Plant Imaging using Radioisotope Tracers and Advanced Sensors

Fri., Nov. 22, 2013 3:30 p.m. - Fri., Nov. 22, 2013 4:29 p.m.

Location: CL 305

Our group has recently embarked into applied research stemming from our past experience in experimental nuclear physics that included development of many advanced detector systems. We now aim to develop modular and flexible detector solutions for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detection arising from radioisotope uptake in plants. The goal is to accommodate research needs in agriculture and biology aiming to investigate aspects of plant physiology, nutrient uptake and distribution, response to stress and injury, and others. The detection systems will strive to accomplish measurements under both laboratory and natural environments. This effort promises to build a collaboration of researchers from various fields (Agriculture, Biology, Physics, a.o.). In this talk, the background behind the project and its connection to the newly founded Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation - Fedoruk Centre in Saskatchewan will be presented, as well as recent results on the performance of silicon photomultipliers that show promise as the next generation devices in PET detection.

Speaker: Prof. Z. Papandreou, Department of Physics, University of Regina