Date and Time:
Fri, 03/01/2019 - 2:30pmSpeaker:
Prof. Perena GoumaAffiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State UniversityLocation:
Discovery Park B155
Abstract:
: The research focus of my group involves the development of novel nanomaterials for functional applications such as selective gas sensors and visible light activated photocatalysts. Using a variety of materials synthesis and nano-manufacturing techniques (sol-gel chemistry, hydrothermal processing, flame spray pyrolysis, (high-throughput) electrospinning, and highenergy electron lithography) we have created a toolbox of new phases for polymorphic ceramic oxides and a plethora of hybrid nanocomposites. Each of the oxide polymorphs typically has distinct properties, such as affinity to a specific chemical or a class of chemical compounds. The inherent gas selectivity of specific nanostructures allowed us to develop sensing elements to detect signaling metabolites of disease or metabolic malfunction-i.e. gases/vapors released in a single human breath exhaled. Handheld, portable, battery-operated, breathalyzer device prototypes have also been developed by my research group, which may predict the onset of an asthma attack or monitor diabetes, or detect viral infections, such as the flu. A new class of self-supported 3D nanoarchitectures of ceramic oxides that we invented, Nanogrids™, is also presented here. This technology has been hailed as “breakthrough nanotechnology” and finds uses from water remediation/clean-up to solar energy harvesting.
Biography:
Dr. Pelagia-Irene (Perena) Gouma is the Edward Orton Jr., Chair in Ceramic Engineering at The Ohio State University. Her previous appointment was with the Institute of Predictive Performance Methodologies (IPPM) and with the MSE Dept. (tenured Full Professor) at the University of Texas-Arlington. Before that, for 16 years, she was a Professor at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, and the Founder and Director of the Center for Nanomaterials and Sensor Development (CNSD). She holds a B.Sc. degree in Applied Physics from the Aristotelian University in Thessaloniki Greece; a M.Sc. (Eng) degree in Materials from the University of Liverpool, UK and a M.Phil in Organizational Management from the same Institution. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from The University of Birmingham in the UK. Dr. Gouma’s research activities involve the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials for bio-/chemical sensors and biotechnology as well as the development of artificial olfaction systems (breath analyzers, electronic noses and tongues). Dr. Gouma has established novel and highly successful programs on nanomedicine, with emphasis on the development of non-invasive breath and skin-based diagnostic tools. Other areas of her research include photocatalysts and sorbents for remediating water from fracking operations and selfsupported photocatalytic blankets that float on water and produce energy from photochemical water splitting. She has published 140 peer-reviewed articles, 18 book chapters and editorials, and a monograph. She also holds 18 patents (both US and International). She is a member of the National Academy of Inventors, she was a Fulbright Scholar to UNICAMP in Brazil, and she has received the prestigious Richard M. Fulrath award of The American Ceramic Society.