Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open and free lecture series aimed at non-engineers of all backgrounds who are interested in learning about engineering topics.
This talk will be virtual. Please check back soon for the Zoom link.
Speaker: Viktor Gruev, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Overview: Some of the world’s greatest innovations, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machine, owe their strength and elegance to natural design. Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have returned their gaze to the natural world to develop a camera inspired by the mantis shrimp that can visualize cancer cells during surgery.
This effort is led by electrical and computer engineering professor Viktor Gruev. He will detail how the camera works with tumor-targeted drugs to see cancer in animal and human patients. “Engineers spend incredible amounts of time and money developing the image sensors in cellphones,” said Gruev. “When we are out on the town, these devices can capture pictures that are perfect for social media, but when doctors are examining patients, they don’t care how nice the shot looks – they care how well the picture captures reality. The driving force in the camera market is simply incompatible with the technology required for medical diagnostics.”
Looking for a better way forward, the researchers turned to the compound eye of the mantis shrimp.
Zoom link will be shared closer to the date.
