Jan. 27, 2017 - Luiz Jacobsohn, in his lab in Olin Hall, recently won an NSF CAREER award.(Photo: Patrick D. Wright)

A research project underway at Clemson University could mean a future with safer medical imaging, tighter national security and even more efficient lighting.

The project involves defects known as electronic traps that are found in materials used for the detection and measurement of ionizing radiation, said Luiz Jacobsohn, the assistant professor inClemsons Department of Material Science and Engineering who is leading the work.

The materials are dosimeters, which measure the amount of accumulated ionizing radiation absorbed, and scintillators, which display luminescence, or light, when exposed to ionizing radiation, he said.

The traps are found in both, but play different roles in each as they capture electrons, he said, and the more radiation received, the more electrons that are captured. And the traps occur without control.

There has not been a systematic investigation of these defects in materials in general, he said.

Sounds like esoteric scientific jargon to the layperson.

But in a nutshell, Jacobsohn is looking to map this process and engineer these traps in the hopes of enhancing the performance of the dosimeters and scintillators.

And better scintillators could mean less radiation in CT scans, he said.

Jan. 27, 2017 - Luiz Jacobsohn, in his lab in Olin Hall, recently won an NSF CAREER award.(Photo: Patrick D. Wright)

CT scans offer detailed images of the inside of the body, allowing doctors to pinpoint the precise location of a tumor in the brain, a blood clot in the lungs or a malfunction in a beating heart.

But they deliver much more radiation than X-rays potentially damaging DNA, leading to fears that they may cause cancer later in life, particularly in children, who are more vulnerable to the effects of radiation.

Research has shown that children and young adults who have multiple CTs have a small increased risk of leukemia and brain tumors one case of leukemia and one brain tumor in the decade following the firsts CT for every 10,000 head CT scans performed on children 10 years of age or younger than would have been expected without any scans, according to the National Cancer Institute.

So something that could reduce the amount of radiation in the scans has the potential to prevent illness and save lives.

By increasing the quality of the detector through a better scintillator, you can decrease the amount of radiation a patient has to go through in CT scans, he said. You can improve accuracy of radiotherapy as well because you know precisely how much radiation is needed.

And these materialsare used for other applications, too.

Because scintillators act like sensors to detect the presence of radioactive materials, they are used to protect the country from the smuggling of nuclear materials across our borders, he said. So a better scintillator couldimprove national security, he said.

Jan. 27, 2017 - Luiz Jacobsohn, in his lab in Olin Hall, recently won an NSF CAREER award.(Photo: Patrick D. Wright)

And understanding the role of the traps, which are detrimental to luminescence, could lead to more efficient lighting and lower energy bills, he said.

In his laboratory, which is equipped with high-temperature, atmospherically controlled furnaces and optical spectrometers, Jacobsohn synthesizes materials, modifies them through thermal processing, measures and analyzes their characteristics, and evaluates their luminescent properties.

Its a great opportunity for students to be exposed to science and to learn, he said, and in this way, prepare themselves for their professional lives.

Jacobsohn's work is supported by a $546,243 grant from the National Science Foundations Faculty Early Career Development Program. He also has plans to develop tools and strategies aimed at introducing materials science and engineering concepts to students atD.W. Daniel High School and McCormick High School.

The NSF CAREER award affirms Dr. Jacobsohns accomplishments as a teacher and a scholar, said Anand Gramopadhye, dean of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. It also underscores Clemsons growing strength as a research university, creating jobs and finding solutions to some of the worlds toughest challenges.

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Clemson researchers work toward brighter future in medicine, security - Greenville News