Navy funds development of new explosives detection technology
The Navy recently awarded researchers at Texas Tech University a four year $1.2 million grant to develop a more effective method to detect explosive materials; the project is spearheaded by four Texas Tech professors specializing in chemical engineering; one professor explained, “In layman’s terms, basically we’re trying to enhance detection for explosives”
pThe Navy recently awarded researchers at Texas Tech University a four year $1.2 million grant to develop a more effective method to detect explosive materials.
The project is titled “Resolving the Complexity of Hot Spots Caused by Weak Energy Concentration and Coupling in Composite Energetic Materials” and is spearheaded by four Texas Tech professors specializing in chemical engineering.
Louisa Hope-Weeks, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, explained, “In layman’s terms, basically we’re trying to enhance detection for explosives.”
She added, “The new technology can be used by the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration and military applications.”
“We need better, more enhanced sensitivity to keep up with what’s out there,” Weeks said. “Things are changing around the world. The problem now is they’re making homemade explosives that current sensors can’t find.”
Weeks is joined by Greg McKenna, the John R. Bradford Chair in Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Michelle Pantoya, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Brandon Weeks, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
