ENGINEERING PROFESSORS FEATURED IN BUSINESS WEEK ARTICLE ON COLD PLASMA

Karl Schoenbach, eminent scholar and professor of electrical engineering, and Mounir Laroussi, electrical engineering research professor, were quoted in a Business Week article that examines the possible uses of cold plasma.

In "Hot Prospects for Cold Plasma," both Schoenbach and Laroussi are named as experts in cold plasma, ionized, or electrically charged, gas which has come to be known as the "fourth state of matter," along with solid, liquid and gas. Arc welding, fluorescent lighting, the Northern Lights and the sun are all instances of plasma.

In the article, Schoenbach predicts that new biological uses of cold plasma could be tried out by some of the food or medical industry giants within a year. For instance, cold plasma could be used to sterilize fragile, plastic medical instruments that are destroyed by heat sterilization, ensure that foods are free of dangerous Salmonella bacteria, and create food packaging that resists microbe growth.

Laroussi, who received the prestigious 2nd Millennium Graduate Of the Last Decade (GOLD) Medal by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society for his research in plasma, is quoted as saying, "It may be cold plasma, but it's really a hot field."

View the article on the Web at http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2001/nf2001018_024.htm