Newly funded center on low temperature plasma interactions with complex interfaces

North Carolina State University is partnering with seven other institutions to explore how ionized gases interact with different materials as part of a new Department of Energy supported center in low temperature plasma science.  The group is led by the University of Michigan and includes NC State, University of California at Berkeley, Clarkson University, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, Ohio State, and Sandia National Laboratory.  This work will advance efforts in catalysis, water treatment, and energy systems.

Steven Shannon, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and lead for the NCSU effort, is excited about how the basic science elements that will be studied through this collaboration will have substantial impact on critical systems for society in the future.

“Ionized gases like those found in low temperature plasma systems present a unique combination of chemistry, energetic particles, and radiation that can drive surface reactions in ways that are not easily achievable by any other means.  By better understanding how complex interfaces such as liquids, nanomaterials, and catalytic materials interact with this unique environment we hope to advance systems that can play a critical role in future energy, agricultural, and resource management life cycles”

This Center is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences General Plasma Science program under Award Number DE-SC-0020232.