Foam sensor wins top research prize

Harry Wright from the Disease Suppressive Microbes team has scooped the top prize in the University of Sheffield’s Open Research Prize 2023. The Open Research Prize was introduced in order to recognise and celebrate the excellent work University of Sheffield researchers are doing to make their research discoverable and reusable by a wider audience.

Foam for healthier hydroponics

The Disease Suppressive Microbes team are working on developing systems which limit the growth of bacterial plant pathogens in hydroponic systems. Part of this research includes developing synthetic polyurethane foams which can be used instead of standard growing mediums/soils. Harry’s award-winning research was around developing these foams.

Foam synthesis involves reacting raw ingredients together. If any unreacted raw ingredients are left in the final foam they could leach into plants so it’s important to be able to measure when the reaction is complete. The easiest way to measure polyurethane reaction progression is to measure the change in temperature, height and mass of the foam, but this usually needs expensive equipment. A key goal of the Disease Suppressive Microbes project is to help people in poorer countries grow more food so finding a low-cost alternative was essential.

FoamPi – an affordable self-build foam reaction sensor

Harry developed the FoamPi, an affordable and accessible self build solution which can be made for as little as £125. It uses open-source components such as a Raspberry Pi 4, Seeed Studio sensors, and a physical structure made from laser-cut plywood. The design and build details have been published in the open-source journal HardwareX and the technical drawings and code have been stored on the Open Science Framework (OSF) and Github. This means that anyone who wants can access the technical specifications and make their own device.

So whilst Harry’s work might not sound much like plant pathology, it’s a great example of how different disciplines can work together to find innovative solutions. The foam sensor helps make an abiotic growing medium, which then helps grow healthy plants.