Source: The Spectrum, University of Buffalo.

    Working here and overseas, great minds from UB are collaborating with others around the world to make better airport security take flight.

    In conjunction with researchers at Queens College (City University of New York), the University of California at Santa Barbara and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan, professors and graduate students at UB are making strides to develop a technology that could revolutionize current military, medical and airline technology.

    Terahertz frequencies, which are higher than microwaves but lower than potentially harmful infrared rays, are being studied for their implications in investigative searches.

    Andrea Markelz, Ph.D., principal investigator for the project, said that there are significant potential benefits for the technology, especially in things like airport security.

    ¡°Using terahertz frequencies, you can definitely see if someone has metal on them,¡± Markelz said. ¡°It¡¯s a way of seeing metal objects, packages and powders through clothing, without the potential biological damage of an X-ray.¡±

    Using an example of anthrax in an envelope, Markelz said that it is almost impossible to search every envelope that goes through current airport security. However, using the terahertz frequency, one would be able to see that powder was inside of an envelope. They would then be able to determine whether or not the substance had the potential for harm.

    Markelz began working with the idea over two years ago, when an event overseas prompted her to action.

    ¡°It was Christmas Eve, and I heard about a bombing in a U.S. military cafeteria in Baghdad. I just thought, ¡®this should not be happening,¡¯¡± Markelz said. ¡°I think the technology will have a big impact in a military setting.¡±

    The project has been in the works for nearly two years. It started with interdepartmental effort and a seed grant given by the Office of the Vice President of the Department of Research, according to Markelz.

    Dr. Jorge Jose, vice president for research, also helped to secure a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), for which there was a great deal of competition.

    ¡°Of the six who applied for seed grants at UB, two were selected to be sent to the National Science Foundation,¡± said Jose. ¡°They were selected among the 10 out of over 400 applications which received funding.¡±

    Markelz, who specializes in physics, said that after being paired with Dr. Jonathan Bird, professor of electrical engineering, the combined brainpower allowed the project to take shape.

    ¡°(We) were working on completely different projects,¡± Markelz said. ¡°Which is how I think a lot of ideas come to be.¡±

    One of the most exciting aspects of the research for Markelz and Jose is the interdisciplinary and multinational effort. The collaboration begins in Japan, where a UB graduate student will go for research.

    Jose said that the international effort between universities is one that shows a global connection.

    ¡°Science and physics are international endeavors,¡± Jose said. ¡°This is one of many sources of pride (for UB).¡±

    The ultimate goal of the project is to provide the technology, which can then be used to create products easily accessible to any security worker.

    ¡°A person in airport security wants a button,¡± Markelz said. ¡°What government does is package and format your device so the button can be pushed.¡±

    Though the grant is for four years, the first leg of the project is expected to be complete before the end of the spring semester.