PhD Student Files IP Disclosure

This month John Miller, a PhD student in the EESC program, Dr. Andy Hollerman from the Physics Department, Dr. Tolga Karsili from the Chemistry Department, and Dr. Steve Allison of the Emerging Measurements Company (EMCO), filed an Intellectual Property (IP) disclosure with the UL Lafayette Office of Innovation Management. For the last few years, they have been pursuing research in the field of phosphor thermometry in adverse environments. A phosphor is a material that emits light after having been energized by an external source; i.e., glow in the dark stars that can be stuck to a child’s ceiling. The amount of time necessary for the phosphor to cease emitting light depends on the temperature of the phosphor. In this way, phosphors can be used to measure temperature. While there are currently several methods of measuring temperature based upon this science, the inventors have come up with a novel method which will allow a greater selection of phosphor materials. Both provisional and non-provisional patent applications are expected to be filed in the near future.