Craig Grimes
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering
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http://www.ee.psu.edu/grimes/
Craig Grimes is a practical fellow who wants to make something with the results of his research, "If you're lucky - and at the right place at the right time - your work can have real-world applications," he says. His interests span sensors and atomic theory - not exactly the usual mix for an electrical engineer. Some might argue that atomic theory isn't very practical (although they might change their minds after reading the book below), but sensor research is often about solving a practical problem and has the added benefit of being a better candidate for funding.
Sensor research gets Professor Grimes involved in a wide range of activities, including finding appropriate materials and coatings (at the macro-, micro-, and nanoscale) for making sensors with different responsiveness ranges and building prototypes for devices that can scan and read them. His research is guided by the desire to create sensors that are of a reasonable, useable size, and cost-effective enough for disposable use in biomed and other applications.
Intellectual property stemming from his work in sensors is currently being licensed by a local company, SentechBiomed (State College PA), which is working toward market with a device for advanced blood analysis. "This project started out requiring a sensor reader comprised of 80 pounds of equipment the size of a filing cabinet, plus a computer. Now we have a box the size of a book that you connect to a Palm-Pilot. The sensors themselves are laser-cut from an off-the-shelf roll of the material we want," says Professor Grimes. He is also working with Professor Mike Pishko on a variety of coatings for different biotoxin sensing applications.
A variety of disposable, single-use sensor arrays laser-cut from different materials for use in different applications.
Another project, involving Charles Palmer and James Kendig of the College of Medicine, focuses on development of hydrogen gas sensors for clinical use because hydrogen blood gas can be a critical indicator for certain diseases. "We started testing titanium nanotubes for hydrogen sensing capabilities and results have been astounding - at room temperature, exposure to 1000 ppm hydrogen produces a 10 4 change in electrical resistivity. Being able to function at room temperature makes the creation of a bandage-like sensor that can measure a patient's hydrogen blood gas levels both possible and practical," he said. "Even more intriguing are the photocatalytical properties of titanium nanotubes - shine a UV light on used or dirty ones and they self-clean in a big hurry! Try that with your carbon nanotubes!" [A Self-Cleaning, Room-Temperature Titania-Nanotube Hydrogen Gas Sensor. Mor GK, Varghese OK, Paulose M, Grimes CA. Sensor Letters, 1(1):107-112, 2003]. Got a glob of motor oil, barbeque smoke, or diesel fumes on your sensor? It's a dirty world out there - and self-cleaning sensors would be very handy. Keeping sensors functional under all kinds of conditions is a driving force for the Grimes Group. They are hard at work on easy to fabricate, low cost gas sensors of exquisite sensitivity that are able to continually self-clean through ambient UV exposure.
Field emission scanning electron microscope image of titania nanotubes.
Professor Grimes says his greatest challenge is juggling the demands of research and resources, responsibilities to the Penn State community, teaching (two graduate level courses: Sensors and Sensor Systems, and Solid State Physics), and family and home. He's got one book out, another on the way, and he is a co-founder (with Hari Nalwa, publisher) and Editor-in-Chief of a new Scientific Journal, Sensor Letters, that he's very excited about - in addition to his usual research. He enjoys working with his highly valued and long-standing group of researchers (see the Grimes Group web site) and he likes the convenient (if somewhat off-campus) refuge the MRL building provides.
BIO
He received his MS (1986) and PhD (1990) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The University of Texas, Austin, after graduating from Penn State in 1984 (EE & Physics). He returned to Penn State in July 2001 after 7 years at the University of Kentucky where he became Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Chemical and Materials Engineering departments, and held The Frank J. Derbyshire Research Professor chair (July 2000 - June 2001). He is on several committees and boards at Penn State and various professional organizations. He has published in numerous journals and books and is regularly invited to give seminars on electromagnetics and sensors. Awards: NSF CAREER (1999), Ford Foundation Fellowship (1989), and the MCC Award for Excellence in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Austin, TX, 1988).
BOOKS & PERIODICALS
The Electromagnetic Origin of Quantum Theory and Light (Dale M Grimes & Craig A Grimes, World Scientific, 2002). A multi-decade effort with his father, Dale (Emeritus EE), this work has been very well received and is going into its second printing. In 1965 the senior Professor Grimes started to examine why the universe is so well behaved until an extreme scale of dimensions is reached. The result, almost 40 years later, is a practical explanation and mathematical description of how quantum theory is an extension of conventional electromagnetic field theory - if you do your math correctly - and how photons are emitted by an electron (Maxwell's equations plus conservation of energy). Implications for the design of macroscopic antennas are one potential benefit of the work.
Encyclopedia of Sensors (Craig A. Grimes & Elizabeth C Dickey, American Scientific Publishers, Fall 2004). A compendium of sensor science and engineering to date, co-authored with Elizabeth Dickey, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.
Sensor Letters. A Peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the science and engineering of sensor technologies debuting in November 2003. Craig Grimes, Editor-in-Chief.
