Director’s Message

Welcome! CAST has a team of bright, energetic and passionate people that are eager to solve problems by using innovative sensor technology. It is a great privilege to be associated with a team of this caliber. We share a deep commitment to excellence, innovation and service. Our successes are truly the result of much shared effort by a team of people from a variety of disciplines and organizations. We have created an atmosphere that replicates the energy, enthusiasm and entrepreneurship of a small company. We are working on many challenging projects together and are committed to being agents of change in whatever areas that we choose to work in. We value the diversity of backgrounds and disciplines that our members have.

UMBC has a reputation as a role model in undergraduate science and engineering education and in particular of underrepresented segments of the population. CAST has been the fortunate beneficiary of this excellent UMBC student body. Several undergrads at any one time do real-life research in our laboratories. These students work side by side with our seasoned researchers and graduate students. They publish in peer-reviewed journals and present their work in professional conferences. Many of our undergraduate alumni have gone on to prestigious graduate schools around the country.

How can we help you? Our basic research is carried out in a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative atmosphere. We have extensive collaborations within and outside UMBC. Much of this work is federal and state funded. Our applied sensor development is generally sponsored by industry. If you are interested in working with CAST, it is easy. We start the process by listening to a description of your needs and come up with a customized action plan. We work with a number of industrial and academic collaborators and are sensitive to the need for Intellectual Property (IP) protection. Our Office for Technology Development and Office for Sponsored Programs are ready to assist with drawing up agreements for handling a diverse range of projects. Where appropriate, we are available as collaborators on SBIR/STTR projects. We also have several technologies that have been successfully licensed and also have several available for licensing. Our long-term business model is to fund ourselves primarily through royalties and contracts and so our success depends on our clients’ success.

Finally, our work is also humanitarian and service-oriented. We are looking for low-cost solutions to improve the quality of life in the developing world. Our fluoride sensor project in India and glucose sensor project in the Philippines are two examples.

Thank you for visiting our website and we look forward to answering any questions that you may have.

Sincerely,

Govind Rao
Professor and Director