*This scholarships is part funded by the Welsh Government’s European Social Fund (ESF) convergence programme for West Wales and the Valleys.*
The aim of the project is to develop a novel printable pH sensor platform that is capable of rapid, simple, and accurate testing with wide applications in the food and drink sectors which are key drivers in the Welsh economy. The project will explore the use of high speed contact printing processes to deposit a sensor technology that is based on micro and nano carbon materials. The latter are attractive as they are food safe and furthermore they can be functionalised to facilitate molecular bonding that can be used to enhance their sensitivity and in principle define its specificity.
Strategically, at a future development, not as part of this project, we would envision incorporating microfluidic into the sensor to allow for real time measurements to be made.
The project will therefore explore the sensor architecture in terms of shape and size and how the materials can be optimised to tune the sensor for application.
The food sector is very important in Wales and there is a huge market for this work, which will create substantial economic growth and employment nationally in Wales as well as industrially on an International scale. The food and beverage industries are key parts of the Welsh economy, employing more than 240,000 people, generating £16.8 billion of turnover in 2013, and £264 million of exports in 2015. The Welsh Government aims to improve the performance of the sector, with a target of increasing turnover in the food and farming priority sector to £7 billion by 2020. This is an opportunity to develop these sensors into a key technology that is used across the food and beverage industries.
We will be developing the commercially successful and existing pH chili sensor but into a platform technology, expanding its uses. Its potential applications include but are not limited to determining the freshness of meat in the meat and fish sector, testing for allergens such as packaged nuts, detecting gluten in foods, and being employed in the wine and brewing sector.
Scholarships are collaborative awards with external partners including SME’s and micro companies, as well as public and third sector organisations. The scholarship provides 1 year funding with a 3 month period to complete the thesis. The achievement of a postgraduate skills development award, PSDA, is compulsory for each KESS II scholar and is based on a 30 credit award.