News
August 24, 2022
Congratulations to Kat and Mariana
Both Kathleen Horvath and Mariana Vasquez successfully defended their doctoral dissertations on 8/23/2022
Congratulations!!
From L to R: Charles Parker, Jiaxin Ye, Kathleen Horvath, Mariana Vasques, Jeff Glass, Jason Amsden, Rafael Bento Serpa, Xuanyi Tan
September 28, 2021
Virtual-slit focusing in a cycloidal mass spectrometer – A proof of concept
Our article "Virtual-slit focusing in a cycloidal mass spectrometer – A proof of concept" has been published in the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1dppl_VYvuw8RQ
August 10, 2021
The Long Neglected Cycloidal Mass Analyzer
Our perspective "The Long Neglected Cycloidal Mass Analyzer" has just been published in Analytical Chemistry: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02001
June 1, 2021
Kat Presents at ASMS Emerging Talent: Government Session
On Wednesday, 5/26/2021, Kat Horvath presented highlights from her research at the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Emerging Talent: Government webinar series. Presenters were selected in a competitive application process intended to showcase their preparedness in applying for faculty positions this cycle or next within the government sector. Kat's presentation entitled, "A Cycloidal Coded Aperture Mass Spectrometer for Rapid, On-site Analysis of Perfluorinated Compounds" can be viewed here.
December 3, 2020
Mariana Completes Preliminary Exam
Congratulation to Mariana Vasquez, who successfully completed her preliminary exam. Her report was titled “(Electro)chemical processes at solid/liquid interfaces in materials for sanitation and neural stimulation.” Her work focuses on charge and chemical reactions at solid/liquid interfaces, electrochemical and chemical analyte modification and characterization, and electrochemical processes. Congratulations to Mariana on completing this PhD milestone.
December 2, 2020
Tanouir Pass Preliminary Exam
Congratulations to Tanouir Aloui, who successfully completed her preliminary exam, “Progress towards a high-resolution, large mass range miniature mass spectrometer for planetary exploration.” Congratulations to Tanouir on completing this PhD milestone.
December 2, 2020
Mariana Earns Best Presentation at the Carolina Science Symposium
Mariana Vasquez has won Best Presentation in the 3rd oral session in the Carolina Science Symposium. Her submission was entitled “Silicate minerals provide non-biological removal of ammonium and phosphate ions from onsite-wastewater-treatment-system effluent.” Congratulations to Mariana on another wonderful presentation!
December 2, 2020
Congrats to Mariana on her Conference Presentation Win
Mariana Vasquez has won Best Presentation in the Engineering Science Symposium by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) during the 2020 Virtual National Convention. Her submission, entitled "Ammonium and phosphate removal from real blackwater using silicate-based minerals" won the Mejorando: Enhancing Biological Systems, Human Health, and Human Safety category.
April 27, 2020
Kat Passes Preliminary Exam
Congratulations to Kat Horvath, who successfully completed her preliminary exam, “Designing a Cycloidal Mass Spectrometer to Detect Perfluorocarbon Tracer Molecules.” Congratulations to Kat as she moves closer to completing her PhD.
November 26, 2019
Tanouir Aloui Wins Second Place at Duke's Energy Week
On November 6th, Tanouir Aloui, Kat Horvath, and Raul Vyas participated in Duke's Energy Week Student Research Poster Competition. Dozens of students from various school presented their research as it pertained to energy applications. Tanouir Aloui won second place for her poster on "Evaluation of Aperture Materials for Coded Apertures Used in a Portable Cycloidal Miniature Mass Spectrometer." Congratulations Tanouir!
November 26, 2019
NTFL Presents at Carolina Science Symposium
On November 8th, for the third consecutive year, NTFL sent students to attend the Carolina Science Symposium. The symposium highlights research completed at Duke University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina, and North Carolina A&T State University. This year, Tanouir Aloui, Kat Horvath, Elettra Piacentino, and Raul Vyas attended the symposium and presented on research relating to the design and operation of the coded aperture miniature mass spectrometer (CAMMS). For the second year in a row, Kat Horvath brought home the third place prize for her poster entitled "Designing a Coded Aperture Cycloidial Mass Analyzer to Detect Perfluorocarbon Tracers." Congratulations to Kat!
November 26, 2019
Kat Horvath Wins First Place for Presentation at ECE Retreat
At the annual Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Retreat, Ph.D. Student Kat Horvath presented on her work entitled "Designing a Coded Aperture Cycloidal Mass Analyzer to Detect Perfluorocarbon Tracers." This presentation won her first place amongst the students who presented along with $1,500 in prize money. Congratulations to Kat!
November 26, 2019
NTFL Students Attend ECE Department Retreat
In September 2019, graduate students Tanouir Aloui, Kat Horvath, Mariana Vasquez, and Raul Vyas attended the annual Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Retreat in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Students spent time getting to know others in the department, swimming, surfing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, along with presenting and discussing their research. Kat Horvath and Mariana Vasquez gave oral presentations and Raul Vyas presented a poster.
November 25, 2019
NFTL Attends 2019 HEMS Meeting
Five members of the NTFL attended the 2019 Harsh Environment Mass Spectrometry (HEMS) Workshop in September 2019 in Myrtle Beach, SC. The group presented on research related to the coded aperture miniature mass spectrometer (CAMMS) and connected with other researchers working on novel mass spectrometer designs and applications. Prof. Amsden presented on the "Use of Computational Sensing Techniques to Improve the Performance of Mass Spectrometers in Harsh Environment," Tanouir Aloui (Student Award Winner) presented on "Evaluation of Aperture Materials for Coded Apertures used in a Portable Cycloidal Miniature Mass Spectrometer," Kat Horvath (Student Award Winner) presented on "Designing a Coded Aperture Cycloidal Mass Analyzer to Detect Perfluorocarbon Tracers," and Raul Vyas presented on "A Comparison of Thermionic Filament and Carbon Nanotube Field Emitter Array-based Ion Sources in Coded Aperture Miniature Mass Spectrometers." Visit the HEMS Workshop archive https://www.hems-workshop.org/13thWS/13thWS.html
June 10, 2019
NTFL Attends 2019 ASMS Conference
The mass spectrometry research team including: Dr. Jason Amsden, Tanouir Aloui, Kat Horvath, and Raul Vyas attended the 67th annual conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics in Atlanta, GA. Kat Horvath presented on her work on "Designing a Magnetic Sector for a Cycloidal Mass Analyzer in a Miniature Mass Spectrometer" as part of the Instrumentation: Portable and Transportable Mass Spectrometers section. Raul Vyas presented a poster about his research on "Improving the Aperture Image Uniformity of a Coded-Aperture Cycloidal Mass Spectrometer."