Our Story

Portable gas detector with a digital display warning about ammonia levels above PEL at 80 ppm, with control buttons below the screen, set against a blue background.

Iridescent Sensors Inc. was founded in late 2022 to further commercialize the colorimetric sensor array technology developed and patented at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Ken Suslick (our CEO) and Jon Askim (our CTO).

Previously, this technology was successfully commercialized for rapid bacterial detection and sepsis diagnosis by Specific Diagnosis Inc. (co-founded by Ken Suslick). In 2023, BioMérieux (the French biotech giant) acquired Specific Diagnosis for $430 million.

Firefighters in protective gear, including helmets, in an emergency response scene with a group of rescue workers in yellow suits and helmets in the background, with orange traffic cones marking the area.

Meet the Leadership Team

Iridescent Sensors has established a deep technical organization with leadership that combines expertise in the development, scale-up, and commercialization of colorimetric sensor array technologies, business development and sales.

Learn More About Our Team
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Logo of the National Security Agency (NSA) featuring a blue globe with North America, a gold gear surrounding the globe, and the letters "NSA" in white.

Iridescent Sensors is funded in part
by the NSF Convergence Accelerator.