Furman chemists receive $1 million grant to create technology to better analyze air particles

Mac Gilliland, assistant professor of chemistry and Mary Elizabeth Anderson, professor of chemistry, will work with engineers and scientists at 908 Devices, a mass spec manufacturer in Boston. At least a dozen Furman undergraduate students will also work on the project, giving them experience in chemistry, device manufacturing and commercialization that few students at undergraduate institutions have.

$11.3 million NIH Superfund award to address environmental health issues caused by VOCs

Wayne State University has received a five-year, approximately $11.3 million award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the National Institutes of Health to create a new Superfund Research Program, the “Center for Leadership in Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR).” The Center will be dedicated to understanding and mitigating adverse birth outcomes and serious developmental health problems that have been associated with urban environmental exposure to volatile organic chemcials (VOCs), a special class of pollutant found in the subsurface of post-industrial cities like Detroit.

Something in the Air: Embedded Gas Sensing Device Promises Simple, Accurate Volatile Organic Compounds Detection

Emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, volatile organic compounds include a variety of chemicals, and many are associated with adverse health effects so detecting VOCs simply, quickly, and reliably is valuable for several practical applications. In Review of Scientific Instruments, researchers describe a device designed to analyze air samples containing various VOCs. The device inhales a sample, enabling the sensors within its aluminum gas chamber to analyze and respond in real situations.