image: Graduate student Lukas Crockett holds up nine PFAS Detection technology devices.
Credit: Photo by Luan Teed, Boise State University
A Boise State University electrical engineering professor and a local technology company have jointly developed a portable, affordable device capable of detecting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals”, in water samples in real time and at trace levels meeting current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. The breakthrough, developed by Boise State Electrical Engineering Professor Kris Campbell and President of Pearlhill Technologies, LLC, Bamidele Omotowa, was supported by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Addressing a Global Public Health Crisis
PFAS chemicals, of which more than a thousand varieties exist, are pervasive in drinking water, food, cookware, clothing and consumer products. The most toxic forms are linked to multiple types of cancer, infertility, developmental delays in infants and compromised immune systems. Despite the urgency of this public health threat, current detection methods are prohibitively expensive and slow: a single EPA-approved water sample analysis costs approximately $300, takes several weeks, and requires highly specialized laboratory equipment such as liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
A Faster, Field-Ready Solution
The patented device is called the ENVIR-OGT (stands for Environmental Optically Gated Transistor), and uses specialized transistors combined with machine learning to detect PFAS chemicals rapidly and accurately, directly at the point of sampling. The technology has demonstrated the ability to detect perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at concentrations as low as one part per trillion—meeting current EPA regulatory thresholds—and can also identify the ultra-short chain PFAS molecule perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA) with 97% accuracy.
“Our device is unique in that we can field deploy it,” said Campbell. “We can go to a water stream or source, take a sample and get a real-time measurement of whether or not this chemical is present. It’s cheap. It’s fast, and we’re hoping it can become as sensitive as the lab system.”
From Lab Accident to Life-Saving Innovation
The technology traces its origins to an accidental discovery in Campbell’s lab, when undergraduate researchers working with transistors noticed that their breath was causing unexpected variations in results, revealing that the transistors were responding to different chemicals. Electrical engineering master’s student Jacob Jackson was the first to apply machine learning to the chemical detection device. His undergraduate peer Lukas Crockett (now an electrical engineering doctoral student working on the project) remembers the slow road from the initial ‘ah-ha’ moment to the creation of an applicable piece of technology.
“For the first year and a half, it was kind of up in the air whether it was going to work,” Crockett said. “So when we first started getting some real PFAS measurements and doing some machine learning, and we actually saw ‘Oh, wow, we can tell the difference between these two.’ that was the biggest moment.”
Recognizing the potential, Campbell and Omotowa spent several years developing specialized transistors and applying machine learning to create a practical chemical detection device. The team’s patented technology was refined in Boise State’s Idaho Microfabrication Lab.
National Recognition and Funding
Pearlhill Technologies, LLC recently received an NIH Small Business Technology Transfer award (Award Number R41ES037570, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), with a subaward of $101,000 to Boise State University. The partnership was facilitated by Boise State’s Office of Technology Transfer, which supported patent protection and commercialization efforts.
“The value of this [technology] is just enormous,” said Omotowa. “There is enormous gain to the country, to the society and to the government: the biggest gain is this ability to control the impact on our health.”
Critical Implications for Idaho and the Semiconductor Industry
As Idaho continues to expand semiconductor manufacturing—one of the primary industrial sources of PFAS pollution—the technology holds particular promise for the region.
In spring 2026, Campbell and Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Sondra Miller will use UPWARDS award funds to test the device in semiconductor wastewater, with the goal of enabling industries and local governments to develop informed PFAS mitigation strategies.
Additional collaboration with Boise State chemistry faculty member Jenee Cyran and her research students—supported by seed funding from the School of the Environment—is further advancing the science behind how the device operates in real-world water conditions.
“This progress is national progress, and we’re grateful for that,” said Omotowa.
About Boise State University
Boise State University is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, with approximately 28,000 students and more than 200 programs of study. Ranked among the nation’s top metropolitan research universities, Boise State is committed to creating a transformative educational experience that broadens access, advances research, and strengthens communities across Idaho and beyond.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R41ES037570. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Method of Research
Data/statistical analysis
Subject of Research
Not applicable