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News Archive

Michael Liemohn appointed Inaugural Director of Space Institute

2020-12-09 Prof. Michael W. Liemohn will become the Inaugural Director of the University of Michigan Space Institute. Prof. Liemohn is an expert in the observation and modeling of plasma transport processes in the space environments of the Earth and other planets. Under Prof. Liemohn’s leadership, the Space Institute will bring together faculty from across campus with interests ranging from space science and engineering, to microgravity and space-based applications, to space policy and the new space economy. The Space Institute will also engage in educational initiatives, initially by offering students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the development of satellite missions through a series of cubesat-focused classes.

Brian Gilchrist appointed Inaugural Director of Ideation Space

2020-12-09 Prof. Brian E. Gilchrist has agreed to serve as the Inaugural Director of the new Ideation Space coming to the Climate and Space Research Building. Prof. Gilchrist specializes in plasma electrodynamic sensors and technological applications for space observation and is among the founders of the college’s highly successful multidisciplinary design program that allows students to engage in design-build-test project activities. Prof. Gilchrist will act as the focal point for creating the spaces that will support mission concept ideation, innovation, and early tech development. These facilities will support the Space Institute's aims to foster new types of collaborations and to bring together the broader space community within the university, as well as industry and governmental partners.

Susan Lepri appointed Director of Space Physics Research Laboratory

2020-12-09 Prof. Susan T. Lepri will serve as the new Director of the Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL). Prof. Lepri has been a key instrument developer in the field of Heliophysics research and is currently a co-investigator for an instrument on the Solar Orbiter Mission, launched this past February. Under her leadership, SPRL will continue its role at the leading edge of space research and exploration and will take a central role in providing the technological backbone and expertise for the Space Institute and the Ideation Space.

Alec Thomas gives a Saturday Morning Physics lecture

2020-11-17 Prof. Alec Thomas presented a public lecture titled “The Light Fantastic” in the Saturday Morning Physics lecture series. The lecture is available on YouTube.

Carolyn Kuranz featured in Science News

2020-11-17 Comments by Prof. Carolyn Kuranz were featured in a Science News story about the creation of a supernova-style shock wave in a lab using the world’s highest-energy lasers — a development that could help resolve mysteries of the universe, such as the origins of cosmic magnetic fields.

Tribute to Prof. Noah Hershkowitz

2020-11-15

Noah Hershkowitz

With deep sadness, we mourn the loss of Professor Noah Hershkowitz of the University of Wisconsin, a distinguished contributor to and pioneer in the field of plasma physics, who passed away on November 13, 2020. Noah had a long and impactful career spanning many decades, and disciplines. He made groundbreaking contributions to nuclear physics, fusion energy research, foundational plasma physics, and low temperature plasmas. Noah received his bachelor's degree from Union College in 1962 and his Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1966. He served on the faculty of the University of Iowa before joining the University of Wisconsin in 1981, where he held the title of Irving Langmuir Professor of Engineering Physics. Noah was a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), American Vacuum Society, Institute of Physics, and the IEEE. In 2004, he received the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics from the APS, and in 2015 the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award from IEEE. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the influential journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology.

Noah was a key architect in shaping the modern field of experimental low temperature plasmas. His most notable contributions center on his investigations of plasma sheaths and the measurement tools that he pioneered for their study including a variety of electrostatic probe methods. He used these tools to glean profound insight and understanding of the complexities of plasma sheaths, solitons, and double layers. Noah’s name is almost synonymous with the emissive probe, a powerful tool to study the electrical potentials within plasma sheaths. Noah perfected the inflection method to study plasmas in diverse environments ranging from thrusters to semiconductor processing.

Noah developed many other methods and tools to investigate plasmas that are now standards in the field, from probes to laser induced fluorescence. His seminal paper “Sheaths: More Complicated Than You Think”, which was published in Physics of Plasmas, has become a classic and should be required reading for new entries to the field. Noah was also known for deftly using multipole plasma sources to investigate the intricacies of plasma transport. These studies yielded great insight into the puzzling questions of plasma leaking through magnetic cusps. Noah’s advances in understanding these complex transport processes enabled optimizing the efficiency and stability of multipole ion sources such as gridded ion thrusters for spacecraft. He also developed plasma sources for specific applications such as the helicon and rf plasma cathode sources for semiconductor manufacturing applications and space propulsion. Noah was a great mentor to many of us, having supervised more than fifty-five students to their Ph.D. degrees. Although we have lost a giant in the field, the legacy of Prof. Noah Hershkowitz and his contributions to plasma physics will live on forever as foundational knowledge for the field.

Herek Clack's company wins the Invisible Shield QuickFire Challenge

2020-10-27 Taza Aya LLC, a company founded by Prof. Herek Clack, has been named an awardee in the Invisible Shield QuickFire Challenge, a competition created by Johnson & Johnson Innovation in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Taza Aya LLC is developing a next generation of protective masks that would be able to harness the power of cold plasma into a small headset that both blocks and neutralizes airborne pathogens.

Karl Krushelnick elected Vice Chair of APS DPP

2020-10-19 Prof. Karl Krushelnick has been elected Vice-Chair of the APS Division of Plasma Physics. The Vice-Chair will chair the Fellowship Committee the first year of office, will become Chair-Elect and chair the Program Committee the second year, will become Chair of DPP the third year, and then serve as Past Chair in the fourth and final year of office.

Musical Tesla Coils project receives Science as Art Award

2020-03-10 The student project Musical Tesla Coils, co-sponsored by MIPSE, won the Science as Art 2020 Best Time-Based Art award. The project focuses on creating an educational, interactive display to teach people about how Tesla Coils can be used to create music. The team members are Catherine Budd, Noah Kelly, Daniel Knauss, Lea Russo, and Andrew McDonald.

John Foster receives AIP Publishing Award

2020-10-13 AIP Publishing selected Prof. John Foster as the recipient of the 2020 Ronald C. Davidson Award for Plasma Physics. His paper, “Plasma-based water purification: Challenges and prospects for the future,” was chosen from the most highly cited and highly downloaded articles published in Physics of Plasmas for the past five years. The annual award of $5,000 is presented in collaboration with the American Physics Society Division of Plasma Physics and recognizes outstanding plasma physics research by a Physics of Plasmas author.

Autonomous well monitoring solution recognized with a Best Innovators award

2020-08-28 Prof. Yogesh Gianchandani’s collaboration with the oil and gas company, Total, resulted in a Best Innovators 2020 award for the company’s researchers involved in the project. Called the Wireless Advanced Nanosensor Device (WAND) solution, the project is an autonomous well monitoring solution for the oil & gas industry.

Eric Michielssen receives ACES Computational Electromagnetics Award

2020-07-31 Prof. Eric Michielssen received the 2020 Computational Electromagnetics Award, awarded by the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES), “for contributions to genetic algorithm-based electromagnetic optimizers, fast time-domain integral equation solver, and fast direct solvers for complex problems in computational electromagnetics.”

Eric Michielssen receives IEEE AP-S Field Award in Computational Electromagnetics

2020-07-19 Prof. Eric Michielssen received the 2020 IEEE AP-S Harrington-Mittra Computational Electromagnetics Award “in recognition of being an outstanding computational scientist, as well as a mentor and role model for the next generation of faculty members.”

Paul Drake wins John Dawson Award

2020-07-06 Prof. R. Paul Drake has received the American Physical Society's 2020 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research. This award recognizes a particular recent outstanding achievement in plasma physics research.

First shot on BLUE!

2019-11-21 BLUE is the new 800-kV, 200-kA linear transformer driver (LTD) facility being constructed in the Plasma, Pulsed Power, and Microwave Laboratory at the University of Michigan. The construction of BLUE is being led by Prof. Ryan McBride and PhD student Brendan Sporer. The four LTD cavities for BLUE were donated from the 21-cavity Ursa Minor facility at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM – hence the name “BLUE” (Bestowed LTD from the Ursa-minor Experiment). BLUE will be used to drive high-power microwave sources as well as fast z-pinch plasmas for experiments in nuclear fusion and x-ray generation.

Nonthermal plasma wand could help decontaminate hospitals, public transit

2020-05-15 Professors John Foster and Mirko Gamba are developing a portable device using the advanced oxydation process to rapidly disinfect various surfaces.

The PlasmaPy Project

2020-05-04 The mission of the PlasmaPy Project is to grow an open source software ecosystem for plasma research and education, and one that is customized to the needs of the community as well as developed by members of the community itself. Among the many goals of this project, it aims to decrease repetition and wasted effort in programming; improve scientific reproduciblity, code readability and maintainability; and provide a platform for openly developing and sharing code throughout the plasma research community. Some of these goals have been reflected in the recent CPP Strategic Plan report, being called out specifically by name in the section on DPS Collaborative programmatic recommendations. This project recently received an NSF grant through the Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation program (CSSI) to rapidly expand functionality as well as to develop training, instructional, and educational material through online resources and in-person workshops.

New cohort of MIPSE Fellows

2020-04-16 Eight students from U-M and MSU were named MIPSE Fellows for the 2020-21 academic year. The new fellows will receive a $4,500 grant that can be used for an enhancement to their research. They will also have the opportunity to be partners with MIPSE on many exciting projects.

U-M teams work to disinfect masks for medical personnel

2020-04-05 U-M engineers are developing efficient, effective, and scalable ways to disinfect N95 masks, which are typically discarded after one use. Professors Herek Clack and Mirko Gamba are part of the team working on testing the masks after treatment.

U-M Leads $62M ‘Largest Radio Telescope in Space’ Mission

2020-03-31 Prof. Justin Kasper leads a new $62.6 million NASA mission, which aims to provide better information on how the sun’s radiation affects the space environment that our spacecraft and astronauts travel through. The Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment, or SunRISE, consists of miniature satellites that form a “virtual telescope” in space to detect and study the radio waves that precede major solar events. SunRISE, expected to launch in 2023, will offer a never-before-seen glimpse at what goes on in the solar corona.

John Nees wins Research Scientist Award

2020-02-04 John Nees, Associate Research Scientist, has received the Kenneth M. Reese Outstanding Research Scientist Award from the College of Engineering. This award honors research scientists who have “demonstrated sustained excellence in research and related scholarly activities.” Nees is honored for his excellence in research and scholarship, as well as his distinguished career as a key member of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science.

Mark Moldwin receives the Trudy Huebner Service Excellence Award

2020-01-23 Prof. Mark Moldwin will receive the 2019-2020 Trudy Huebner Service Excellence Award. This award is given to faculty who have “…demonstrated significant service contribution at the College and/or University levels.”

Paul Drake receives the H. Scott Fogler Award for Professional Leadership and Service

2020-01-23 Prof. R. Paul Drake will receive the 2019-2020 H. Scott Fogler Award for Professional Leadership and Service. This award is given to faculty who demonstrate “…significant national or international impact on the field of engineering through leadership or service external to the College of Engineering.”

Most powerful laser in the U.S. to be built at U-M

2019-09-18 The United States is upgrading its laser capabilities with ZEUS, a new 3-petawatt system to be built at the University of Michigan.

Carolyn Kuranz elected APS Fellow

2019-09-16 Prof. Carolyn Kuranz has been elected a 2019 Fellow of the American Physical Society “For spearheading academic use of the National Ignition Facility for seminal experiments in plasma laboratory astrophysics, specifically the effects of locally generated intense radiation on an interface and on astrophysically relevant interfacial instabilities.”

John Foster named an APS-DPP Distinguished Lecturer, 2019-2020

2019-08-15 The Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society has selected Prof. Foster as a Distinguished Lecturer for 2019-2020. This Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is intended to share with the larger scientific community the exciting recent advances in plasma physics. The title of Prof. Foster's talk is “Lightning in a canteen: The promise of plasma-treated refreshment for survival.”

Matt Gomez wins Presidential Early Career Award

2019-08-01 Dr. Matthew Gomez of Sandia National Lab, a MIPSE alum and a recent seminar speaker, received a PECASE award “for exceptional leadership and contributions to innovative research in high-energy density physics and leadership of the magnetically amplified inertial fusion effort; and for his formidable commitment and exemplary role modeling to develop a community of scientists and engineers.”

MIPSE co-sponsors the First Community Workshop for HEDP

2019-07-30 MIPSE was pleased to co-sponsor the First Community Workshop for High Energy Density Physics. This workshop, co-chaired by Prof. Carolyn Kuranz, is part of the Community Planning Process (CPP) conducted by the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics.

Carolyn Kuranz joins NERS faculty

2019-06-12 Prof. Carolyn Kuranz accepted the position of an Associate Professor (with tenure) at the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences.

August Evrard receives Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize

2019-04-26 Prof. August Evrard was honored with the 11th annual Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize for his project, Problem Roulette: A Stress-free Practice Zone for Student Learning.

Brandon Russell receives Rackham International Student Fellowship

2019-02-13 Brandon Russell (ECE) was awarded the Rackham International Student Fellowship for his research on magnetic fields in high-energy plasmas, which could help advance the development of clean energy and our understanding of energetic astrophysical phenomena.

Alec Gallimore inducted into the National Academy of Engineering

2019-02-07 Prof. Alec Gallimore, Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, has been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering for advanced spacecraft electric propulsion, especially Hall thruster technology.

Plasma 2020 call for white papers

2018-12-03

The US National Academies has recently started the Decadal Assessment of Plasma Science - Plasma 2020. The Plasma 2020 committee invites the US and international plasma science and technology communities to submit white papers addressing past accomplishments, future science challenges, opportunities to provide societal benefit, needed interdisciplinary collaborations and means to enhance careers in the fields of plasma science and technology. Please submit white papers by March 8, 2019.

First Women in MIPSE luncheon

2018-11-14 Women in MIPSE luncheons were recently inaugurated to bring U-M women students and post-doctoral fellows in plasmas fields together, providing a community to share experiences, insights, and resources to support each other. The first lunch, held November 14, 2018, was organized by Janis Lai (NERS). The honorary guest, Dr. Svetlana Starikovskaia of Laboratory of Plasma Physics, CNRS, France, shared her research and teaching experiences with six Women in MIPSE members.

The HERCULES laser receives $1 million

2018-11-07 U-M will receive $1 million through the LaserNetUS initiative for providing time on the HERCULES laser, the reigning world champion for laser intensity at 20 sextillion (2x1022) watts per centimeter squared.

Alec Thomas elected Fellow of APS

2018-09-22 Prof. Alec Thomas has been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society "for contributions to the experimental and theoretical understanding of short pulse high intensity laser plasma interactions and in particular for the development of laser wakefield accelerators and the generation of x-rays from these beams."

MIPSE welcomes a new cohort of Fellows

2018-04-25 Seven graduate students have been named MIPSE Fellows 2018-2019: Austin Brenner and Zachariah Brown (Aerospace Engineering, U-M); Kenneth Chung (Civil Engineering, U-M); Forrest Glines (Astronomy/Computer Science and Engineering, MSU); Amina Hussein (Applied Physics, U-M); Agnit Mukhopadhyay and Yeimy Rivera (Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, U-M).

Stephanie Miller receives DOE NNSA Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellowship

2018-04-17 Stephanie Miller (NERS) has been selected to receive the Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellowship from the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration. For her LRGF research, Stephanie will spend two 12-week residencies at Sandia National Labs, working with the pulsed-power sciences and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) groups. She will be working to transfer the technology and diagnostic techniques that she is developing here at U-M to the 30-MA Z facility at Sandia.

Yao Kovach wins Eye on Research photo contest

2018-04-13 Yao E. Kovach (NERS) is a winner of Eye on Research, a graduate student photo contest aimed at capturing the excitement, range, color and creativity of research. In her plasma picture, the self-organization pattern shows a perfectly symmetrical spoke structure with center convergence on the anode surface of sodium chloride solution at 80mA. Above the plasma spokes, a golden yellow colored prominent halo that surrounds the white colored main plasma column along with 8 millimeter gap in the air. Below the plasma spokes, the image shows a salt water reflection of the halo with helium plasma emitted from the 500 micrometer center of a hollow shaped cathode. From the spectroscopic analysis, we determined the golden yellow colored of the halo is due to the sodium glow from the vapor of the liquid. These blue colored plasma spokes have a size of around 25 micrometer and 85 micrometer in width and length respectively.

Ryan McBride receives the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award

2018-02-21 The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has announced awards of $16 million through its 2018 Young Investigator Program (YIP). The awards were made to young scientists whose research holds strong promise across a wide range of naval-relevant science and technology areas. Prof. Ryan McBride's winning project title is "High-Power Microwave Generation by Compact Linear Transformer Driver Technology."

A startup company founded by L. Brad King takes top prize in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition

2017-11-17 Orbion Space Technology, a firm founded by L. Brad King, participated in the 2017 Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition in Detroit. Orbion won $500,000 in cash and an additional $39,000 in in-kind services.

MIPSE reception at APS Division of Plasma Physics meeting

2017-11-10 On October 23rd 2017, the first MIPSE reception was held during the 59th annual meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics in Milwaukee, WI. Nearly 100 MIPSE faculty, students, and alumni attended, as well as past MIPSE speakers and members of the DPP Executive Committee. Select MiPlasma videos from our MIPSE speaker seminar series played throughout the reception. If you missed the reception, we hope to see you at the next DPP meeting in Portland, OR.

Michael Keidar receives Ronald C. Davidson Award for Plasma Physics

2017-10-11 Prof. Michael Keidar, a former MIPSE speaker, has received the 2017 Ronald C. Davidson Award for Plasma Physics from AIP Publishing. The annual award is presented in collaboration with the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics, to recognize outstanding plasma physics research by a Physics of Plasmas author.

John Nees elected OSA Fellow

2017-09-26 John Nees has been elected Fellow of OSA, the Optical Society, “for contributions to the development of short pulse high rep rate laser technology as well as to the science of high intensity short pulse laser interactions with matter.”

Amanda Lietz receives ISPC 2017 Student Oral Presentation Award

2017-08-16 Amanda Lietz received Student Oral Presentation Award for her talk “Mechanisms of Induced Turbulence in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets” at the 23rd International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry in Montréal, Canada.

Paul Drake wins the Teller Medal

2017-08-02 R. Paul Drake received the American Nuclear Society Fusion Energy Division’s Teller Medal for his seminal work in radiation hydrodynamics, hydrodynamics, and laser-plasma interactions, and for educational contributions, advancing fundamental high-energy-density physics and its applications to astrophysics. The Edward Teller Medal recognizes pioneering research and leadership in the use of laser and ion-particle beams to produce unique high-temperature and high-density matter for scientific research and for controlled thermonuclear fusion.

Chad Huard receives Best ALE 2017 Student Oral Award

2017-07-18 The Atomic Layer Etching 2017 Workshop (ALE 2017) presented Chad Huard with a first-time Best Student Oral Award for his talk “Reactor Scale Uniformity Enabled by Atomic Layer Etching”.

Ron Gilgenbach receives IEEE 2017 Peter Haas Award

2017-04-27 Ronald Gilgenbach was named the recipient of the IEEE 2017 Peter Haas Award for outstanding contributions to education in pulsed power technology. The award will be presented and an Invited Plenary talk will be given at the IEEE Pulsed Power Conference in June, 2017 (Brighton, United Kingdom).

Y. Y. Lau receives IEEE 2017 John R. Pierce Award

2017-04-27 Y. Y. Lau was named the recipient of the IEEE 2017 John R. Pierce Award for seminal contributions to our understanding of the technical foundations of vacuum electronics, and for training generations of talented engineers and scientists in the field (press release).

Mark Moldwin named Arthur F. Thurnau Professor

2017-02-17 Mark Moldwin is one of six faculty members who have been honored for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education as this year's recipients of Arthur F. Thurnau Professorships.

Carolyn Kuranz receives 2017 Laboratory Astrophysics Division Early Career Award from American Astronomical Society

2017-01-22 The 2017 Early Career Award, given to an individual who has made significant contributions to laboratory astrophysics within 10 years of receiving a PhD, goes to Carolyn Kuranz (University of Michigan) for seminal laboratory experiments in hydrodynamic and radiation processes relevant to astrophysical dynamics (press release).

Thomas Zurbuchen named head of NASA Science Mission Directorate

2016-09-27 NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Thomas Zurbuchen as the new associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, effective Monday, Oct. 3 (press release).

Tamas Gombosi, Gábor Tóth develop next-generation space-weather model

2016-09-22 Featured in Nature: Tamas Gombosi and Gábor Tóth developed a next-generation space-weather model for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to better predict how incoming solar storms could fry electrical power grids.

Amanda Lietz wins a 1st place prize at the 2015 Engineering Graduate Symposium

2015-11-04 Former MIPSE Fellow Amanda Lietz received the 1st place NERS poster prize at the 2015 Engineering Graduate Symposium.

Eric Michielssen named the Louise Ganiard Johnson Professor of Engineering

2015-07-10 Congratulations to Professor Eric Michielssen for being named the Louise Ganiard Johnson Professor of Engineering, in recognition of his outstanding reputation and contributions in the areas of research, education, and leadership!

Amanda Lietz receives ISPC 2015 poster prize

2015-07-10 MIPSE Fellow Amanda Lietz received a prestigious poster award at ISPC 22 - 22nd International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry.

Chuanfei Dong wins NASA Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowship

2015-04-24 MIPSE Fellow Chuanfei Dong won the NASA Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowship, to work at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Kentaro Hara wins the 2015 NPSS Graduate Scholarship Award

2015-03-05 Former MIPSE Fellow Kentaro Hara received the 2015 NPSS Graduate Scholarship Awards. This award recognizes contributions to the fields of nuclear and plasma science by a graduate student.

Iverson Bell wins second place at the 2014 Small Satellite Conference

2014-08-26 MIPSE Fellow Iverson Bell is a finalist in the 22nd Annual Frank J. Redd Student Competition at the 2014 Small Satellite Conference. The student competition provides students with the opportunity to share their work on small satellite concepts and missions.

Tamas Gombosi appointed Distinguished University Professor

2014-07-23 Professor Tamas Gombosi is one of eight faculty members who have received one of the University of Michigan's top honors as Distinguished University Professors.

Eric Michielssen Receives IEEE APS Chen-To Tai Distinguished Educator Award

2014-07-03 Professor Eric Michielssen has been awarded the 2014 IEEE Antenna and Propagation Society Chen-To Tai Distinguished Educator Award, "In recognition of being an outstanding educator, mentor and role model for the next generation of faculty members."

MIPSE Fellow Kentaro Hara wins the ICOPS/BEAMS 2014 Student Paper Award

2014-06-02 Kentaro Hara received the ICOPS/BEAMS 2014 Outstanding Student Paper Award.

Mark Moldwin wins Teaching Innovation Prize

2014-04-28 Professor Mark Moldwin's project "Doing Science Firsthand Through Dorm-Room Labs" was one of five winners of the sixth annual Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize.

Mark Moldwin receives a Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award

2014-04-21 Professor Mark Moldwin, along with five other U-M faculty members and one professional staff member who have shown dedication to developing cultural and ethnic diversity at U-M, has received a 2014 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award from the Office of the Provost.

Kentaro Hara awarded Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement

2013-04-05 MIPSE Fellow Kentaro Hara was awarded Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement. The prize is presented to the outstanding graduate student in each degree program. Criteria considered by the department awards committee include active participation in research, leadership and academic performance (GPA).

PRL paper highlighted on the APS website

2013-01-07 The APS website highlights the paper "Ultrafast Electron Radiography of Magnetic Fields in High-Intensity Laser-Solid Interactions", co-authored by several MIPSE members, students, and alumni. The paper was published in Physical Review Letters in January 2013.

John Verboncoeur named IEEE Fellow

2012-11-29 Professor John Verboncoeur has been named IEEE Fellow for his "contributions to computational plasma physics and plasma device applications".

Nano-Origami Project receives funding from NSF

2012-08-23 The interdisciplinary project "Multi-scale Origami for Novel Photonics, Energy Conversion" received a $2 million grant from NSF. Congratulations to MIPSE members Max Shtein (PI) and John Hart (co-PI), and to co-PIs Pei-Cheng Ku, Nicholas Kotov, and Sharon Glotzer!

Jyoti Mazumder honored with Distinguished University Innovator Award

2012-03-28 Professor Jyotirmoy Mazumder has been selected to receive the Distinguished University Innovator Award for 2012. The award honors faculty who have made important and lasting contributions to society by developing novel ideas and insights through their research and then translating them to practice.

Jyoti Mazumder elected to the National Academy of Engineering

2012-02-09 Congratulations to Professor Jyotirmoy Mazumder on his election to the National Academy of Engineering "for quantitative transport modeling for laser interaction and design and commercialization of direct metal deposition machines"!

Alexander Thomas receives AFOSR Young Investigator Award

2012-01-23 Congratulations to Assistant Professor Alec Thomas on his AFOSR Young Investigator Award "Understanding Intense Laser Interactions with Solid Density Plasma"!

Peng Zhang receives the Young Investigator Award at the IEEE 2011 Holm Conference on Electrical Contact

2011-10-07 Congratulations to Peng Zhang, MIPSE Fellow and advisee of Prof. Y.Y.Lau, on receiving the Young Investigator Award at the IEEE 2011 Holm Conference on Electrical Contact (Minneapolis, MN, September 11-14, 2011).

Alexander Thomas receives NSF CAREER Award

2011-09-01 Congratulations to Assistant Professor Alec Thomas for his NSF CAREER Award "Bright Femtosecond x- and Gamma-Ray Pulse Production Using Ultra-Intense Lasers"!

Cyril Galitzine receives the CoE Graduate Distinguished Achievement Award

2011-03-02 Congratulations to Cyril Galitzine, MIPSE Fellow and advisee of Iain Boyd, on receiving the CoE Graduate Distinguished Achievement Award. The Distinguished Achievement Award is presented to an outstanding undergraduate and graduate student in each academic program in the College of Engineering.

Mark Kushner elected to the National Academy of Engineering

2011-02-08 Professor Mark J. Kushner has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for contributions to low-temperature plasmas for semiconductors, optics, and thin-film manufacturing.

Iain Boyd named AIAA Fellow

2010-12-27 Congratulations to Professor Iain Boyd on his appointment as Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)!

Call for Papers: Images in Plasma Science

2010-07-22 The IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (TPS) will have the 6th Triennial Special Issue of "IMAGES IN PLASMA SCIENCE"to be published August 2011. This issue will present unique experimentally or computationally generated images of plasma phenomena which provide insight to the physics of the process and which are aesthetically pleasing. The deadline for submissions is 1 December 2010.

HP Labs Innovation Grants for Plasma Physics Research

2009-06-15 HP announced that a total of sixty projects from 46 universities in 12 countries will receive 2009 Innovation Research Program (IRP) awards from HP Labs. At the University of Michigan, Professor Mark Kushner will be looking to better understand micro-plasmas.

U-M one of first universities to offer formal program in plasma science and engineering

2009-05-29 Plasma science is essential to many areas of national interest, including healthcare, energy, homeland security and the semiconductor industry. A new certificate program in plasma science and engineering at the University of Michigan (U-M) aims to bring together resources and expertise from across campus to create a formal, eclectic, interdisciplinary program for students interested in this pervasive field.

MIPSE Officially Announced and Launches Website

2009-02-13 The Michigan Institute for Plasma Science and Engineering (MIPSE) is officially announced and launches its new website.