Ball, Christopher

Biography

Dr. Christopher Ball is a Research Scientist in the ElectroScience Laboratory within the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU). He specializes in the development of sensor technologies operating across the electromagnetic spectrum, from UV to RF. Dr. Ball joined OSU in January 2016 following a 15 year career at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, where his work focused primarily on defense and intelligence applications. Prior to that, he served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics under Prof. Patrick Thaddeus (1998-2000) and earned his PhD in Physics from OSU under Prof. Frank De Lucia. Since joining OSU, Dr. Ball's primary research sponsors are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Army Research Office (ARO), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ohio Soybean Council (OSC), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and private industry.

Expertise

Dr. Ball's research activities focus on the conceptualization, development, and testing of sensor technologies across a wide range of applications. Recent examples include:

  • Near infrared spectroscopic sensor to measure quality traits in food and agricultural products
  • CubeSat-based microwave radiometer and backend RFI processor
  • Simulation tools for adaptive, resource-constrained, and collaborative satellite-based sensors
  • Laser imaging sensor for standoff detection of methane leaks
  • Dielectric resonator antenna-coupled antimonide detector for high operating temperature imaging in the long-wave infrared
  • Field-programmable short-wave infrared photodetectors
  • Submillimeter wave spectroscopic sensor for chemical pollution monitoring in ambient air