Royal Society recognizes bioactive paper researcher

by Matt Terry
December 7, 2011

Chemical engineering professor Robert Pelton has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Election to the society is considered the highest honour a scholar in the arts, humanities or sciences can achieve.

Pelton is best-known for his work in developing pathogen-detecting paper. The paper, developed by the McMaster-led Sentinel Bioactive Paper Strategic Network, uses chemically or biologically impregnated paper to provide fast, easy and inexpensive detection of pathogens and toxins in food, water and air. Pelton is Sentinel's scientific director.

Products that could take advantage of such paper include food packaging that signals the presence of E. coli and salmonella, hospital masks that detect and deactivate harmful air-borne viruses such as SARS, dip-sticks that can detect and purify unsafe drinking water and paper strips that can check for banned pesticides on produce.

Pelton credits his success to the many students he has worked with throughout his career as a researcher.

"It's a great honour," he said. "It speaks to the very hard work by many good graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who have worked with me at McMaster."

The Royal Society of Canada is the country's oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada. Pelton was officially inducted into the society on November 26 in Ottawa.