I'm J. Justin Gooding, founding Co-Director of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine. I'm here to talk about sensors, what's happening scientifically, and their applications in health, environmental and food monitoring. AMA!

Hi Reddit! I’m a Scientia Professor at UNSW in New South Wales, Australia. I co-founded and co-direct the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN), a group that brings together experts in engineering, medicine, and science to solve big problems in human health. My research focuses on surface modification, biosensors, functional nanomaterials, cell-based diagnostic devices, and electroanalysis. I’m helping develop things like portable diagnostic devices, 3D cell bioprinters, and other cool stuff. My research group at UNSW specializes in ways to modify sensor surfaces at the molecular level. We use self-assembled monolayers, biological molecules, and nanomaterials to make sensors do things like selectively detect analytes, influence biological processes, and communicate electrically with biological molecules. I’m also the editor-in-chief of ACS Sensors, a brand-new journal that will publish the latest and greatest work in sensor science. Look for our first issue online in January 2016. This is a really exciting time for sensors research. Many experts think the global sensors market will surpass $110 billion by 2019. Much of this money will come from the many applications of “personalized medicine.” For example, single-molecule sensors are about to explode. We could use them to find out immediately whether a patient will respond to a particular cancer treatment. We may also see sensors used in environmental and food monitoring. On the other hand, as a field we’re constrained by what sensors can currently do, and are having trouble making certain types of sensors commercially viable. So ask me anything about this diverse, interdisciplinary field: biosensors, chemical sensors, gas sensors, intracellular sensors, single-molecule sensors, cell chips, arrays, or microfluidic devices. I’m happy to answer your questions about how sensors affect our everyday lives, as well as about the future challenges and directions facing our field. I will be back at 3:00pm ET (5:00am my time in Australia, please wake me gently).