Planning I/UCRC Drexel University: Center for High Pressure Plasma Energy, Agriculture, and Biomedical Technologies (PEAB)

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Low Temperature non-equilibrium Plasma (LTP) science provides a base technology on which many modern industries, such as microelectronics and materials fabrication, have been built. Plasmas are ionized gases which can be activated with electric fields which energize electrons. Through electron collisions with molecules, LTPs are able to efficiently generate chemically reactive gases, which in turn create new functionality through creating new compounds or adding/removing material from surfaces. Recent breakthroughs in plasma-generating electronics have made it possible to develop novel systems to widen the area of LTP applications at atmospheric and higher pressures (even in liquids) to utilize this chemical reactivity. This new ability has stimulated the interest of industries such as food processing, agriculture, fuel conversion medical, water treatment, and pharmaceutical industries to apply LTPs to improve the efficiency of processing or create new processes. The use of LTPs in these industries for advanced technologies is now restricted by limited scientific understanding of the fundamental underpinnings of the applications.Drexel University and the University of Michigan are planning to establish a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) that focuses on leveraging the chemical activation power of LTPs to new technologies. The academic researchers in the Center will investigate the fundamental scientific basis of LTPs as used in the energy, environmental remediation, water treatment, food safety and processing, and medical and bioengineering sectors. Through collaboration with industrial members of the Center, these fundamental principles will be translated into improving and creating new technologies to address the food-water-energy nexus and to improve human health. In addition to helping to enable industry to address critical societal needs, these improvements in technology will create economic opportunities.