University of Rhode Island engineering professor Otto Gregory is reflected in a silicon wafer that contains sensors to detect explosives in a laboratory on the school’s campus, in South Kingstown, R.I.
Professor Otto Gregory compares his sensor to a dog’s nose, the gold standard in explosives detection. It “sniffs” the air for vapors emitted from explosives.
Inside his laboratory, Gregory is evaluating how well his sensor detects triacetone triperoxide. The Paris attackers packed TATP into their suicide vests and wielded assault rifles, killing 130 people Nov. 13.
TATP was also used in the 2005 London bombings, which killed 52 commuters, and by Richard Reid, who tried unsuccessfully to detonate a bomb in his shoe during a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001.
TATP is relatively easy to make, and the materials are readily available in pharmacies and hardware stores, experts say. Even small quantities can cause large explosions. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security began funding Gregory’s work through a center for explosives research in 2008.
His sensor is designed to continuously monitor an area, unlike a quick swab of a hand or of luggage at the airport to screen for particulates from explosives. It doesn’t need training or breaks, as bomb-sniffing dogs do.
“Think of it as an electronic dog’s nose that would run 24/7,” said Gregory, a chemical engineering professor.
Homeland Security created a center of excellence for explosives experts to collaborate and improve the nation’s response to threats, called the ALERT, or Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats, Center.
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