Egg Soundings

tion, and the application of laser atomic absorption spectroscopy to trace analysis. ... His other research interests include software development, fa...
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1992 Benedetti-Pichler Award Winner The American Microchemical Soci­ ety's Benedetti-Pichler Memorial Award will be presented at the EAS to Robert G. Michel, professor of chemistry at the University of Con­ necticut. Michel received his B.Sc. degree (1971) and Ph.D. (1974) from Sheffield Polytechnic, U.K. After completing fellowships at the Uni­ versity of Florida and the Univer­ sity of Strathclyde, Michel joined the faculty at the Uni­ versity of Connecticut in 1979. Michel was awarded the Senior Fulbright-Hays Award and a National Institutes of Health Research Ca­ reer Development Award. His research interests include absorption and fluorescence in plasmas, instrumenta­ tion, and the application of laser atomic absorption spectroscopy to trace analysis.

New York SAS Award Winner J a c k L. Koenig, professor of macromolecular science at Case Western Reserve University, will receive the New York Section for Applied Spec­ troscopy Medal. Koenig received his B.A. degree in chemistry and m a t h ­ ematics from Yankton College in South Dakota (1955) and his Ph.D. in theoretical spectroscopy from the University of Nebraska (1955). After spending four years as a researcher with E. I. du Pont de Nemours, he joined the faculty at Case Western Re­ serve University. In 1963 Koenig built one of the first laser-excited Ra­ man spectrometers, laying the groundwork for develop­ ments in vibrational spectroscopy. His other research interests include software development, factor analysis techniques, NMR spectroscopy, and developing poly­ meric liquid crystals for optical applications.

Egg Soundings We all know that eggs are high in cholesterol and fat and that we should limit our intake to only four per week. Eggs can also carry the dreaded salmonella bacte­ ria. If not properly cooked, infected eggs can cause food poisoning; death can result for pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Researchers Dipen Sinha of the Electronics Research Group, Roger Johnston and Kevin Grace of the Physical Chemistry/Process Technology Group, and Cheryl Lemanski of the Biochemistry and Structural Biology Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory have devel­ oped an acoustic resonance technique, based on an ob­

ject's natural vibration frequency, to inspect chicken eggs. The egg is placed between two transducers. One transducer converts an electrical signal into sound, and the other listens for the sound and converts it back into an electrical signal. The resonance of the egg shell is affected by the conditions in the white and the yolk. Normal eggs exhibit a single resonance at ~ 830 Hz. Eggs artificially inoculated with salmonella exhibit an additional resonance at a higher frequency. The re­ searchers were able to detect 25% of the infected eggs and hope to improve their system to detect 100% of the diseased eggs. Currently the only way to tell if an egg is infected is to crack it open and culture the egg yolk. Researchers caution t h a t the acoustic inspection technique should be tested on naturally contaminated eggs to be sure t h a t it works in real-world conditions. Once perfected, the sys­ tem could provide egg farmers with an inexpensive, quick, and portable technique to add another needed measure of safety to the food supply.

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