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Brigham Young University chemistry professor Milton Lee's latest invention is fulfilling his "Star Trek" dreams. Instead of fighting shape-shifting monsters or telepathic Talosians, Lee's device, modeled after the Star Fleet tricorder that can scan an area for contaminants, is nearly ready for use by the Department of Defense to fight terrorists and more.
"It's exciting to create new technologies," Lee said.
Lee's tricorder, or portable gas chromatograph and toroidal ion trap mass spectrometer, called a GC-TMS, isn't as versatile or as small as the fictional version, but it can be used to determine which chemicals are in a substance or the air. Lee's device is different because it is a fraction of the size of traditional systems. The device weighs about 28 pounds, where similar equipment in a lab can be as big as a table.
"They've been able to make everything so small," said Mike Alder, director of the technology transfer office at BYU.
Lee hopes it will help soldiers in the field better identify hazardous chemicals. The company also hopes the device will be useful for drug enforcement agencies, environmental quality officers and those investigating arson. The device can also detect steroids in people.
Lee and his colleagues unveiled the device Thursday. The device uses a syringe that's inserted in a substance or held up in the air. The syringe houses a special fiber coated in polymer that will absorb the target organics or chemicals. When the syringe is inserted in the machine, the chemicals are separated into ions that are analyzed. After the machine is finished, the results pop up on a small screen giving a fingerprint of the chemicals in the substance. There are only four buttons.
"We've made this simple enough that you don't have to be a scientist to use this," said Doug Later, president of Torion, the company formed to sell the product. The company has already sold several of the stereo-sized, yellow units to the Department of Defense.
On Wednesday, Brigham Young University signed a licensing agreement to give Torion access to 10 patents -- more patents than BYU has licensed to any startup in the past.
"This is a momentous occasion for our company and I think for BYU," Later said.
Alder said the school is expecting royalties, and to change the industry with this invention.
"Because we did it, the world is a safer place," Alder said.
The year after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, Lee and his brother, Edgar Lee, thought they would like to develop a tricorder-type instrument that would be able to detect biological and chemical weapons. The current model costs about $50,000.
• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at
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