Julie Macpherson
The Power List 2016
Julie Macpherson
Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
Passion: Developing sensor solutions based on conducting diamond electrode technologies that tackle real problems in the area of water quality. This also involves making the move from working with model solutions in the laboratory to real solutions out in the field, which itself brings about a whole host of challenges to tackle.
Pivotal moment: Winning my first fellowship funded through the University Royal Society Fellowship Scheme, which gave me the ability to be truly independent and develop my own research ideas and concepts.
Prediction: One area where I expect to see a huge rise in both the quality of the device, improvements in system integration and data reliability is in the area of wearable sensors. With easily accessible products on the market now for monitoring steps, heart rate, fitness levels, and so on, the public are becoming accepting and welcoming of personal healthcare technology. The move will be, I think, to drastically extend the range of responses that can be measured, especially when it comes to monitoring the chemistry of the individual, for example. Drastic improvements will also be seen in the placement of the sensor be it directly integrated into clothing or ‘tattooed’ or strapped onto the body. It will obviously need to go hand-in-hand with advances in thermal and power management (using heat from the body to power the device) and data storage and alert systems.
