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Ronald S. Besser, a Professor in the Department of Chemical, Biomedical and Materials Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, recently co-authored and published, with Stevens graduate student W.C. Shin, a paper in the Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing journal,Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering

The paper, Micromachined thin-film gas flow sensor for micromechanical reactors, appears in the current online edition and is free at here The paper will also be featured in the April 2006 print version of JMM.

Besser's research focuses on microchemical systems: miniature, microfabricated devices that perform chemical reactions with superb control over the chemistry. The article describes a novel integrated sensor to detect the tiny flow rates in these systems as part of a self-contained feedback control approach for system autonomy. Applications include biomedical labs on chip, miniature fuel processors for replacing batteries in portable electronics, and remote chemical sensors for homeland security.