Auburn’s pathogen detection technology may improve food, water safety applications Published: May 21, 2021 Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Article body A pathogen detection system that rapidly isolates contaminants in large liquid volumes may enable improvements for food and water safety applications. Developed by researchers in the Department of Materials Engineering in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, the technology uses magnetoelastic sensors that, when placed in a magnetic field, resonate to indicate the presence of a pathogen. Professor Emeritus Bryan Chin and McWane Professor ZhongYang “ZY” Cheng have been developing the technology for some 15 years, according to Brian Wright with Auburn’s Office of Innovation Advancement and Commercialization, or IAC.