HMC Team Wins $5000 Edmund Scientific Award

A project to develop a system for the remote detection of microbial life in space has garnered Prof. Gregory Lyzenga and collaborators a prize of $5,000 in Edmund Optics products. The device uses laser-induced fluorescence imaging and Raman spectroscopy (LIFIRS). Physics major Alex Hall (’12) and engineering major Steven Hang (’13) worked with Prof. Lyzenga and Michael Storrie-Lombardi, M.D. to develop a novel non-destructive, non-contact optical device capable of rapidly generating reflectance and fluorescence images. These systems are being developed and integrated for a pair of autonomous rovers specifically designed for exploration of lava tubes on Mars. Congratulations!

(Left to right) Steven Hang, Michael Storrie-Lombardi, Alex Hall, and Gregory Lyzenga.