MEMS Design Course Solutions to the Tennessee Trash Problem

The Tennessee Tech university spring 2008 MEMS senior/graduate design course challenge is to design MEMS sensors that attack the broad problem of minimization, detection, collection, and recycling of trash and hazardous waste materials found in Tennessee and elsewhere. The student design team solution to this year's environmental challenge will be described in this paper. A MEMS device capable of detecting mercury concentrations in water by using the amalgam properties of mercury with gold will be developed. The TTU MEMS effort involves collaboration with Oak Ridge National Labs on optical cantilever MEMS, as well as past and future MEMS fabrication collaboration with the university of Louisville fab and the ORNL center for nanophase materials sciences.