X-rays: Sources, Techniques, and Applications in the Food Industry

Since its discovery in 1895, X-ray radiation has found an expanding range of applications across the scientific, medical, and engineering fields. It provides a powerful research tool. A large number of X-ray techniques, therefore, have been (and are being) developed. They all fall under one of the three categories: X-ray imaging, scattering, or fluorescence. This presentation will provide a brief review of X-ray history, sources, optics, and applications, with emphasis on those relevant to food science.

Speaker Ali Khounsary is a research professor of physics at Illinois Tech and an adjunct professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois. He received his BSc degree in nuclear engineering from the University of London and his MS and Ph.D. in energy and mechanical engineering, respectively, from the University of Illinois. He joined Argonne National Laboratory, where he worked on R&D projects for 25 years at the Advanced Photon Source X-ray facility, concentrating on thermal management, X-ray optics, beamline instrumentation, and X-ray techniques. In 2014, he joined the Illinois Tech physics department. His focus is on interdisciplinary research, and he currently works with students on about 20 projects.