ALERT | Awareness and Localization of Explosive-Related Threats

SPARC Webinar: July 22

Autonomous Raman microscopy system for the analysis of trace residues on surfaces by non-expert users
with Prof. Eric Miller, Professor and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University and  Dr. Romain Blanchard, Senior Director of the Safety & Security branch at Pendar Technologies

The slides and video presentation of the July 22nd webinar is now available online!

The third webinar of the SPARC (Seminars to Promote ALERT Research and Collaboration) Webinar series will be held on July 22nd from 11:30am – 12:00pm EST. More information on the presentation can be found below:

Title: Autonomous Raman microscopy system for the analysis of trace residues on surfaces by non-expert users.

Presenters: Eric Miller, Professor and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University and Romain Blanchard, Senior Director of the Safety & Security branch at Pendar Technologies

Abstract: Microscopy, when combined with an optical chemical analysis technique such as Raman spectroscopy can be a powerful technique to detect trace residues on surfaces and identify potential threats, from explosives to toxic chemicals. However, effective use of Raman microscopes typically require specialized training. We discuss here the development, implementation, and validation of image processing algorithms for the automated localization of particles on various surfaces, in order to guide a compact portable Raman microscope developed by Pendar Technologies. Using the image processing pipeline, the system is able to autonomously image a surface, locate particles, and analyze their chemical composition, without user intervention. In addition to the technical aspects of the work, we highlight the collaborative nature of the effort. Over the past 12 months, ALERT-supported expertise from Tufts University was transitioned to Pendar in the form of algorithms successfully implemented in a functioning system delivered to a customer.

Speaker Bios:

Professor Eric Miller received a B.S. in 1990, an M.S. in 1992, and a Ph.D. in 1994, all in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. He is a professor in and the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts School of Engineering and holds adjunct appointments in the Departments of Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering. His research interests include physics-based tomographic image formation and object characterization, inverse problems in general and inverse scattering in particular, regularization, statistical signal and imaging processing, and computational physical modeling.

Dr. Romain Blanchard is Senior Director of the Safety & Security branch at Pendar Technologies, commercializing compact, rugged and intelligent sensor systems for chemical analysis. He was previously Director of Technology at Pendar, where he led the design of new products and solutions and oversaw internal R&D efforts and government programs. He received his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University and his MS from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, France. Dr. Blanchard has authored or coauthored more than 50 technical papers as well as numerous granted and provisional patents.

If you are interested in attending or have any questions, please reach out to Tiffany Lam at [email protected] for more information.