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Workshop
Understanding the theory of particles in plasmas
On Monday, January 22nd, scientists meet at RUB for the yearly meeting "Plasma and Particle Theory Day" to discuss the theory of particles in plasmas. Understanding the collective behavior of ionized particles is in the focus of research. A particular challenge is to understand how physical collisions of particles and the interactions between ions and electromagnetic fields are included in the various equations to describe the systems. In astrophysics, often these equations are dominated by the interaction of particles with electromagnetic waves. This is the research focus of the Collaborative Research Center SFB1491, "Cosmic Interacting Matters - From Source to Signal", centered at RUB. The research department of Plasmas with Complex Interactions also hosts SFB1316, "Transient Atmospheric Plasmas: From Plasmas to Liquids to Solids". Here, non equilibrium processes in atmopsheric plasmas for species conversion are the topic of research. Compared to astrophysical plasmas, these atmopsheric plasmas are very dense and physical collisions dominate the equations. It is the goal of the Plasma and Particle Theory day to move toward exploring the region in which both terms play a significant role. This is for instance the case in molecular clouds in the Milky way, in which the degree of ionization is as low as ~30% and naturally, collisions become important in the description. Another example is the physics of lightning that can be tested in the plasma lab and for which a briding theory is needed to understand the physics of atmospheric lightning. Once the particle interactions become inelastic, i.e at high energies or at extreme densities like they exist in neutron stars, the classical description needs to be replaced by the quantum mechanical one. Scientists therefore discuss the different methods, how synergies can be build and what the next steps are to build a consistent framework to combine classical and quantum-mechanical interactions.
Figure: Lukas Merten, TP4, RUB
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Nuclear Fusion
Navigating New Frontiers in Fusion: ITER's Material Evolution
Boronization: A Three-Decade Journey Professor Jörg Winter's pioneering technique, "boronization," takes center stage as a key player in this evolution. Developed over three decades, this plasma-chemical process involves coating surfaces with a thin boron layer. Professor Winter's recent insights shared at ITER shed light on the principles and challenges of this technique, adding depth to the ongoing fusion discourse.
Discover more about this Fusion Evolution: Link to the full article
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Conference
Radio2023 Conference: Advancements and Challenges in German Radio Astronomy
The "Radio2023" conference recently convened at Ruhr University Bochum, offering insights into the progress and challenges within German radio astronomy. One hundred astronomers attended the event which facilitated collaborative discussions focusing on exciting new scientific results as well as innovative strategies for managing complex data sets from telescopes like LOFAR, MeerKAT, SKAO, DSA2000, and ngVLA.
Highlighting the importance of existing telescopes, including LOFAR and MeerKAT, as foundation to future instruments, the conference emphasized the need for novel approaches for data processing and storage.
The conference served as a crucial platform for operators of national data centers to discuss technical requirements and assess the feasibility of upcoming projects.
In summary, "Radio2023" provided a forum for fruitfully discussing current achievements, future opportunities, and challenges within German radio astronomy, ensuring a collaborative and informed approach to advancing the field.
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Conference
Judith Golda joins AVS 69th International Symposium
Judith Golda, representing CRC 1316, captivated audiences at the AVS 69th International Symposium in Portland, Oregon, from November 5-10, 2023. Her invited talk, "Fundamentals of atmospheric pressure discharges for plasma catalytic applications," highlighted the critical role of atmospheric pressure discharges in plasma catalysis. Her presentation presented theory and application, emphasizing the transformative potential of understanding these discharges for catalytic processes in industries, environmental remediation, and energy production.
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Outreach
Plasma Physics for high school students
The project week for high school students is an educational program of the CRC 1316, the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy at the RUB and of zdi (Zukunft durch Innovation; Future through innovation). Which takes place twice a year.
From April 3-6 , the project week was hosted for 60 female students in grades 8 to 10. The girls chose be- between four workshops: plasma physics, astronomy, physics in medicine and sustainable house design. The project “From Plasma to Gold Layers” allows the students to gain an insight into the generation and applications of plasmas. Using the sputter coater and professional laboratory equipment, the students could deposit and examine gold layers themselves. During the project week, the students attended a lecture by Prof. Dr Judith Golda on “hands-on plas- mas – between material science and medicine“, and visited laboratories and the Planetarium Bochum. On the closing day, the results of the students’ research were presented in a poster session, followed by a quiz and lunch. The next project week in Autumn for female and male students in grades 8 and 9 will take place from October 9-13 .
The Faculty of Physics enables students to complete a school internship in Physics. From March 27-31, we welcomed two interns from grade 9. After a short introduction to plasma physics, the students worked on the sputter coater. They examined the coated samples. For this purpose, they determined the transmission with a spectrometer, the layer thickness with the profilometer and the conductivity. The interns also gained experience in handling data and in data evaluation. The goal of the internship is also to give an impression of laboratory work and current research. Therefore, doctoral students, bachelor’s and master’s students guided the interns through the labs and presented their experiments. The interns also visited the NRW state competition “Jugend forscht”, which took place at the Ruhr University Bochum March 27-29 .
The “mobile plasma workshop” took place for the first time on June 5, and visited an 11th-grade physics class in Essen. In the beginning, the students watched a short movie and received basic knowledge about plasmas and their applications. After a short quiz, they worked on the experiments in smaller groups. The students examined the light emitted by plasmas with an optical spectrometer and observed how electric and magnetic fields can influence plasmas. Information on the experiments on the students' tablets guided the workshop. The workshop was a success, and the students showed great interest. Through the students’ feedback, we have gained insights on how to improve our workshop going forward. 
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DAAD Exchange
Scientific results of DAAD exchange presented at ISPC 25
Prof. Judith Golda from RUB and Prof. Claire Douat from GREMI in Orléans have arranged several exchange visits between the groups with measurement cam- paigns in the respective laboratories within the frame- work of a DAAD exchange program (part of a PROCOPE project) and have already partially carried them out. The focus of the exchange is on the investigation of the role of CO in the treatment of biological substrates.
At the end of April, the French delegation consisting of Prof. Claire Douat, Eloise Mestre and Dr. Inna Orel was again in Bochum to measure rotational temperatures on the kHz-jet from Orléans. Here, with the support of Dr. Laura Chauvet as well as Daniel Henze in the labora- tory of Prof. Judith Golda, experimental results could again be obtained. In the end, several successful meas- urement campaigns were carried out over the last few visits. Therefore, the revisit was used to lay the foundation for a cooperative publication of the two groups, which will be submitted soon. Finally, Eloïse Mestre presented their results at the ISPC 25 conference in Kyoto, Japan.
Dr. Laura Chauvet, Daniel Henze, Prof. Dr. Judith Golda (all from RUB), Prof. Dr. Claire Douat, Eloïse Mestre, Dr. Inna Orel (all from GREMI); from left to right
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Conference
ISPC25 with prize winner for best oral presentation from plasma physics
The biennial international symposium on plasma chemistry was held in Kyoto, Japan, at the end of May. A large delegation of Bochum plasma physicists and plasma engineers attended the conference.
The conference covered most aspects of plasma from different fields: plasma medicine, plasma-based gas conversion, plasma in liquid, plasma process and material engineering, plasma spectroscopy and diagnostics, etc. The symposium provided a great opportunity to make new contacts and maintain relationships. The poster session was also very informative and provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest developments in plasma chemistry.
Overall, the 25th Symposium on Plasma Chemistry in Kyoto was a great success.
Congratulations to Simon Kreuznacht (EP2, RUB) for winning an award at the ISPC25 in Kyoto for his oral presentation on “Space resolved temperature measurements in an argon methane microwave plasma used for hydrogen production”. The Oral Presentation Awards are assigned to the best oral presentations provided by students.
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Workshop
2nd Workshop on FAIR data in Plasma Science
We are happy to announce the second workshop on research data management in Plasma Science. NP, CAU and RUB are now organizing the 2nd Workshop on FAIR Data in Plasma Science, which will take place from May 3-4, 2023 at the Event Center at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, see also https://www.plasma-mds.org/ws-fair-data-plasma-science-2.html.
The workshop is aimed at researchers at different stages for exchange on the topic of data management. Topics of the workshop are electronic lab journals, practical questions in the daily handling of research data management systems as well as the presentation of already established solutions. In addition, an interactive part is planned, which will deal with the question of how to get standards into the laboratory. Here, all participants are invited to contribute their ideas and your practical expertise.
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Company Visit
Visit of the company Plasmatreat
The lecture "Introduction to plasma physics II" and Bachelor, Master and PhD students of the chair EP2 and the group Plasma Interface Physics visited the company Plasmatreat in Steinhagen near Bielefeld. The company excels in the production of atmospheric pressure plasma jets for polymer functionalization.
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Science Year 2023
Kick-off event of the Science Year 2023
On Saturday, 11.02.2023, the kick-off event of the Science Year 2023 "Our Universe" took place. The SFB 1316 was represented with a booth at the Zeiss Planetarium Bochum.
Besides live experiments, there was a varied program with a plasma quiz, coloring pictures and slide show. As live experiments, the plasma sphere and plasma mass were presented as hands-on experiments, and the plasma speaker and COST jet were shown for demonstration. Here, the new portable COST-Jet could be used for the first time outside the university. Thanks to its construction on a plate with gas supply, generator and holders for optical fibre and spectrometer, another experiment and authentic diagnostics from the laboratory can now be shown at events.
A big thank you to the many helping hands and all interested people who visited us!
- Further information on the Science Year can be found here.
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Awards
Martin Muhler receives Alwin Mittasch Award 2023
Prof. Dr. Martin Muhler was awarded the Alwin Mittasch Prize 2023 for his "fundamental contributions to the cross-scale understanding of the mode of action of cat- alyst materials in chemical reactions for future-oriented technologies".
This award is given to researchers for outstanding achievements in the field of catalyst research by the German Society for Catalysis. The award was handed over in Weimar on March 16, 2023.
Prof. Dr. Martin Muhler holds the Chair of Technical Chemistry at Ruhr-Universität and is vice spokesperson of CRC 1316, PI in project A7 "Plasma catalysis for con- version of volatile organic compounds (VOC)", as well as a member of the MGK.
