Kurt H. Becker

Last updated
Kurt H. Becker
Education Universitaet des Saarland
Occupation(s)University Administrator, Physicist
Organization New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering

Kurt H. Becker is a physicist and entrepreneur. [1] His research focuses on experimental atomic, chemical, and plasma physics. [2] He is vice dean of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship at New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering. [3] [4] [5] Becker holds seven patents regarding the generation and maintenance of atmospheric-pressure plasmas and their application. [6]

Contents

Career

In 1984, Becker began working at Lehigh University. He was head of the physics and engineering physics department, as well as associate director of the center for environmental systems at Stevens Institute of Technology. In 2001, he received the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. [7] Becker joined New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in March 2007 when he was appointed associate provost for research and technology initiatives and dean of sciences and arts. [4] Becker oversees the NYU Incubator programs which support startup companies, including ACRE, the NYC clean-tech incubator, and NYU's first incubator at Varick St. in lower Manhattan. [8] [9] [10] [11]

In July 2009, Becker was appointed the third editor-in-chief of The European Physical Journal D: Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics to work with Franco Gianturco and Claude Fabre. His focus at the journal was low-temperature plasma physics. [2] Becker is a consultant for Ionicon Analytik, a gas analysis instrument company in Austria. [3] He is also a fellow of the American Physical Society and the National Academy of Inventors. [2] [12] Becker has also received the SASP Erwin Scroedinger Medal of the University of Innsbruck. [12]

Research

Becker focuses on the experimental and theoretical study of electron-driven processes in plasmas. Becker was part of a group of scientists leading the research on the determination of ionization cross sections of atoms and molecules. Their research worked toward the understanding of the charge carrier formation in plasmas. [13] [14] [15] Becker also researches the properties of basic atmospheric-pressure microplasmas and their use in environmental, biological, and biomedical applications. [16] [17] His research showed that unstable plasmas, which can be guided with a vacuum, become more stable when confined to less than 1mm, allowing for the manipulation of chemicals within. [18] [19] This research resulted in 7 patents and formed the basis of 2 startup companies, PlasmaSol and Plasmion. PlasmaSol was sold to Stryker Instruments for $18,000,000 in 2005.

Selected bibliography

Related Research Articles

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The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol
n
 or
n0
, which has a neutral charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behave similarly within the nucleus, they are both referred to as nucleons. Nucleons have a mass of approximately one atomic mass unit, or dalton, symbol Da. Their properties and interactions are described by nuclear physics. Protons and neutrons are not elementary particles; each is composed of three quarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fusor</span> An apparatus to create nuclear fusion

A fusor is a device that uses an electric field to heat ions to a temperature in which they undergo nuclear fusion. The machine induces a potential difference between two metal cages, inside a vacuum. Positive ions fall down this voltage drop, building up speed. If they collide in the center, they can fuse. This is one kind of an inertial electrostatic confinement device – a branch of fusion research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neutron source</span> Device that emits neutrons

A neutron source is any device that emits neutrons, irrespective of the mechanism used to produce the neutrons. Neutron sources are used in physics, engineering, medicine, nuclear weapons, petroleum exploration, biology, chemistry, and nuclear power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inertial electrostatic confinement</span> Fusion power research concept

Inertial electrostatic confinement, or IEC, is a class of fusion power devices that use electric fields to confine the plasma rather than the more common approach using magnetic fields found in magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) designs. Most IEC devices directly accelerate their fuel to fusion conditions, thereby avoiding energy losses seen during the longer heating stages of MCF devices. In theory, this makes them more suitable for using alternative aneutronic fusion fuels, which offer a number of major practical benefits and makes IEC devices one of the more widely studied approaches to fusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York University Tandon School of Engineering</span> University in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

The New York University Tandon School of Engineering is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United States.

Plasma stealth is a proposed process to use ionized gas (plasma) to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of an aircraft. Interactions between electromagnetic radiation and ionized gas have been extensively studied for many purposes, including concealing aircraft from radar as stealth technology. Various methods might plausibly be able to form a layer or cloud of plasma around a vehicle to deflect or absorb radar, from simpler electrostatic or radio frequency discharges to more complex laser discharges. It is theoretically possible to reduce RCS in this way, but it may be very difficult to do so in practice. Some Russian missiles e.g. the 3M22 Zircon (SS-N-33) and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles have been reported to make use of plasma stealth.

An atmospheric pressure discharge is an electrical discharge in air or another gas at atmospheric pressure.

An X-ray laser can be created by several methods either in hot, dense plasmas or as a free-electron laser in an accelerator. This article describes the x-ray lasers in plasmas, only.

A microplasma is a plasma of small dimensions, ranging from tens to thousands of micrometers. Microplasmas can be generated at a variety of temperatures and pressures, existing as either thermal or non-thermal plasmas. Non-thermal microplasmas that can maintain their state at standard temperatures and pressures are readily available and accessible to scientists as they can be easily sustained and manipulated under standard conditions. Therefore, they can be employed for commercial, industrial, and medical applications, giving rise to the evolving field of microplasmas.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plasma (physics)</span> State of matter

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Michał Gryziński was a Polish nuclear physicist specialized in plasma physics. In 1965 he developed some widely used empirical models to reproduce some of the results of electron scattering experiments.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coherent microwave scattering</span> Technique used for the characterization of small plasma objects.

Coherent microwave scattering is a diagnostic technique used in the characterization of classical microplasmas. In this technique, the plasma to be studied is irradiated with a long-wavelength microwave field relative to the characteristic spatial dimensions of the plasma. For plasmas with sufficiently low skin-depths, the target is periodically polarized in a uniform fashion, and the scattered field can be measured and analyzed. In this case, the emitted radiation resembles that of a short-dipole predominantly determined by electron contributions rather than ions. The scattering is correspondingly referred to as constructive elastic. Various properties can be derived from the measured radiation such as total electron numbers, electron number densities, local magnetic fields through magnetically-induced depolarization, and electron collision frequencies for momentum transfer through the scattered phase. Notable advantages of the technique include a high sensitivity, ease of calibration using a dielectric scattering sample, good temporal resolution, low shot noise, non-intrusive probing, species-selectivity when coupled with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI), single-shot acquisition, and the capability of time-gating due to continuous scanning.

Leanne Carolyn Pitchford is a retired physicist known for her work on the numerical modeling of low-temperature plasma, and in the LXCat project for open exchange of low-temperature plasma data. Educated in the US, she worked in France as a director of research for the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), affiliated with the Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d’Energie (Laplace) at the University of Toulouse.

Shneider-Miles scattering is the quasi-elastic scattering of electromagnetic radiation by charged particles in a small-scale medium with frequent particle collisions. Collisional scattering typically occurs in coherent microwave scattering of high neutral density, low ionization degree microplasmas such as atmospheric pressure laser-induced plasmas. Shneider-Miles scattering is characterized by a 90° phase shift between the incident and scattered waves and a scattering cross section proportional to the square of the incident driving frequency. Scattered waves are emitted in a short dipole radiation pattern. The variable phase shift present in semi-collisional scattering regimes allows for determination of a plasma's collisional frequency through coherent microwave scattering.

References

  1. ↑ Matthew Flamm (April 28, 2015). "Image-recognition startup becomes 50th to graduate from NYU Poly". Crain’s New York. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Kurt Becker to lead the plasma physics sections of EPJ D". EPJ. July 10, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Larry Greenemeier (November 2, 2010). "Exposing the Weakest Link: As Airline Passenger Security Tightens, Bombers Target Cargo Holds". Scientific American. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Kurt Becker Receives Honorary Degree From the University of Innsbruck, Austria". NYU Tandon School of Engineering. March 19, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. ↑ Sage Lazzaro (June 12, 2015). "Entrepreneurial Veterans Turn Their Back Burner Ideas Into Realities With NYU Program". Observer. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Advanced Energy Conference Solutions to a Global Crisis". Advanced Energy Research & Technology Center. 2015-06-12. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Kurt H. Becker". NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sowing the Seeds for Collaborative Research". Cable. 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ Daniel Geiger (June 26, 2015). "New NYU Polytechnic incubator planned at former Brooklyn industrial complex". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Incubators". NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Faculty Engineers in Residence". NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Kurt H. Becker Named A Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors". NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. December 9, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ Hans Deutsch; Kurt Becker (2015). "Calculated electron ionization cross sections of the alkali atoms and the hydrogen spin ionization asymmetry". The European Physical Journal D. 69. doi:10.1140/epjd/e2014-50688-x.
  14. ↑ H. Deutsch; Kurt Becker; Sonia Purin; Tilmann D Mark (2000). "Theoretical determination of absolute electron-impact ionization cross sections of molecules". International Journal of Mass Spectrometry. 197 (1–3): 37–69. doi:10.1016/S1387-3806(99)00257-2 . Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Electron impact ionization cross sections of beryllium and beryllium hydrides" (PDF). The European Physical Journal D. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Kurt Becker". German Accelerator. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "2014 3rd Annual Congerence" (PDF). National Academy of Inventors. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Kurt Becker". Northside Festival. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Giving Physics a Good Name". Seton Hall Magazine. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
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