Seminar on Research Sensors

Video of research remote sensing in a marine reserve.\Photo courtesy of ODFW.

The Hatfield Marine Science Center’s Thursday series of research seminars now offers a hybrid—in-person presentations that are also accessible remotely.  Next up, on Thursday, April 28, 3:30 p.m., is a talk on the latest in technology for researchers, entitled “Sensors in the Wild: Packaging, Power Autonomy, and Other Challenges."

The seminar will take place at the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building Auditorium at the marine science center (2030 S.E. Marine Science Dr., in the South Beach area of Newport).  It can also be attended online.

The speaker is Matthew Johnston, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Oregon State University.

Dr. Johnston’s description of his presentation:

“A host of changes are in store for future electronic devices, enabled in part by broad advancements in power, packaging, and performance of integrated circuits and sensor systems. In this talk, I’ll survey a few of the avenues we are pursuing to help move this forward: battery-less systems for power-autonomous wearable devices, intelligent sensor systems for wind turbine wildlife impact monitoring, and some of our ongoing work in stretchable circuits.

Future wearable devices and other deployed sensor systems, including ocean-bound sensors or continuous environmental monitoring, will require new approaches for long-term powering and operation that avoid individual battery recharging. I will present some of our recent work in low-voltage energy harvesting and low-power integrated circuits applied to wearable devices, including improvements in thermoelectric energy harvesting solutions - such as a true battery-less, wearable bioelectronic sensor powered by body heat.  I will also introduce some of our work in deployed sensor systems, applied to a test case of power-autonomous, blade-mounted wind turbine sensors for collision detection and wildlife impact monitoring. 

Advanced electronic sensor devices will also require new packaging approaches, where existing rigid and flexible circuits severely limit bending and stretching. This is broadly true for wearable sensors and actuators, as well as conformable electronic skins and smart textiles, soft robots, and emerging physical human-machine interfaces. I will present some of our ongoing work leveraging printed liquid metal materials to build stretchable electrical interconnects between electronic components. This approach allows us to build multi-layer "stretchable PCBs," moving toward a future where electronic sensors and circuits can be integrated in a variety of material systems that move, bend, and stretch to new limits.”

There will be a cookie and coffee social in the Gladys Valley MSC atrium from 3-3:30 p.m.

 To attend online, go to https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/94555731151.

Password: 972587 or call +1-971-247-1195 US Meeting ID: 945 5573 1151