Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for March
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Sensor for Power, Energy, Environment and Engineering
Fri, Mar 04, 2005 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Dr. Sheng Wu
PEER CALTECH
Pasadena, CAAbstract:
We present the research and development on sensors for Power, Energy, Environment and Engineering that we are carrying out at PEER Caltech.These sensors are based on light-matter elastic (Mie scattering, Optical Coherence Tomography/OCT) and inelastic (absorption, RAMAN, Laser Induced Fluorescence/LIF) interactions, and on gas adsorption/desorption processes. Major projects include multiwavelength laser scattering and FM LIDAR for CO2 and other gases, high power tunable lasers and drift-free carbon polymer sensors based on MEMS technology. Sensors and techniques developed are applied to gas/petroleum transportation and refinery, biological science and engineering.For light scattering, we will present the advantages for multi-wavelengths light scattering scheme, including light scattering principles, current particulate matters (PM) measuring instruments and multi-wavelengths scattering. We will discuss the importance of PM in air pollution control and atmospheric chemistry.For FM (frequency modulation) LIDAR, we will present a cost effective way to monitor ambient CO2 concentration changes over a several square kilometers and the application in carbon sequestration. We will start with the principles of FM absorption spectroscopy and LIDAR over long ranges and end will discussion on other applications of such FM LIDAR technique, including gas pipe safety and other toxic gas emissions.For drift-free carbon polymer sensors, we will talk about the principles of such adsorption sensors, problems and solutions to improve the performances of such sensors. We will discuss the possible applications of such sensors for petroleum transportation and refineries.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 156
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Classic and Emerging Techniques in Environmental Forensics
Fri, Mar 11, 2005 @ 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Ioana G. Petrisor, Ph.D.
Environmental Scientist
DPRA Inc.,
E-mail: Ioana.Petrisor@dpra.comAbstract:
Environmental Forensics is an emerging field that uses the knowledge and techniques from a large variety of basic and applied sciences in order to conduct scientific investigations and respond to three main questions: (1) what is the contamination source(s)? (2) when did the contamination occur? and (3) who is responsible? Both historical (documentary) and real field data may be used for a reliable investigation. The motivation for such studies is provided by the legal context (legislation) that requires and allows the recovery of remedial costs (in the order of millions of dollars) from the identified responsible parties.
The current presentation will focus on two main techniques with high potential in forensics investigations. The first technique based on isotopic (stable and/or radioactive) analyses could be considered classic as it has proven performances in many environmental forensics investigations. Several case studies, where isotopic analyses were efficiently applied for tracking contamination and manage liabilities, will be provided and discussed. The second technique is emerging and relies on the use of DNA fingerprinting for reconstructing contaminant release events. Several emerging molecular microbiological techniques known by the generic term of DNA fingerprinting (including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and ribotyping) will be presented. Their proven applicability in criminal forensics will be discussed along with the potential applications in environmental forensics. Finally, few quizzes will be given in order to illustrate the complexity of environmental forensic issues and how to integrate knowledge and techniques in solving intractable problems.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 156
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes