SensNews November 2018

Sensor100 November 2018 14 Preparing for chemical attacks with improved computer models On April 4, 2017, the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northwest Syria experienced one of the worst chemical attacks in recent history.A plume of sarin gas spread more than 10 kilometers (about six miles), carried by buoyant turbulence, killing more than 80 people and injuring hundreds. A team from the Laboratory of Turbulence Sensing and Intelli- gence Systems at the Univesity of Texas at Austin used computer models to replicate the dispersal of the chemical gas. However, running the high-resolution model takes time. In the case of the Syria simulation, it required five full days of number crunching on Stampede2 to complete. During a real attack, such time wouldn’t be available. For this purpose, the team has introduced a novel mobile sensing protocol where they deploy low-cost mobile sensors consisting of aerial drones and ground-based sensors to gather the local wind data and use the courser model to predict the plume trans- port. Using this method, the four-hour predictions can be computed in as little as 30 min- utes. Eureka Alert! 21 August Nouryon Imagine Chemistry Program Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) are inviting your team to work with them as equal partners to tackle some of the most urgent chemistry-related challenges, by taking part in their Imagine Chemistry collaborative innovation program. Sensing in demanding environments is one of the identified topics. KTN is hosting a freeWebinar with details of the program on 17th December REGISTER Here