UND awarded $7.6 million contract from the U.S. Army

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) – The University of North Dakota was awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the U.S. Army to develop an innovative Contamination and Sanitation Inspection system. The contract came from the combat capabilities development command for $7.6 million.

This will be a collaborative effort between multiple groups.

The project aims to design and build handheld inspection scanners capable of detecting contamination on surfaces. It is designed for a range of sanitization scenarios and can adapt to routine spot checks, overnight cleanings or periodic deeper cleans.

It can also help USDA officials when it comes to spotting fecal matter on animal carcasses.

“Very important application,” said Dr. Kouhyar Tavakolian. “We went to many slaughterhouses in North Dakota and try and adapt the technology to find fecal matter that even a USDA licensed person, who has been doing this for decades. Going there he could have missed.”

This tool will help the public health sections for the U.S. Army.