Collaborative proposal:NSF I/UCRC Joining "Center for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing"

University Of Texas At Dallas, Richardson TX

Investigators

Abstract

Planning Grant for joining the I/UCRC for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing 1134835 University of Texas at Dallas; Matthew Goeckner 1134813 North Carolina State University; Steven Shannon The University of Texas at Dallas and North Carolina State University are seeking to join the existing Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing. The center currently consists of the University of Virginia (lead), with the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the Southern Methodist University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign as research partners. The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and North Carolina State University (NCSU) present a synergistic effort that combines plasma chemistry, plasma-surface interactions, and plasma source development to enhance the scientific understanding of these systems, formulate pathways for industrial application that are founded in basic scientific understanding, and demonstrate the capabilities of intelligently designed next generation plasma devices to enable high technology precision manufacturing in the United States. This scientific effort is complimented by the broad and substantial outreach efforts of the investigators and their institutions. This integrated effort will compliment the current activities of the existing I/UCRC and broaden the scope of the center to include a class of plasma systems poised to make substantial contributions to future manufacturing efforts. The addition of UTD and NCSU to the existing I/UCRC will fill a void in the capabilities of the U.S., providing a leadership role in the development of the fundamental science of low temperature plasmas. Related educational activities will include the traditional, and currently ongoing, outreach, educational, and scientific endeavors that engage students from high school to graduate level at both universities. Further, as both the Dallas and Raleigh-Durham areas have historically been regions in which low-temperature plasmas are widely used in industry, the consortium will be able to easily provide educational activities for working professions. These activities will be further enhanced by the presently established and successful outreach programs and distance education programs at both UTD and NCSU that will accelerate the accessibility of these programs to this broad industrial base.