Physics Seminar: "Active Imaging of Natural Gas Plumes, Demonstrations of New Stand-Off Approaches"

Dr. TJ Ronningen
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Ohio State University

Abstract

Leaks in natural gas distribution systems present safety and environmental risks. Commercially available handheld detectors primarily use chemical analysis techniques that require the operator to be in the midst of the methane cloud, putting the operator at risk to identify the hazard. Methane can also be detected from a distance using infrared spectroscopy. We have demonstrated and assessed two new approaches to detecting and imaging natural gas plumes using active approaches that combine infrared lasers and imagers. In lab demonstrations, we have successfully imaged the evolution of a methane plume in real time. I will discuss this application of infrared imaging and our group’s larger efforts to advance infrared detectors and imagers for a variety of applications.

Bio

Dr. TJ Ronningen is a Research Scientist in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the Ohio State University. TJ works on applied spectroscopy and sensor development. He develops techniques, hardware systems, and software to detect target materials in complex environments, such as battlefields, subway stations, food production facilities, and surgical interventions. TJ’s work and collaborations span disciplines of biology, medicine, applied mathematics, chemistry, physics, and engineering. TJ’s current work focuses on applying novel infrared sensors to solve industrial, environmental, medical, and security sensor challenges. He earned his PhD in Chemical Physics from Ohio State in 2005 and holds five U.S. patents for inventions developed while he was a researcher at Battelle from 2005 to 2017.