Fayetteville State University is one of the top ten universities with an innovation idea accepted by NASA. The FSU’s project “Molecular Sequencing and Bio-contaminant identification” takes advantage of an existing NASA patent combined with the know-how by FSU innovators and students led by Dr. Daryush ILA as the PI/Inventor.
The innovation is designed for water purification as well as for inline Molecular Sequencing and Bio-contaminant identification which will save life in space and on earth. The student team was led by chemistry student Lenore Miller, and by business student Heather S. Vivian.
The applications related to NASA include the enhanced ability to test potable water for contaminants on manned expeditions and future extraterrestrial colonization. With the difficulty of extracting water from frozen planets and the difficulty of transporting water from earth due to its weight. Current and future NASA missions count on the recycling of waste water into potable water. The proposed system will allow for the rapid and efficient testing of water for the most common pathogens. When life is found on other planets, a simple modification of the system will allow for testing of the presence of extraterrestrial life forms in potable and non-potable water. Furthermore, many of the “non-NASA” applications listed below will be important to NASA for future colonization and space travel.
Originally published Dec. 12, 2018.