New Technology to Detect Gas Leaks Part of Colloquium

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACT: Lia Unrau
PHONE: (713) 831-4793
E-MAIL: unrau@rice.edu

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT GAS LEAKS PART OF COLLOQUIUM

New advances that will make possible detection of trace gases in airplane
cabins, spacecraft and high-rise office buildings with sealed windows, will be
presented at a science colloquium Friday at Rice University.

Advances in laser spectroscopy that will open new doors for optical detection
and measurement are allowing researchers to adapt simple solidstate lasers to
urban and industrial applications. The small diode lasers can be made to help
measure minuscule concentrations of chemicals and gases. They could also be used
as inexpensive sensors to monitor air quality to detect methane emissions from
rice fields, or to monitor industrial pollution around the perimeter of an oil
refinery or other chemical plant.

Science that supports nanotechnology and new optical methods and spectroscopy
are among the topics to be presented at the Rice Quantum Institute’s 10th Annual
Summer Research Colloquium Aug. 23. The one-day meeting will offer a broad
overview of 58 presentations and posters of experimental and theoretical
results.

For more information contact Lia Unrau, science editor, Rice University News
Office, at (713) 831-4793, unrau@rice.edu.

###