SensNews Mar 2017

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5 Sensor100 March 2017
Professor Francis Ligler Inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame
Professor Francis Ligler, Lampe Distinguished Professor in the joint NC State and
UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Bioengineering performs research in the fields
of biosensors, biomaterials and microfluidics. She was inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame for her work on optical biosensors.
“[Optical biosensors] is a whole field where biological molecules are being used
for recognition and transduce an optical signal to a small device,” Ligler said.“My
teams and I demonstrated the use of optical biosensors for detection of patho-
gens in food, infectious diseases in people, biological warfare agents, environmen-
tal pollutants, explosives and drugs of abuse — things that can kill you.”
Ligler started her research with a group in the Naval Research Laboratory, the
corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States
Marine Corps, where they were trying to solve problems with the Navy.
She joined the JDBE at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. in 2013.
9 March
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