Skip to main content

News

The Media Comes Calling: Excitement Over Invention That Turns Smartphone into a Microscope
By
Laurie Fickman
Electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Wei-Chuan Shih and his DotLens technology
Electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Wei-Chuan Shih and his DotLens technology
Electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Wei-Chuan Shih examines things on his smartphone turned microscope
Electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Wei-Chuan Shih examines things on his smartphone turned microscope

An invention by a University of Houston engineer that turns your smartphone into a microscope, allowing it to detect whether your pond water is healthy, is getting attention in the media. Houston’s CBS affiliate, KHOU-TV Channel 11 aired a story about the invention of the DotLens, which came to life in the laboratory of electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Wei-Chuan Shih.

Much like the invention of the Post-it note, which occurred by happy accident when a chemist failed to invent a strong adhesive and instead invented the weaker one that would peel from paper, the DotLens came about through a friendly lab mishap.

Learn more about it and watch the Ch.11 story here.

Share This Story: