A new device unveiled at Fisk University Thursday could help public safety.
Researchers showed off strontium iodized crystals, which school researchers have been working on producing for the past four years.
Students and staff in the Physics Department, along with researchers at Oak Ridge and Homeland Security, worked to develop the device.
The crystals look like a flashlight hooked to a spool of wire but has a wide-range of applications.
"If your issues are detecting radiation and keeping our citizens safe and secure, and our ports and major cities, this is a very small handy device that will quickly allow the trained person to detect radiation," said Fisk president Hazel O'Leary.
Fisk has worked on growing crystals for the past 25 years.
For their work, the university received its third R&D 100 Award, which is given to the top technology-driven products that reach the marketplace.
