Future Technologies & enabling Plasma Processes (FTPP), a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant program led by 哔哩传媒 (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, has been awarded Program of the Year as part of the 2024 256Today Innovator Awards 鈥� Recognizing Excellence in the Support and Protection of our Nation. FTPP explores developing new Alabama industries based on plasma science and engineering.
鈥淚 am greatly honored that our program has been recognized in this way,鈥� says Dr. Gary Zank, FTPP鈥檚 principal investigator and director of the UAH Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR).
鈥淔TPP is a major research program focused on basic research in plasma physics and also the technological applications that that research enables,鈥� says Dr. Zank. 鈥淚n addition, we have a significant outreach and diversity effort that expands and builds the infrastructure for plasma physics throughout Alabama.鈥�
The Innovator Awards are a North Alabama event presented by CFD Research Corp. and dedicated to honoring those who support and protect the United States of America. The organization celebrates the diverse individuals who contribute to the safety and security of the country through their work in space and defense. The awards recognize invaluable contributions and inspire a new generation of innovators and defenders for the future.
The awards were presented on Oct. 11 by 256Today, a North Alabama news website that features the latest news on business, government, workforce and culture in North Alabama.
(L-R) UAH President Chuck Karr, and Dr. Gary Zank.
Courtesy Laura Provenzani
FTPP is an Alabama coalition of nine universities and a research corporation that is supported by a $20 million NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant, the second such plasma grant earned by the coalition. The money funds the research, technological development and commercialization of products using the highly energized gases known as plasmas. As a state of matter, plasma makes up more than 90% of the observable universe and underpins several high-tech manufacturing industries.
FTPP aims to transition plasma research into agricultural, manufacturing, space science, space weather prediction and other applications, establishing Alabama as a Southeastern regional hub for plasma science expertise and creating thousands of new, high-paying technical careers in the state and region.
鈥淭his program not only contributes to building a substantial and critical mass effort that is creating a national and international reputation for Alabama in the field of plasma physics generally, but it has also placed our state in a position where we can build new and innovative plasma physics and related technology programs that were not possible even five years ago,鈥� Zank notes. 鈥淪o, the award recognizes all of these elements and overall general excellence.鈥�
Besides UAH, members of the FTPP coalition are the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, the University of South Alabama, Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Oakwood University and CFD Research Corp.
