Kris Pister, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, coined the term “smart dust” as he pioneered the development of wireless sensor network technology to measure and transmit data on conditions, such as temperature, light, moisture, vibration, movement, magnetism and pollutants. Pister co-founded Dust Networks to commercialize the technology, in which arrays of low-power microsensors are inked together to form a virtual monitoring mesh. Today wireless sensor networks are being used to optimize in-building energy use, increase manufacturing and supply-chain efficiency and control, enhance security, improve worker safety and reduce pollution.