What Can Physicists Add to Our Current Knowledge About COVID-19?  

The COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) virus poses an acute and novel public health crisis. However, there is currently a lack of information on SARS-Cov-2 particle stability in various environmental conditions. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Rapid Response Research has recently funded the proposal "Physics of Coronavirus Sars-Cov-2 Survival Outside a Host and Implications for Seasonal Dependence of Covid-19 Outbreaks." This rapid proposal concerns the urgent need for monitoring levels of airborne SARS-CoV-2-laden aerosol as a critical strategy for assessing an individual's risk of infection and identifying hotspots of exposure.

Two biophysicists from the University of Utah, Dr. Michael Vershinin and Dr. Saveez Saffarian, who were awarded this NSF grant, have so far gained important results and insights as they progress in this research project. We are happy to announce that Dr. Vershinin will present a webinar about this project and the current outcomes on Thursday, September 10, 2020, at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. This webinar is open to the Seton Hall community. To register for this event, please complete and electronically submit the registration form. The registration will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2020, and the link to the webinar will be emailed to the registered audience. The Biophysics Laboratory of the Physics Department will host this virtual event.

Categories: Health and Medicine, Science and Technology