Appointments, honors and activities

• Faculty and staff honors:

- Purdue University postdoctoral research associate Prasoon Diwakar has won an international technology prize competition for his invention designed to detect carcinogens in the environment. He won the 2016 CappSci Inventors Carcinogen Prize for his proposed laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Detector, a portable instrument for real-time detection of carcinogens in airborne material as well as solid or liquid samples. The prize provides $100,000 to winners in two categories - carcinogens and coral reef protection - to help researchers develop their innovative technologies at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in Miami. CappSci Inventors is a $1 million technology grant to be distributed over five years to 10 inventors, offering fresh approaches to solving major global challenges. It is a partnership between CappSci, a Miami-based nonprofit, and the Frost Museum of Science.