Arts & Sciences Events
[PAST EVENT] Chemistry Fall Seminar
Location
1127Theresa Evans-Nguyen of the University of South Florida presents
"Targeting Next Generation Mass Spectrometry"
Abstract:
Mass Spectrometry (MS) has become a critical tool in modern chemical measurement. Biomedical applications targeting the plethora of bio-organic species are largely responsible for the enhanced performance of commercial mass spectrometers in the past thirty years. In fact, MS instrumentation research can be viewed as another means to analytical method development. We strive to take this approach for a variety of niche applications in space, medicine, and security & defense. Projects in the lab involve differential mobility spectrometry (DMS), digital ion trap (DIT) mass spectrometry systems, atmospheric pressure sampling from surfaces, and microscope mode time-of-flight imaging. For instance, for illicit drug screening, we have explored DMS filtration toward field portable forensics. Toward planetary dating applications, we have developed DIT to improve isotope ratio analysis. We also recently repurposed a ?tinyTOF? to serve as a simple portable MS imaging instrument that may be used for clinical screening. These and other fun works-in-progress will be discussed.
Bio:
Theresa Evans-Nguyen received her BS in Chemistry from William & Mary in 2000 and her PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005. She conducted post-doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University under the advisement of Robert J. Cotter working on mass spectrometric instrumentation development. From 2009-2015, she was a senior staff scientist in the Draper Laboratory Bioengineering Center in Tampa, FL. In 2015, she became an assistant professor of analytical chemistry at the University of South Florida in the Department of Chemistry. Her long-term research goals focus on the advanced development of chemical sensing technologies, particularly with respect to mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation. Applications interests include space, biomedical, and defense sectors. Theresa, along with her fellow mass spectrometrist husband Kenyon Evans-Nguyen, also has two young children (Oliver, 7, and Penelope, 3) that are a project in themselves.