Advanced Chemical Systems Inc. will partner with a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chemist to develop a high-tech fiber optic sensor system that would do rapid analysis of water quality. Advanced Chemical is paying an undisclosed fee for the exclusive right to work on the project with Peter Geissinger, an associate professor of chemistry at UWM.

Geissinger has been working on the fiber optic sensor technology for several years and holds a patent on it, said Brian Thompson, president of the UWM Research Foundation, which brokered the agreement. "We've got a strong technology and a company that was willing to reach early into the process and help commercialize it," Thompson said.

Advanced Chemical is a 34-year-old company that provides wastewater treatment systems and services. It will work with Geissinger to develop an analytical tool that uses laser light and optical fiber to test water for the presence of contaminants such as metals and maybe phosphorus, nitrogen and other substances, Fox said.

Such a sensor would be valuable for industrial applications, such as in a plant that dunks products in a rinse after copper-plating them. Federal law requires companies to clean the copper residue out of the rinse before they can discharge the water, Fox said.

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