Plasma
Plasma research includes a small Tokomak used for wave propagation studies, applications of plasma technology to pulsed power devices, plasma synthesis of thin films, high power microwave generation, and electric space propulsion engines.
NASA-Jet Propulsion Lab Sponsored Summer Internship
Jet Propulsion Lab is sponsoring one 10-week summer internship in 2023 on-site in Pasadena, California. A typical starting month is June but it is flexible a few weeks before or after. The technical area of the internship covers high-power RF electronics, plasma physics, and free-space optical communications. Interested candidates may contact Prof. Jacob Stephens for more information.
Contact: Jacob.C.Stephens@ttu.edu
IPMHVC and EIC Conference
P3E Students attended the IPMHVC and EIC Conference in person to present their sponsored research. A total of about 20 abstracts were submitted to the conference.
Student AbstractsDr. Magne “Kris” Kristiansen Scholarship
The P3E Center has established the “Dr. Magne 'Kris' Kristiansen Memorial Scholarship Fund” for students that are interested in pursuing a career in Pulsed Power Science and Technology.
More InformationAny P3E Center graduate student who publishes a peer-reviewed journal paper in based on his/her research in the Center for Pulsed Power & Power Electronics may apply for the Dr. Magne “Kris” Kristiansen scholarship. The scholarship was established to honor the late founder of the P3E center, which was established in 1966 as plasma research group, and is geared towards students interested in pursuing a Pulsed Power Science and Technology career.
- Be the first author
- Have at least one more semester left before completion of a degree
- Include in the application a letter covering the following details:
- Journal publication detail:
- full citation plus when accepted, when published
- A statement specifying the author's / co-authors' specific contribution to the manuscript (professors excluded)
- UG GPA and Graduate GPA
- Expected degree and graduation date
- Future career plan
- Journal publication detail:
Requirements:
Submit applications to Dr. A. Neuber
Los Alamos National Laboratory sponsored Scholarship
The PPST program is designed to improve achievement and expedite student progress through the rigorous curriculum in electrical and computer engineering. Recipients will become part of a mentoring program that will provide direction and support as well as guided project work in the laboratory.
Scholarship candidates will be chosen based on a multi-faceted review system that will include: scholastic achievement, interest in pulsed power and high voltage devices, and recommendations. Finalists will be interviewed by electrical and computer engineering faculty. Awardees are expected to provide written, brief bi-monthly reports on the status of their academic and project efforts. Recipients will be expected to take pulsed power related electives, apply for national security related internships, and remain in good standing throughout the award.
More InformationAndreas Neuber Awarded the 2021 IEEE Peter Haas Award
Horn Prof. Andreas Neuber has received the international 2021 Peter Haas Award sponsored by IEEE NPSS. “For his dedication to educating and empowering the next generation of pulsed power engineers through his own renowned research program and his leadership of the Texas Tech University's (TTU's) Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics.”
Zachary Shaw Awarded the Robert J Barker Graduate Student Award
Zachary Shaw received his Bachelor's (2015) and Master's (2017) degrees from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, and graduated in 2021 with his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the same institution. Mr. Shaw has conducted research at The Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics since 2015 under Dr. Andreas Neuber on pulsed power and high-power microwave topics.
Current research interests include microwaveplasma interaction, the multipactor effect, physical layer encryption via pulsed antenna arrays, and the effects of internal fields within structures experiencing lightning attachment. His most recent body of work centers on multipactor formation within rectangular waveguide structures at S and X-Band frequencies; an AFOSR sponsored MURI program administered through Michigan State University. The multipactoring electrons were directly detected with high temporal resolution via a custom-designed Electron Multiplier Tube (EMT) setup. It was found that the field distribution within the waveguide structures in the dominant TE10 mode allows for multipactor to occur even at high input powers (upwards of 4 MW with a 5.5 mm test gap). As the power increases, multipactor conducive regions are pushed towards the sidewalls of the waveguide structure such that the second crossover point of secondary electron emission from the waveguide walls becomes essentially meaningless in practical applications. Mr. Shaw currently has his sights set on moving into linear induction accelerator technology as he transition into the professional world and holds this award as a high point in his early career.
About the P3E Center
The Center for
Pulsed Power and Power Electronics (P3E)has three primary research areas:
Pulsed Power
Pulsed power research concentrates on high power switching, materials studies, and high power microwaves. The program is heavily interdisciplinary and involves faculty members from EE, ME, Physics and Chemistry.
Power Electronics
Power electronics research is focused on very large power IGBT's, Ultra High Power SCR's, advanced electrical and thermal packaging, robust controls for plasma arcs, and high bandwidth monitoring and control of electric machines. The program is also in the development of a power electronics curriculum at the national level in collaboration with the University of Minnesota.
Faculty Books
Modeling and Electrothermal Simulation of SiC Power Devices
Using Silvaco© ATLAS TCAD
Bejoy N Pushpakaran and Stephen B Bayne (Authors)
2019, 464 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-981-3237-82-7
Ultrashort Electric Pulse Effects in Biology and Medicine
Series: BioEngineering
Stephen J. Beebe, Ravi Joshi, Karl H. Schoenbach, Shu Xiao (Authors)
2021, 461 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-9811051128
Explosively Driven Pulsed Power
Helical Magnetic Flux Compression Generators
Series: Power Systems
Neuber, Andreas A. (Ed.)
2005, XII, 280 p. 203 illus., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3540260516
J.C. Martin on Pulsed Power
Series: Advances in Pulsed Power Technology, Vol. 3
Martin, T.H.; Guenther, A.H.; Kristiansen, M. (Eds.)
1996, 535 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0306453029
Gas Discharge Closing Switches
Series: Advances in Pulsed Power Technology, Vol. 2
Schaefer, Gerhard; Kristiansen, M.; Guenther, A.H. (Eds.)
1991, 600 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0306436192
P3E Center Brochure
Dr Frank Hegeler Awarded the IEEE Magne “Kris” Kristiansen Award
Dr. Frank Hegeler, a P3E Center Alumnus, received the IEEE sponsored Magne “Kris” Kristiansen Award. He works at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in Washington, DC, where he serves as Head of the Pulsed Energy Technology Section in the Plasma Physics Division. He received a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Fachhochschule Wilhelmshaven, Germany, in 1989, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University in 1991 and 1995, respectively. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan, from 1995-1997, and a Postdoctoral Researcher and then a Research Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, from 1997-2000, before joining NRL in 2000. His areas of expertise are in repetitive pulsed-power systems, electromagnetic launchers, excimer lasers, electron beam generation and propagation, high-power microwave sources, plasma diagnostics, nonthermal atmospheric-pressure plasma reactors, and high voltage dielectric breakdown. He has authored or coauthored more than 100 publications.