Professor Bunz will describe the theory, design, construction, and performance of “artificial tongues” designed from a series of organic, conjugated polymers. These sensors can be described as “hypothesis-free arrays” that can discriminate between different key molecular analytes without prior knowledge of what is being detected. Hypothesis-free arrays can help polymers successfully differentiate nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, colas, white-wines and whiskies according to their differential fluorescence intensity modulation. The outlook for this class of arrays in advanced sensors for a range of disciplines and applications is discussed.

Professor Uwe Bunz was born 1963 in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from LMU Munich, and followed that with a postdoc appointment at UC Berkeley.

He has since worked for the University of South Carolina, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Universität Heidelberg.