04/16/2024
By Joanne Gagnon-Ketchen
Wednesday, April 17
4 p.m.
Olsen 102
Madhavi Martin, Senior Staff Research Scientist, Group Leader, Biomaterials and Biomass Characterization group, Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory will give a talk on "Leveraging High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy for Solutions to Bioengineering, Biomass, and Environmental Characterization."
Abstract: This talk will summarize the past decade of research using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), a technique complementary to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry but elegantly simpler in sample preparation and more versatile for the analysis of inconvenient samples and matrices such as leaves, shoots, roots, and soils. Recently, our group has used LIBS to advance the field of ionomics, the study of changes in inorganic element composition in response to physiological stimuli, developmental state, and genetic changes. I will speak on advances in LIBS techniques at ORNL for determining the viability of switchgrass and poplar trees as biomass that can be used to produce high-quality biofuels, as well as the impacts of climate change such as how trees respond to wildfires started during droughts. Use of LIBS also has led to a number of scientific discoveries.
Bio: Martin received her BS in Physics from the University of Nagpur, India in 1980. She received her MS and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1987 and 1992 respectively. She joined Oak Ridge National Lab in 1994 and became a Staff Research Scientist in 1999. She has received several honors and awards and is a Senior Member of the IEEE. Her research focusses on Laser Spectroscopy Techniques for Biological and Environmental projects: LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy).