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DR. DAVID FRIES - Center for Ocean Technology, University of South Florida
The Research: Putting Laboratory Technologies into the Water
David Fries' laboratory group is focused on taking laboratory technologies into the field in
ways that allow them to operate autonomously. His work has led to the creation of a number of
innovative, often automated, sensor technologies for use on autonomous underwater vehicles,
buoys and other independently deployable units, and in handheld devices. These tools are used
to address an assortment of chemical and biological environmental monitoring tasks.
The Saltwater Challenge
"The ocean is probably the worst case example for developing technology," says Fries,
because of the many unique problems posed by this environment, including corrosion,
biofouling and vibration. "These are all issues that do not have to be considered when
developing automated tools for use in the laboratory," he says. However, Fries says that
historically, the technologies his team has created for use in the harsh ocean environment
often ended up being useful in other environments, such as battlefields, because they
are so robust.
- VIDEO CLIP 1: "Research Interests of the Fries Lab"
 Putting a Biologist In A Can
One of the Fries group's key marine biotech projects is the development of automated sensors that can monitor
a given area and detect the present of certain pathogens or other targets of interest. The team is working on
this project in collaboration with John Paul, also at USF. Details of pathogens the groups have worked
to initially detect, and the main method of detection, are found at Paul's interview site.
The first step in the project was to develop a handheld field device for detecting the pathogens. This unit
allows an operator to insert a sample onsite and quickly determine if pathogens are present. The more daunting
next step was to create, as Fries describes it, "an automated processor for the environment that would
essentially be the equivalent of a scientist or a technician in a can." More specifically, the goal has
been to develop the necessary electronics and mechanics to create a self-contained unit that could take
in a sample, use filters to concentrate it, test for biological organisms, then wirelessly transmit the
data generated.
Ultimately the team is working toward a unit that could operate at depths up to a few tens of meters for
about a month, sampling every eight hours, thus creating long-term, real-time records of biological
contaminants. The data generated could ultimately allow vastly improved water quality monitoring in
coastal regions. The same basic technology could also work for detecting and monitoring an almost
infinite variety of organisms with proper modifications and additions to the platform.
- VIDEO CLIP 2: "The Autonomous Research and Discovery Platform"
Enlisting Cells for Biological Detection
Another technique the group is using to identify specific biological components of a marine environment is the
production of organic materials that either themselves attract certain types of cells of interest, or that host
cells which attract these targets. The concept calls for using these materials in submergible devices that can
measure the concentrations of a particular type of cell. One example the group has explored is building materials
embedded with chitin (found in certain insect exoskeletons and horseshoe crab shells, among other places), which
attracts the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, a relatively common seafood contaminant that can cause human illness or
even death. Main funding for the project so far has actually come from the Army, which is interested in
a terrestrial application. Fries and his team are developing detectors, based on organic materials that host
cells, for sensing the presence of neurotoxins that might be used in chemical weapons. If successful, the work
could lead to a biological detection solution that is quicker and simpler than relying on chemistry alone for
detection.
Putting a Chemist in a Can
"Mass spectroscopy has been probably the most powerful analytical technique in the laboratory," says Fries who,
in addition to his engineering prowess also has a background in physical chemistry. He and his colleagues have
spent a great deal of time working to take mass spectroscopy techniques from the laboratory into the water in
sealed housings for the instrumentation that allow identification and quantification of a variety of chemical
targets. In simplest terms, mass spectroscopy is a means of separating ions according to their mass and charge,
allowing identification of a huge range of chemical compounds and elements. The first phases of work on this
project led to the deployment of mass spectroscopy units on autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated
vehicles. In one application, the group used the equipment to survey and track the spread of plumes of volatile
organic compounds (found in fuel and solvents) at a marina. The group has also deployed test units at a water
treatment plant. In that case, compounds found in water coming into the plant were monitored in real time. Such
information could allow plant managers to adjust their treatment strategy as the chemistry of incoming water changes.
The Fries team is also developing deployable units that use a technique called reflectance spectroscopy, which
allows specific compounds to be identified based on their unique reflectance properties using optical technologies.
As opposed to mass spectroscopy, which is well suited to broad surveys of compounds in water of unknown chemical
makeup, the reflectance method would allow researchers to seek out specific compounds. One application Fries
envisions is use by marine biomedical researchers who might be seeking a particular compound because of
pharmaceutical potential. A reflectance-based sensor might be programmed to seek and find that compound at
the organisms producing it, thus aiding collection of material needed for research.
Ultimately, Fries hopes to offer scientists a suite of technologies that could be tailored to meet specific needs.
- VIDEO CLIP 3: "The Evolution of Mass Spectrometry"
- VIDEO CLIP 4: "In Situ Mass Spectrometry Deployment Applications"
From Computers in the Ocean to the Ocean in a Computer
A relatively new research direction for the Fries lab is the field of biomimetics
, where biological organisms or their products are used as the inspiration or basis for new tools and products.
"We've in the past continually worked at applying microelectronics towards marine science, and now we're turning
that relationship 180 degrees to apply marine science towards microelectronics," says Fries. A key process the
group is exploring is how single-celled algae, known as diatoms, are able to create for themselves cell walls
made of silicon dioxide. This is of great interest because silicon dioxide also happens to be the most popular
semiconductor material and, hence, the main building block of computer chips. Diatoms are able to use a protein
called silaffin to assemble the silicon into intricate networks in the water at modest temperatures and pressures.
By comparison, conventional methods for working with silicon require extremely expensive, high-pressure,
high-temperature techniques. Fries and his colleagues are working to harness the diatom protein and other
aspects of its assembly methods to inspire new, lower-cost, simpler methods for assembling silicon for use
in microelectronics applications. "We think that the marine environment has lessons to teach us on how to
build complex electronic materials at the microscale," says Fries.
- VIDEO CLIP 5: "New Directions in Discovery Platfrom Design"
- VIDEO CLIP 6: "Biological Systems as Inspiration for Microelectronic Systems"
Education: An Unorthodox Path
Fries considers the educational path that brought him to USF to be an unorthodox path. Given that there are,
no doubt, very few researchers in the marine biotechnology field who can claim experience working with nuclear
bombs, this is probably an apt description. Fries began his career with an undergraduate degree in physical
chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. He also received a master's in chemistry from the University of
South Florida. For five years afterward, he worked in the aerospace and defense industry at Hercules Aerospace
on such tasks as developing electronic counter measures for fighter aircraft. For five years after that, he
worked in the Hercules nuclear weapons group, where he focused on developing techniques and materials involved
in making neutron generators, which trigger nuclear weapons. From Hercules, Fries went directly to USF's
Marine Science Department to work on sensors and instrumentation for in-water applications. Fries is most
attracted to his work at USF because it allows him to be involved in all phases of the development process,
from idea, to creation, to deployment. Fries says, "It's an entertaining job, it's a challenging job,
but it's never boring."
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