Low Temperature Plasmas in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Quo Vadis?

Plasmas are central to a wide range of aerospace technologies. Among the most prominent applications are plasma accelerators for space propulsion—a field in which Princeton has been a pioneer—that have achieved over four decades of commercial success. More recently, new opportunities have emerged in areas such as combustion and flow control. In this talk, I will highlight some of my own research in these fields and examine potential future directions, particularly those involving complex interactions with electromagnetic waves. Future space propulsion will most certainly exploit electromagnetic plasma heating. Specifically, I will present findings from our investigations into the interactions between electromagnetic waves and plasma arrays, plasma metamaterials, and magnetized plasma structures, as well as some phenomenon that may be relevant to future plasma thrusters.