Gas Analysis for animal health and nutrition - 1=Engineering 2=Sensors and Instrumentation

There is currently a strong drive to develop new tools and methods for what is known as "precision farming". These tools are designed to provide a wealth of information on the heath of animals and allow the farmer to make decisions and interventions when needed. Ideally, these tools should be non-invasive and not adversely effect the health of the animals. Measuring the gases emanating from of animal waste, be it stool, urine or breath, provides a simple way of understanding the health of the animal in this non-invasive ways - providing direct information on the metabolic health of the animal. The purpose of this PhD is to develop new tools based on measuring these gases at the single animal or pen/herd level. The project will focus on cows (as a high value animal) and will initially be in the lab measuring different biological waste materials and understanding the link between the measured gases and the animal health. With this information, we will develop prototype gas analysis tools that can be placed in research farms to see if we can measure the same chemicals and link these with other markers of animal health. Finally, we will deploy the final system in real farms and see if it can provide useful information to the farmer.