14 DAY TRIAL // Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) PhD student Fazel Yavari was recently recognized with a part of the famous $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize, for developing a graphene-based sensor capable of detecting extremely small traces of hazardous gases and explosives.
The device was only made possible through the use of a bi-dimensional carbon compound called graphene. Its single-atom-thick structure is hexagonal, which confers incredible mechanical and chemical properties to the material.
Since it was first synthesized in 2004, at the University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, the carbon allotrope has made the object of nearly 4,000 research papers. Graphene managed to garner so much interest due to its potential to one day replace silicon in all electronic equipment.
Using some of the known properties of graphene, Yavari was able to develop a technique for producing ultra-sensitive sensors in an inexpensive manner. Due to the natural strength of graphene, these devices are also very durable.
The PhD student works in the RPI Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, under the supervision of professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, and materials science and engineering, Nikhil Koratkar.
“Fazel is among the most talented and skilled experimentalists of all the graduate students I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He is extremely innovative, and has a proven ability to develop unique and creative solutions to the most vexing problems,” he says.
Thanks to his work, authorities will soon have access to a new generation of graphene-based detectors for detecting bombs, chemical attacks or biological warfare. Bomb squads, and defense and law enforcement officials will all receive these devices.
The $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize is usually shared between three students, and Yavari was selected for recognition this year.
“Fazel Yavari, with his creative exploitation of graphene to create a promising new gas sensor, is a stellar example of such an architect of change,” RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson explains.
“We congratulate him, and applaud all of the winners and finalists of the Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize for innovating a bolder, brighter future,” she concludes.