The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced that University of Utah USTAR researcher Hanseup Kim has won a $399,999 five-year grant to develop a wearable or easily portable air pollution detector.

The proposal centers on novel micro gas chromatography technology to enable real-time, on-the-spot, and personal monitoring of a class of airborne pollutants called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

“Increasingly, in government policy and the marketplace, there are emerging demands to detect environmental conditions in real-time at the workplace, public spaces, and home,” Kim said. “The project is expected to bring micro systems technology, analytical chemistry, and environmental education together to provide a new solution.”

The NSF CAREER project – entitled “Next-Generation Micro Gas Chromatography System Toward Ultra-High Capacity, Selectivity, and Portability For Distributed Environmental Awareness” – represents the miniaturization of gas chromatography technology.

Hanseup Kim

“Hanseup seeks to move well beyond current technology, overcome a major barrier in miniaturization, and enable individuals to carry small devices that provide an early warning of unhealthy levels of air pollution,” said Gianluca Lazzi, Department Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Kim is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering. He received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University in 1997, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2002 and 2006, respectively. His Ph.D. thesis contributed to scientific investigation on how to efficiently pump compressible gases in the micro domain and to innovative engineering of developing the first practical gas micropump.

In September 2011, he was named a 2011 Young Faculty Award from the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Kim is among only 39 young faculty nationwide recognized by this year’s awards, which DARPA says are meant “identify and engage rising research stars in junior faculty positions … who will focus a significant portion of their career on Department of Defense and national security issues.”

For an abstract of the award, visit: http://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1150988.

Tags: Air pollution detector, Hanseup Kim, Micro gas chromatography, NSF

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