Bochumer Plasmaforscher auf der ICOPS
Professor Ralf Peter Brinkmann, Katharina Stapelmann und Benjamin Denis besuchten vom 20. bis 24. Juni 2010 die 37th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) in Norfolk, Virginia (USA). Auf der Konferenz konnten sie sich über verschiedene aktuelle Themen der Plasmasterilisation informieren sowie ihre Forschungsarbeiten zu diesem Thema anderen Forschern auf dem Gebiet durch einen Vortrag und ein Poster präsentieren. Die Konferenz war auf dem Gebiet der Plasmamedizin hochkarätig besetzt. Somit konnte der Forschungsstandort Bochum sowie das Research Department Plasmas with Complex Interactions und dessen Arbeit auf dem Gebiet der Plasmasterilisation international bekannter gemacht und vertreten werden. Zudem konnte die Kooperation mit der Gruppe von Mark Kushner (University of Michigan, USA) intensiviert werden. Der erste Besuch bei ihm konnte Anfang des Jahres dank des RD Plasma erfolgen. Zum einen konnten die Vorträge zu verschiedenen Themen der Plasmasimulation verfolgt werden, zum anderen durch verschiedene Gespräche mit einzelnen Forschern der Gruppe zukünftige Kooperationen besprochen werden.
37th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS)
Bochumer Plasmaphysiker auf der EPS 2010
Several scientists of the Research Department "Plasmas with Complex Interaction" participated - partly in prominent positions - in the EPS Conference Plasma Physics in Dublin from June 21 - 24, 2010. The conference was attended by a total of about 500 participants, of which about a quarter contributed papers (about 25 talks and 120 posters) in the field of low temperature plasma physics. The other major areas covered by this meeting are fusion - both magnetic and inertial fusion - and the fundamentals of plasma physics, but in which astrophysical issues are also covered.
Prof. Uwe. Czarnetzki from the Institute of Experimental Physics V of the RUB was awarded the "Innovation Prize" of the EPS there and was able to present the underlying ideas of the "electrical asymmetry effect" in a plenary lecture. Prof. Padma Shukla with the topic "Quantum Plasmas" and Prof. Achim von Keudell were invited for further plenary lectures. The latter presented the state of research in the Research Department Plasma of the RUB in the field of "Physics of Microplasmas". Further participants were Prof. Jörg Winter, Prof. Henning Soltwisch, Dr. Volker Schulz-von der Gathen and Brankica Sikimic.
The technical breadth of the conference allowed new impulses to be taken up from previously unconsidered perspectives. In the field of low-temperature plasmas, the dusty or complex plasmas and the microplasmas were represented as focal points, but these were complemented by the magnetron and helicon discharges, which were also investigated in the Research Department. Another lecture presented current results of research within the Physics Department and the research group FOR1123 "Physics of Microplasmas" on the dependence of the concentrations of atomic oxygen and ozone on the flow rate through a microjet. This contribution fitted extremely well with the central theme of surface treatment with 'microjets'. Here, several presentations showed that ignorance of the species present in microjets leads to ambiguous results and evaluations in surface treatment. This is of particular relevance as one of the main applications of microplasmas is seen in the field of biomedicine. Another application area for atmospheric pressure microdischarges seems to be possible modifications of fluxes over surfaces, e.g. airfoils. This could lead to the improvement of flight characteristics, but also a reduction of engine noise.
Numerous discussions, especially at the posters, gave new impulses for our further approach both to the microplasma issue, which is currently central for us, and to new possible diagnostic methods that could be used within the Research Department Plasma.
Belgrade
26.06.2010 - Joint DAAD Project Bochum - Belgrade
After the ESCAMPIG conference Dr. Stefanović spent a week at the Institute of Physics in Belgrade. During his stay in Laboratory for Gaseous Electronics (Head Dr. Z. Lj. Petrović) he discussed the results and furture activities in the joint project of Research Unit FOR 1123 «Physics of Microplasmas» and Gaseous Electronic Laboratory, Belgrade, with the title: «Spatial Structure of Non-Equilibrium Microdischarges». The main purpose of this project finaced by DAAD is to strenghten the exchange of young scientist between two instututes who are working in the field of microplasmas. The next visit is organized for September 2010 when graduate student Thomas Kuschel from FOR 1123, Project A4, shall spent two weeks in Belgrade working on the experiment with his collegue from Belgrade Nikola Škoro.
Dr. Ilija Stefanović's Visit to 20th ESCAMPIG
Dr. Ilija Stefanović from Research Department «Plasmas with Complex Interactions» has taken a part on 20th European Conference on the Atomic and Molecular Physics of Ionized Gases (ESCAMPIG XX), which was organized by the Institute of Physics, Belgrade, Serbia. The conference took place in Novi Sad, Serbia, on July 13 - 17, 2010.
Dr. Stefanović presented four posters with the results of activities in Research Department. Two different topics were in focus: dusty plasma afterglows (in collaboration with Prof. Nader Sadeghi from University Grenoble, France, Prof. Igor Denysenko from Harkov National University, Ukraine and Prof. Jürgen Röpcke from INP Greifswald) and microplasmas (in collaboration with Dr. Zoran Lj. Petrović and his group from Institute of Physics, Belgrade, Serbia). The ESCAMPIG conference is one of the most important European conferences of low-temperature plasma physics, which make it important forum for discussion with other colleagues from the same research field. Beside the presentation of the results of our Research Department, the intensive discussion on trends in low-temperature plasma physics took place as well as planning the future join activities. (Contributions to 20th ESCAMPIG could be found on http://www.escampig2010.ipb.ac.rs.)