Jared Crawford, a West Virginia University junior from Parkersburg, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the National Consortium for Measures and Signals Intelligence (MASINT) Research Scholars Program. Crawford was nominated by Dr. Jeremy Dawson, research assistant professor from the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, a component of WVU’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
Crawford’s project, “Photonic Crystal Wavelength Fabrication,” was recently featured at WVNano SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience), a symposium for student research with an emphasis in nanotechnology.
Working with Dawson, his advisor, Crawford researched the creation of nanophotonic structures called photonic crystals. Photonic crystals are the central components in a sensor system that can detect very low levels of chemical and biological substances.
This research, based in nanoscience, is crucial to optimizing the next level of environmental security, Dawson said.
“In the case of harmful materials, such as food-born pathogens, chemical and biological warfare agents, and cancer marker proteins, ultra-high sensitivity is the key to early detection and intervention,” he said. “Our sensor technology provides a means of boosting the fluorescence ‘signature’ of small amounts of hazardous materials so that the light output can be easily detected via conventional means. The small size of the sensor system allows the creation of small, handheld devices that can be used in a variety of applications such as point-of-care medical diagnostics, molecular biometrics, field testing of gas and liquid samples, food safety, and a host of similar defense-related applications.”
Crawford worked with Bashar Hamza, Matthew Simmons, and Jason Jackson. The project also gained him senior credit hours and the scholarship will be applied to tuition, textbooks, and room/board.
Dawson’s research is funded by the National Science Foundation.
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