NSF-backed biophotonic sensors and systems center launches

March 24, 2011

Backed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center award, the Boston University Photonics Center and the Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST) at the University of California–Davis recently launched the Center for Biophotonic Sensors and Systems (CBSS).

Backed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center award, the Boston University Photonics Center (Boston, MA) and the Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST) at the University of California–Davis (UC Davis; Davis, CA) recently launched the Center for Biophotonic Sensors and Systems (CBSS). The Center will target improving tools and techniques for disease diagnosis, drug efficacy testing, patient monitoring and food and water safety.

Gabriela Lee, industry liaison for CBST at UC Davis, notes that the two biophotonics programs plan to focus their research on biospectroscopy using advanced optical components, single-cell capture flow cytometry, adaptive beam control for deep tissue two-photon imaging and live cell 3-D super-resolution microscopy. And the center’s framework provides plenty of potential for faculty and industry partners to work together on basic research that ultimately will benefit all, providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to work toward careers as engineers and scientists, she says.

Industry members will direct the center research. The initial research programs will be determined at a meeting April 28-29 at Boston University. Benefits to industry members include opportunities for pre-competitive collaboration with industry counterparts, access to a pipeline of trained graduate students, enhanced technology transfer opportunities, rights to license intellectual property related to the program, access to the breadth of each university’s research as well as access to supplemental funding opportunities through other NSF programs.

The April meeting is open to all potential industry members; voting rights will be limited to those who have signed the membership agreement. Registration fees are waived for this meeting. For more information and to register, visit: www.bu.edu/cbss.

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Posted by Lee Mather

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