John Foster wins Ronald C. Davidson Award

Professor John Foster of U-M Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS) has been given the 2020 Ronald C. Davidson Award for Plasma Physics. 

AIP Publishing, in collaboration with the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics, presents the award annually in recognition of outstanding plasma physics research by a Physics of Plasmas author. Foster’s paper, “Plasma-based water purification: Challenges and prospects for the future,” was the journal’s most highly cited paper over the past five years.

The paper covers the need for new, advanced methods of water treatment and presents the promise of plasma-based methods supporting water reuse and the general removal of contaminants of emerging concern. It shares how plasmas interact with water, how purification occurs as well as current modeling and experimental work and the technical hurdles that remain.

“While the interaction of plasma with liquid water poses a range of yet unresolved science questions, it is this very interaction that is key to unlocking the potential of bringing to bear the power of plasmas for the removal of contaminants in water,” Foster said. “My group and colleagues researching this subject around the world remain committed to the pursuit of plasma-based solutions to a host of environmental problems. I express thanks for this award on behalf of myself and the many researchers around the world operating in this field.”