Please join the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering on Thursday, January 30, 2025, for a guest lecture by Dr. Benoît Lessard from the University of Ottawa. His presentation, “Green” Electronics: from Sustainable Materials to Cannabinoid Sensors, will occur in QNC 1501 at 11:30 a.m.
Abstract
From wearable electronic patches that measure early biomarkers for disease to smart food packaging that tells you when your food has spoiled, organic thin film transistors are needed to activate and control the next generation of electronics. Our society is faced with an increasing challenge of E-waste and with the proliferation of the Internet of Things and smart packaging this is only going to get worse. Many of these applications only require a single use or short lifetime before disposal therefore the desire to integrate these materials onto biodegradable substrates or to use compostable active materials could lead to non-toxic, biodegradable or compostable electronics. However, many challenges persist in the development of truly sustainable electronics which are high performing. This seminar will cover our groups recent advances in 1) the development of non-toxic biodegradable “green” polymer dielectrics for use in organic thin film transistors; and 2) the use phthalocyanines as low-cost semiconductors for the development of point-of-source sensors such as cannabinoid detection and speciation. We build structure property relationships between material design, thin film processing and device performance for the enabling of sustainable next-generation electronics.
About the speaker
In 2015, Benoît Lessard joined the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at uOttawa and was promoted to Associate Professor in May 2019 and Full Professor in 2024. He was awarded the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Advanced Polymer Materials and Organic Electronics (renewed in 2020), the University of Ottawa Early Career Researcher of the Year Awards for 2021, the 2021 Chemical Engineering Innovation Award (under 40), 2022 The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering Lectureship award and 2023 NOVA Chemicals MSED Early Career Investigator Award. Since 2008, Prof. Lessard has published 182 peer-reviewed journal articles, 16 patent applications, and gave 62 invited and/or keynote at conferences and universities. Lessard is co-founder of Ekidna Sensing Inc., a spinoff company based on cannabinoid sensors. Before joining uOttawa, Prof. Lessard completed an NSERC Banting Fellowship at the University of Toronto and obtained his PhD (2012) from McGill University in Polymer reaction engineering. For more info: www.benoitlessard.com