ILTPC Newsletter 23
18 May 2022
Download the Newsletter as a PDF file
Table of Contents
- Call for contributions
- Images
- LTP perspectives
- Leaders of the LTP Community
- General interest announcements
- Meetings and online seminars
- Community initiatives and special issues
- Research highlights and breakthroughs
- New resources
- Career opportunities
- Collaborative opportunities
Call for Contributions
Please submit content for the next issue of the Newsletter. Please send your contributions to iltpc-central@umich.edu by June 24, 2022. Please send contributions as MS-Word files if possible – and avoid sending contributions as PDF files.
In particular, please send Research Highlights and Breakthroughs using this template. The highlight consists of an image and up to 200 words of text; please also send your image as a separate file (the recommended image format is JPG or PNG; the minimum file width is 800 px). The topic can be anything you want - a recently published work, a new unpublished result, a proposed new area of research, company successes, anything LTP-related. Please see the Research highlights and breakthroughs for examples.
Images to Excite and Inspire!
Please send your images (with a short description) to iltpc-central@umich.edu. The recommended image format is JPG or PNG; the minimum file width is 800 px.
(Click the image to enlarge.)
Dr. Shurik Yatom (syatom@pppl.gov), Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA; Dr. Maksim Mezhericher (maksymm@princeton.edu) and Prof. Howard Stone (hastone@princeton.edu), Princeton University, USA.
Prof. Sally Bane, Purdue University, USA, sbane@purdue.edu.
LTP Perspectives: Policy, Opportunities, Challenges
Can Plasmas Revolutionize the Water Treatment Industry?
Water treatment in its broadest sense seeks to convert or degrade toxic chemicals into less harmful constituents. Electrical discharge plasmas, like all oxidation technologies, are capable of achieving this objective, although for most environmental contaminants, plasmas cannot compete with established destructive technologies. Outcomes from decades of research in plasma water treatment and the handful of commercial reactor systems together demonstrate that the development of a superior water treatment technology lies beyond the process’s ability to merely produce reactive oxidative species. Despite the strong research momentum in the area of plasma-liquid interactions, the extent to which commercialization efforts will be advanced in the future remains uncertain.
So, will the water treatment industry ever be able to view plasma as a competitive process? When it comes to treatment of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the answer is a resounding yes! Plasma not only performs well, but in fact it is one of the most effective and efficient techniques for the destruction of these compounds. Known as the Forever Chemicals, PFAS are a large family of over 9,000 highly persistent and toxic chemicals not found in nature. The widespread use of PFAS in military, aerospace, automotive, construction and electronic industries, combined with their environmental release, mobility, fate and transport, has resulted in multiple exposure routes for humans. In fact, the water supplies of over 110 million residents of the United States (nearly one-third of the US population) are estimated to be contaminated with PFAS. The far-reaching impacts of pollution from PFAS chemicals on a small West Virginia community were dramatically presented in the 2019 film “Dark Waters.”
In 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a non-enforceable health advisory level for only two PFAS compounds – perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”) at 70 ng/L. In 2021, the Biden Administration announced a multiagency plan to address PFAS contamination nationwide that includes expanding cleanup efforts to remediate its impacts. In response, the EPA announced the release of the PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021–2024, which sets timelines by which EPA plans to take specific actions. As long expected, EPA will propose to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. In 2023, EPA also expects to publish its updated guidance on methods to destroy and dispose of PFAS. There is an air of anticipation awaiting this document, as effective destructive technologies that can work on a large scale are scarce. Just this month, the Department of Defense stopped using incineration—one of the most widely applied techniques for PFAS destruction—until it formally issues guidance on how to dispose of the substances.
PFAS contamination of water supplies, a problem of global proportions, will undoubtably remain for the foreseeable future. The competition for the best solution is fierce, with plasma consistently emerging as the most viable option. Although the science underlying plasma PFAS destruction is not well understood, the ability of these compounds to concentrate at interfaces (where plasma reactive species are generated) gives the technology its competitive edge. Furthermore, their degradation most likely depends on species not previously considered to play a role in contaminant removal, since PFAS are non-oxidizable. Therefore, plasma-based PFAS treatment represents a unique opportunity for our community to revolutionize this $12.1B industry while creating a positive environmental and societal impact. The magnitude of plasma’s impact on water treatment may be comparable to that it achieved with the semiconductor industry.
Prof. Selma Mededovic Thagard Clarkson University, USA smededov@clarkson.edu
Leaders of the LTP Community: Career Profiles
Dr. Anne Bourdon — From Atmospheric Low Temperature Plasmas to Electric Propulsion of Satellites
Anne Bourdon is a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and deputy director of Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (LPP), a joint research laboratory between CNRS, École Polytechnique, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Saclay and Observatoire de Paris, France. Anne’s research focuses on modeling and simulation of various important aspects of the low-temperature plasma physics including non-equilibrium discharges and reactive flows, atmospheric plasmas, plasma assisted combustion, atmospheric pressure low-temperature plasma jets, and plasma propulsion.
Anne’s long-term research interest in low temperature plasmas at atmospheric pressure has led to several notable achievements including a computational model for photo-ionization in air which Anne has developed together with her co-workers. This model has become the reference for simulations of propagating ionizing fronts in air for many years.
Anne’s endeavor is to challenge the results of modeling and simulations by direct comparison with experiments. For that she is keen to develop tailored numerical tools, dedicated, for example, to simulating propagating ionizing fronts in particular configurations of electrodes and dielectrics, or gas mixtures. This challenging approach led Anne to fruitful collaborations with a number of recognized experimental plasma physicists. Anne and her fellow co-workers have achieved recently the first quantitative experiment/modeling comparison of the spatially and temporally resolved electric fields for atmospheric pressure low-temperature plasma jets impacting the target surfaces. This strikes one of the key issues for applications of low temperature plasma jets: the understanding and the control of the electric field on the target surfaces.
Over the years, Anne’s research interests expanded to the physics of E × B discharges relevant to plasma propulsion and similar technologies. Since 2016, Anne has been the holder of an Industrial Chair on Future Plasma Thrusters for Low Earth Orbit Satellite Propulsion Systems (POSEIDON) co-sponsored by Safran Aircraft Engines and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche. The main goals of the POSEIDON project were to better understand plasmas in the real architectures of Hall effect thrusters through the methodology of combining experiments and the development of 3D numerical tools for the simulation of such devices.
Anne has served in editorial boards of Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Journal of Physics Communications and since 2018 is a member of the editorial board of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. She has also been repeatedly awarded as a ‘Top peer reviewer’ in physics on Publons. Since January 2022, Anne has been a co-chair of the Online Low Temperature Plasma Seminar, a high-quality online seminar series started during the pandemic in 2020.
Anne is also a dedicated supervisor of PhD students. Her involvement in supervision is legendary and many of her PhD graduates has become skilled researchers and successful PhD supervisors themselves, passing Anne’s spirit on to the next generations of scientists.
Anne is also a very active person apart from her life in the sciences. She is a theater enthusiast and a regular Yoga practitioner. She also learned Japanese during her studies, so she is surely the right person to hang out with while on conferences in Japan. And early birds at the crack of dawn can witness her jogging outdoors prior to a long conference days.
Bonne course Anne!
Dr. Zdeněk Bonaventura Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic zbona@physics.muni.cz
General Interest Announcements
Please submit your entry for General Interest Announcements to iltpc-central@umich.edu.
Meetings and Online Seminars
9th International Plasma Science and Entrepreneurship Workshop – 21 & 22 November 2022, York, UK
The 9th International Plasma Science and Entrepreneurship Workshop will take place in York, UK on 21-22 November 2022.
About 100 leading international scientists from universities, institutes and firms & scientific entrepreneurs are expected to participate. The workshop will be a PhD (student) expert-level workshop focused on the achievements, challenges and opportunities for the scientific- and entrepreneurial community working in the field.
Key topics and themes:
- Plasma medicine, medical and healthcare
- Plasma surface modification & thin films
- Atmospheric pressure plasma at micro/nano scale
- Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ)
- Nanoparticles generation and particle surface treatment
- Surface diagnostics, energetics, analytics and –metrology
- Plasma parameterization, diagnostics, simulation
- Plasma for emission abatement & CO2
- Plasma parameterization, diagnostics, simulation
More information coming soon on the website. We look forward to welcoming you at our workshop in November 2022 in York.
Contacts: Dr. Erik Wagenaars Scientific Chair & Host York Plasma Institute, University of York, UK erik.wagenaars@york.ac.uk Dr. Hugo de Haan Entrepreneurship Chair Hugo.deHaan@visiondynamics.nl
75th Annual Gaseous Electronic Conference and 11th International Conference on Reactive Plasmas, Sendai, Japan
The 75th Annual Gaseous Electronic Conference is excited to announce it will be held jointly with the 11th International Conference on Reactive Plasmas on October 3 - 7, 2022, in Sendai, Japan.
Call for Contributed Papers:
Information about abstract submission. Abstract submission deadline: June 10, 2022 (4:00 pm US Central Time).
Student Award for Excellence:
The GEC Student Award for Excellence recognizes the important contributions students make to the GEC. Eligibility and nomination materials.
The Student Poster Prize:
The GEC Student Poster Prize recognizes three student presented research posters for their contribution to the work and future of GEC. The eligibility and nomination materials can be found on the Awards site.
Student Travel Grant:
The Student Travel Grant provides funding to offset the cost of attending the con-ference in person (onsite). The grant will cover the full registration cost of the conference and partial coverage for lodging. Information can be found on the Grants and Scholarship site.
Invitation Letters:
If a letter of invitation is needed to attend the conference, please contact Conference Secretariat (gec2022@senkyo.co.jp) with the following information:
- Attendee name and salutation (Prof., Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.)
- Affiliation
- Address
- Title of the presentation/poster (if giving a presentation or poster)
Contacts: Prof. Toshiro Kaneko Tohoku University, Japan kaneko@tohoku.ac.jp Dr. Julian Schulze Ruhr University-Bochum, Germany schulze@aept.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
New Webinar Series Asia Pacific - USA “Highlights in Low Temperature Plasma Physics”
We have the pleasure to invite you to attend the new webinar series Asia Pacific - USA “Highlights in Low Temperature Plasma Physics” sponsored by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the Physics of Plasmas.
The series will be organized by Physics of Plasmas Editors and Editorial Board Members with the goal to facilitate the dissemination of scientific knowledge and present recent publications in Physics of Plasmas and other plasma journals. The series are intended to be focused on basic properties of low-temperature plasmas and their applications.
If you would like to present or add emails to the list of attendees, please contact us.
Contacts: Dr. Igor Kaganovich Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA ikaganov@pppl.gov Prof. Yong-Xin Liu Dalian University of Technology, China yxliu129@dlut.edu.cn Assistant Prof. Jian Chen Sun Yat-sen University, China chenjian5@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Online Seminars – OLTP and IOPS
The Online Low Temperature Plasma (OLTP) seminar series and the International Online Plasma Seminar (IOPS) are continuing to provide the international community with regular opportunities to hear from leading researchers in the field.
The program of the OLTP (and links to past seminars)
Dr. Anne Bourdon and Dr. Igor Kaganovich OLTP Co-Chairs anne.bourdon@lpp.polytechnique.fr, ikaganov@pppl.gov
The program of the IOPS (and links to past seminars)
Dr. Kallol Bera IOPS Chair kallol_bera@amat.com
Community Initiatives and Special Issues
Special Issue Research Topic in Frontiers of Physics on Non-equilibrium Effects in Plasma Afterglow and Effluent
For many applications, in particular for atmospheric-pressure plasmas, the locations of plasma generation and application are not the same, often both in space and time. For these plasmas, during the afterglow or effluent phase, the composition and properties of the plasma can change dramatically due to, for instance, recombination, transfer of short-lived radicals into longer-lived species and interactions with the environment (e.g. air or a substrate). Despite their key importance for several applications, the non-equilibrium aspects of afterglows and more particularly the effluent of flowing plasmas are not as well described as the traditional (powered) plasma phase. For instance, the importance of vibrational kinetics and the effects of air mixing with a plasma jet have recently been established, but there are many outstanding questions about the exact reaction mechanisms. Diagnostics are often challenging in afterglows due to the decreasing densities of species and transfer to often non-radiating species. For computational modeling there are challenges in determining relevant reaction mechanisms which will be different from traditional (powered) plasmas. Numerical models also require simplifying assumptions which cannot always a priori be justified in order to obtain a solution. Concerted experimental and modeling efforts are usually required to shine new light into non-equilibrium aspects of high-pressure plasmas.
This Special Issue Research Topic aims to cover all aspects of plasma afterglows and effluents for both thermal and non-thermal plasma sources. Examples of topics of interest include, but are not limited to, non-equilibrium effects, vibrational kinetics, radical chemistry, nanoparticle nucleation and growth, catalysis in the afterglow, recombination and interactions of plasma with its environment. Contributions in which theory/modeling and experiments are combined are particularly encouraged. In addition, we welcome contributions that highlight limitations of existing knowledge in modeling and experiments (including so-called “failed experiments” provided they can help the state-of-the-art) for describing non-equilibrium plasmas, thereby setting the scene for future research.
More information on this Research Topic can be found on the dedicated website.
The deadline for submissions is currently 13 July 2022.
Contacts: Dr. Erik Wagenaars University of York, UK erik.wagenaars@york.ac.uk Prof. Emile Carbone Université du Québec, INRS, Canada Dr. Nikolay Britun Nagoya University, Japan
Research Highlights and Breakthroughs
Enhancement of CO2 Conversion in Microwave Plasmas using a Nozzle in the Effluent
Plasma conversion is an alternative approach to the electrochemical and photochemical technologies in the searching for the most efficient way to convert CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO). In this work an investigation of the CO2 conversion and the energy efficiency in a microwave plasma torch equipped with a nozzle of different diameters (Figure 1) is presented. The nozzle is installed downstream of the plasma at varying distances. The plasma torch operates within in the pressure range 100–900 mbar.
The results obtained using the nozzle demonstrate an enhancement of both conversion and energy efficiency, particularly at pressures close to atmospheric pressure and for lower CO2 flows (SEI above 2 eV/molecule). The conversion and energy efficiency obtained without the nozzle plotted in Figure 2 show the strong decrease of the performance for 900 mbar when compared to 200 mbar. By using the nozzle, it is possible to significantly increase the performance of the plasma torch at a pressure of 900 mbar, both in conversion and energy efficiency towards values previously achieved only at 200 mbar with the standard design.
The enhancement at 900 mbar is attributed to the fast cooling of the hot plasma gas with surrounding colder gas, which leads to a reduction of CO recombination into CO2 thus preserving the maximum conversion obtained in the resonator. The enhancement of the performance of the plasma torch with nozzle at atmospheric pressure is an important step towards industrial applicability of this technology.
Contacts: Dr. Ante Hecimovic ante.hecimovic@ipp.mpg.de Prof. Ursel Fantz ursel.fantz@ipp.mpg.de Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany
Source: Journal of CO2 Utilization 57, 101870 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2021.101870
Comprehensive and Efficient CR Model for Ne-Ar Mixture Plasma Diagnostics
Rare gas mixture plasmas have applications such as increasing plasma thruster’s ionization and streamer current in plasma jets. Accurate information about plasma parameters, such as electron temperature, electron density, and metastable populations, is essential for understanding plasma characteristics and improving efficiency. Optical emission or absorption spectroscopic (OES or OAS) measurements coupled with a Collisional Radiative (CR) model are an efficient diagnostic technique.
We have reported on a comprehensive CR model for diagnostics of Ne-Ar gas mixture plasmas. The CR model consists of 40 fine-structure levels of Ne. All of the essential population and de-population channels (electron impact excitation-de-excitation, ionization, two/three-body recombination, radiative decay, self-absorption correction, diffusion) were considered. The CR model was employed for the optical diagnostic of rf inductively coupled Ne–Ar mixture plasma. The plasma parameters (electron temperature, density) have been extracted by comparing the calculated values of the population of metastable levels (1s5 and 1s3) of Ne from the CR model to their corresponding values obtained through OAS. Intensities of 23 emission lines (2pi (i=1-10) – 1si (i=2-5)) of Ne were also compared with the earlier reported OES measurements. The non-Maxwellian electron impact excitation rates corresponding to some dominant transitions from the ground (1S0) and excited states (1si (i=2,5)) were also reported. Plasma parameters calculated from our CR model were in good agreement with the values obtained from OAS, OES, and Langmuir probe measurements.
Contacts: Shubham Singh Baghel Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India sbaghel@ph.iitr.ac.in Prof. Reetesh Kumar Gangwar Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, India reetesh@iittp.ac.in Prof. Rajesh Srivastava Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India rajesh.srivastava@ph.iitr.ac.in
Source: Contrib. Plasma Phys. 62, e202100226 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/ctpp.202100226
Review on Physics of Plasma Jets and Interaction with Surfaces
Plasma jets are sources of repetitive and stable ionization waves, meant for applications where they interact with surfaces of different characteristics. As such, plasma jets provide an ideal testbed for the study of transient reproducible streamer discharge dynamics, particularly in inhomogeneous gaseous mixtures, and of plasma–surface interactions.
This topical review addresses the physics of plasma jets and their interactions with surfaces through a pedagogical approach. The state-of-the-art of numerical models and diagnostic techniques to describe helium jets is presented, along with the benchmarking of different experimental measurements in literature and recent efforts for direct comparisons between simulations and measurements.
This exposure is focussed on the most fundamental physical quantities determining discharge dynamics, such as the electric field, the mean electron energy and the electron number density, as well as the charging of targets. The physics of plasma jets is described for jet systems of increasing complexity, showing the effect of the different components (tube, electrodes, gas mixing in the plume, target) of the jet system on discharge dynamics. Focussing on coaxial helium kHz plasma jets powered by rectangular pulses of applied voltage, physical phenomena imposed by different targets on the discharge, such as discharge acceleration, surface spreading, the return stroke and the charge relaxation event, are explained and reviewed. Finally, open questions and perspectives for the physics of plasma jets and interactions with surfaces are outlined.
Contact: Dr. Pedro Viegas Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Portugal pedro.a.viegas@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Source: P. Viegas, E. Slikboer, Z. Bonaventura, O. Guaitella, A. Sobota and A. Bourdon. Accepted, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6595/ac61a9.
The Effect of Local Non-Thermal Plasma Therapy on the Cancer-Immunity Cycle in a Melanoma Mouse Model
Melanoma remains a deadly cancer despite significant advances in various therapies. The incidence of melanoma is also growing worldwide, which highlights the need for novel treatment options and combination strategies.
Here, we investigated non-thermal plasma (NTP) as a promising, therapeutic option. In a melanoma mouse model, direct treatment of tumors with a microsecond-pulsed dielectric barrier discharge plasma, resulted in reduced tumor burden and prolonged survival. Physical characterization of NTP treatment on the mouse revealed the deposited NTP energy and temperature associated with therapy response. Tumors were collected and whole transcriptome sequencing analysis identified several modulated pathways.
NTP treatment also enhanced the cancer-immunity cycle over time, as immune cells in both the tumor and tumor-draining lymph nodes appeared more stimulated to perform their anti-cancer functions. Thus, our data suggest that local NTP therapy stimulated systemic, anti-cancer immunity.
We discuss, in detail, how these fundamental insights will help direct the translation of NTP technology into the clinic and inform rational combination strategies to address the challenges in melanoma therapy.
Contacts: Dr. Abraham Lin abraham.lin@uantwerpen.be Prof. Dr. Annemie Bogaerts annemie.bogaerts@uantwerpen.be University of Antwerp, Belgium
Source: Bioengineering & Translational Medicine, e10314 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.10314
New Resources
Please submit your announcement for New Resources to iltpc-central@umich.edu.
Career Opportunities
Post-doctoral Position in the Field of Plasma Catalysis, Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Garching, Germany
We are looking for interested candidates for a postdoc vacancy at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, in the group of Plasma for Gas Conversion (application deadline is June 7th 2022). The group research focus is on the topic of plasma conversion of low-energy molecules into value-added chemicals by using low-temperature plasmas. Our research aims at advancing the current state of plasma technologies in the power-to-gas initiative, i.e. energy storage, hydrogen technology, and chemical energy carriers. We are looking forward to expand our activities and scientific expertise in plasma catalysis (dry methane reforming, ammonia synthesis, etc.) with microwave plasmas and dielectric barrier discharges (DBD).
We are looking for a candidate that would be responsible for the characterisation and development of plasma sources (predominantly DBD). It is expected that the candidate expand the current range of in-situ, in-vacuo, and ex-situ experiments for plasmas and materials surface characterization. The tasks of the successful candidate will include execution, evaluation and dissemination of the test results related to performance of plasma sources and implications for scientific advantage of plasma-catalysis. The candidate is required to have completed a doctoral thesis, preferably in the field of plasma physics, catalysis, or related fields. Experience with experimental techniques related to plasmas, gases and surfaces (e.g. OES, FTIR, XPS) is desired. Experience in the operation and characterization of plasma sources with background in atmospheric plasma research and/or DBD is of advantage. Strong abilities to interpret experimental data and to present complex scientific and technical matters fluently in English are required.
The duration of the position is 3 years and the desired starting date is 1st August 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter. The applicants should send a cover letter (including desired starting date), CV, and reprints of representative publications to the point of Contact:
Contact: Prof. Ursel Fantz Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany ursel.fantz@ipp.mpg.de
European Shock-Tube for High Enthalpy Research (ESTHER)
The European Shock-Tube for High Enthalpy Research (ESTHER) is a new, state-of-the-art shock-tube facility funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and tailored for supporting new European planetary exploration efforts. ESTHER is a facility of the Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear (IPFN), an Associate Laboratory of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). A significant effort has been placed by the funding agency (ESA) on developing state-of-the-art diagnostics capable of exploiting the full potential of the facility. A key aspect is a requirement for high-speed spectroscopy measurements outside of the usual visible spectral range, with an emphasis on the VUV (150-300 nm) and MWIR (2-5 micrometers) spectral regions. The budget for instrumentation roughly corresponds to half of the total budget allocated to the facility and includes two spectrometer + streak camera setups.
ESTHER is currently inviting expressions of interest (EoI) for a research contract with an institution affiliated to IST. The contract includes a career plan, with a probationary period of one year and a possible renewal up to 4 years, after which it is eligible for consideration of a tenure researcher position with IPFN/IST.
We are looking for highly qualified candidates, holding a PhD in Physics, Engineering Physics, or related scientific domains, who are able to propose, plan and execute a long-term research program for diagnostics using the ESTHER facility. The candidate selected should develop autonomous work, leading a small team responsible for the development of measurement techniques for ESTHER, and preparing and submitting applications for additional funding to the relevant funding agencies (national, EU, ESA, etc...) with the support of graduate students under her/his supervision.
The contract includes: (i) taking charge of the management and upgrading of the diagnostics of the ESTHER shock tube; (ii) defining new optical diagnostics in the IR region and identifying further spectroscopy diagnostics for ESTHER beyond optical emission spectroscopy (e.g. broadband/laser absorption spectroscopy, optical and electron interferometry, laser diagnostics, etc.); (iii) participating in the test campaigns on ESTHER, defining and deploying a test plan for spectroscopy, and developing adequate postprocessing tools for the analysis of measurements; (iv) participating in the scientific exploitation of the result obtained, in collaboration with the team experts on numerical modelling of high-speed shock-waves nonequilibrium kinetics and radiation process.
Applicants can submit their EoI by sending:
- Motivation letter (max 1 page)
- Curriculum vitae (max 5 pages)
- Brief research statement (max 2 pages)
- Contact (including email address) of three researchers or professionals who can be contacted to provide reference letters, attesting to the scientific and professional qualities of the possible candidate.
Applications or questions must be submitted in electronic form, by June 30, 2022 (message subject: “EoI ESTHER”) to:
Dr. Mário Lino da Silva PI ESTHER mlinodasilva@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Post-doctoral Position in Innovative Insect Pest Management, University of California, USA
We are seeking postdoctoral candidates for a vacant full-time position to be hosted at University California Davis, USA. The incumbent will be part of a multi-disciplinary research team devoted to develop and promotion of innovative and highly complementary technologies to improve insect pest management and sustainable crop production. Moreover, we work with hyperspectral imaging (machine vision), robotics (rail systems to control movement of imaging systems and/or pesticide spraying equipment), phone app development (for quality control of pesticide spray coverages), lighting (use of LED to control pests and manipulate their behavior). More information about our research.
Low and inconsistent seed germination and seedling vigor are major bottlenecks in production of many specialty crops, including greenhouse ornamental and vegetable plugs (seedlings). Production practices promoting seed germination and seedling vigor are of particular importance to organic producers, who have higher disease and pest pressures and considerably fewer options available in terms of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Recent scientific studies show that cold plasma treatments can significantly increase seed germination percentage, elicit earlier germination and therefore reduced production costs, and significantly increase seedling vigor due to better growth and suppression of seed pathogens. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with four institutions in four US states [University of California Davis, University of Minnesota, University of Maryland, and Cornell University], plan to demonstrate and disseminate solutions to enhancement of seedling plug productions and of pest and dis-ease management through optimized cold plasma treatments of specialty crops seeds. Systems to perform cold plasma treatments of large samples of seeds are commercially available and cost-effective, so outcomes from this project can be readily adopted by specialty crop producers.
We are seeking highly qualified candidates within a rather broad spectrum of qualifications, but the following are considered essential requirements: 1) track-record of publications in internationally recognized and peer-reviewed research journals, 2) track-record of in-depth knowledge about experimental designs in research studies, 3) track-record of experience with statistical data analyses and basic programming in R or similar software packages, and 4) track-record of being involved in complex research and ability to solve practical and/or theoretical challenges.
Application and accompanying resume should be emailed to:
Associate Professor Christian Nansen University of California, Davis, USA chrnansen@ucdavis.edu
Research Engineer / Post-doctoral Researcher, Computational and Theoretical Modeling of Low-temperature Plasma Dynamics, Stanford University, USA
The Plasma Dynamics Modeling Laboratory (PDML) in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University is seeking a Research Engineer or a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. The position is focused on development of computational and theoretical models to understand the physics of low-temperature plasmas (such as plasma-material/surface int eraction, plasma chemistry, plasma instabilities, plasma turbulence, etc) in space propulsion, cross-field discharges, high-power microwave sources, and plasma processing systems.
The researcher must have a Ph.D. degree in Physics or Engineering, with a particular focus in plasma science, rarefied gas dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, or closely related fields. Expertise in developing kinetic (particle- and grid-based), fluid (drift-diffusion, moment, etc), or data-driven models, preferably with experience in high-performance computing, is strongly desired. Highly motivated and hardworking candidates with a strong background in computational plasma and fluid dynamics are encouraged to apply.
More information about the research group
The initial appointment period is 1 year with a reappointment for 2 or 3 years upon availability of funds and subject to performance.
Applicants are invited to send a resume/CV, including a list of publications, a brief statement of research interests, and contact information of three references to:
Prof. Ken Hara Stanford University, USA kenhara@stanford.edu
Plasma Scientist/ Engineer, Lam Research, Tualatin, Oregon, USA
Lam Research is seeking a plasma scientist/engineer to develop next-generation plasma reactors for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). The candidate will be responsible for conducting fundamental research and transferring scientific principles to industrial products.
- Conduct literature search and determine the direction of the next-generation plasma reactors and related technologies.
- Create conceptual designs, builds the prototypes, characterizes the fundamental reactor properties, and proves the design concept in a timely fashion.
- Lead other engineers to convert the prototype reactors into the industry-scale production tools.
- Attend conferences and tradeshows to maintain a close relationship with experts in academia to learn the state-of-the-art technology.
- Understand requirements, roadmaps, cost, and business challenges our customers are facing and reflects those into the plasma reactor development roadmap.
Minimum qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Physics or Engineering (Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical or related fields) with 1-3 years of related work; or Master’s degree in those fields with +6 years of relevant work experience.
- Educational background or work-related experiences in non-equilibrium low-temperature plasmas.
Preferred qualifications:
- Expertise in plasma source development, including but not limited to CCP, ICP, MW, and SW plasmas.
- Proficiency in plasma diagnostics and automated data collection and analysis.
- Problem-solving and trouble-shooting skills.
- Ability to work independently in a highly dynamic and fast-paced environment.
- Ability to effectively communicate with colleagues in cross-functional team environment.
Contact: Dr. Yuki Sakiyama Lam Research Corporation, USA yukinori.sakiyama@lamresearch.com
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Computational Low Temperature Plasmas, University of Michigan, USA
A post-doctoral research fellow (PDRF) position in computational low temperature plasmas (LTPs) is available in the research group of Prof. Mark J. Kushner at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA. The position entails development and application of computer models for low temperature plasmas, plasma chemistry and plasma surface interactions; and nano-scale modeling of surface evolution. The PDRF may work on several projects, examples being:
- Atmospheric pressure plasma transport, plasma chemistry and sources.
- Atmospheric pressure plasmas interacting with complex surfaces, liquids, biological materials, and electrochemical solutions.
- Low pressure plasma transport and chemistry in inductively coupled, microwave and capacitively cou-pled plasmas.
- Plasma surface interactions for materials process.
- Profile evolution for microelectronics fabrication.
The PDRF should have the following skill-sets:
- Expertise in the fundamental processes of LTPs, plasma chemistry and plasma surface interactions.
- Expertise in developing and maintaining parallel computer models for LTPs using high level languages.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Ability and desire to supervise graduate students; and interact with research colleagues in academia, national laboratories and industry.
More information about the research group
The initial appointment period is 1 year with reappointment for 2 or 3 years subject to performance and availability of funds. The position is available immediately and requires in-person presence in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (The position is not available remotely.)
Applicants should send a cover letter (including date applicant is available), CV, reprints of representative publications and contact information for 3 references to Prof. Kushner (mjkush@umich.edu).
Contact: Prof. Mark J. Kushner University of Michigan, USA mjkush@umich.edu
Collaborative Opportunities
Please submit your notices for collaborative opportunities to iltpc-central@umich.edu.
Disclaimer
The content of this Newsletter comes from the contributions of members of the ILTPC. The Newsletter editors are attempting to provide as inclusive a communication as possible. However, inclusion of items in the Newsletter should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the editors nor as advertisement for commercial purposes. The content of this newsletter should also not be interpreted as an endorsement by our sponsors – the US National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, or the University of Michigan. The Newsletter editors may do some light editing of the original submissions, to maintain a consistent tone and style.