-gas Sarin.
Associate professor of biomedical engineering and optical sciences, Judith Su, said the new mission to miniaturize is doable now because technology has advanced quickly in recent years.
“You’re going from some optical table that’s about three by five feet and you’re trying to miniaturize it into something about the size of your iPhone,” Su said. “So this next phase is going to focus on making things portable, handheld, something that can work outside of the laboratory and have real-world impact.”
The work is scheduled to take three years.
Su said a sensor made with microtoroid optical resonators had also been used to study biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and ovarian cancer.
She says a portable version in the future could offer ways to identify mold and air contaminated by illness.
-
The Trump administration says its "Foundry School" is a collaboration between eight universities to provide a training program for onshoring advanced manufacturing like semiconductors. -
Phoenix has now covered 200 miles of city streets with cool pavement. The city has been applying the light, reflective coating since 2020 with the goal of reducing the urban heat island effect.
-
From Spokane, Wash. to Pueblo County, Colo., fast-moving fires have again wreaked havoc in neighborhoods this summer. Now, a network of scientists, fire professionals and other experts have joined forces to seek research-based solutions to the problem. -
The rate of opioid overdose deaths, among most age groups, has been on the rise in recent years in Maricopa County — and most of those deaths were classified as unintentional. It’s one reason why the city of Tempe is making it easier to get free Narcan. -
This year’s extremely hot summer immediately followed the hottest spring on record and hottest winter on record. That puts 2026 on-track for the hottest year-round temperature on the books in Phoenix.
