Abstract:
The detection of trace explosives and narcotics has become a growing area of research and development within the scientific community and homeland security, owing its status to the ever-increasing threat of terrorist activities around the world. NIST has developed a measurement science and standards infrastructure to support this homeland security effort by ensuring that the current technology is functioning as expected, and also accelerating the development of next-generation contraband detection technology. This presentation will provide an overview of a large research program at NIST that focuses on the measurement challenges associated with trace contraband detection and forensic science. Additive manufacturing has been a critical tool for this program and has enabled the rapid development of new measurement techniques and various prototype systems. The role of 3D printing and additive manufacturing for activities such as optimized swipe sampling, aerodynamic sampling, chemical detection techniques, optical, electron, and ion microscopy, next-generation prototype development, and standard explosive test materials will be discussed.

Biography:
Matt Staymates is a mechanical engineer and fluid dynamicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His research focuses on the development and optimization of trace explosives and narcotics detection technologies.

Host:
Dr. Anil Jain