Venkatesh Srinivasan

CAST FACULTY

Research Associate Professor, CAST

Venkatesh Srinivasan is a Research Associate Professor at the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (CBEE), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

KNOWN FOR

Plasmonics Lab‑to‑Market Development Sensors

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IN HIS WORDS

“From Star Trek’s communicators to Iron Man’s powered exoskeleton suits, science fiction has often served as a source of inspiration for scientific innovations. In this context, it can be beneficial to envision futuristic technologies with capabilities beyond what is currently imagined, as this can help spark out-of-the-box innovations.”

Venkatesh Srinivasan, in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2025)

SIGNATURE WORK

Global Impact

Prism sensor capturing amber fluorescence

01 SMARTPHONE DIAGNOSTICS

Smartphone Plasmonic Sensing

Thin metal and carbon films turn weak fluorescence into a bright, directional beam that a phone camera can read. His work has shown attomolar sensitivity with a cellphone as the detector.

1000-fold brighter with carbon spacers

02 BETTER BIOPROCESS MONITORING

Jacketed Breathable Shake Flask

A breathable flask with a jacket for temperature control, plus built-in monitoring and control, so a shake flask can perform like a small bioreactor. He is a co-author on the 2026 Biotechnology and Bioengineering paper on the design.

+140% protein yield over a standard flask

Laser-engraved wooden microfluidic spiral plates

03 LOW-COST DEVICES

Wood Microfluidics

Microfluidic channels made in wood instead of glass or plastic, for cheap and renewable lab-on-a-chip tests. The team has since built wood-based electrochemical sensors for nitrate in surface water.

Nitrate measured in surface water on a wood-based chip

JOURNAL COVERS