Article from College of Engineering 

Steven Shannon, professor and interim department head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at NC State University’s College of Engineering, won the Plasma Prize from the American Vacuum Society’s (AVS) Plasma Science and Technology Division.

The Plasma Prize, founded in 1999,  is the highest recognition bestowed by the AVS’ Plasma Science division. It recognizes those with sustained scientific contributions to plasma sciences and technology, with a significant emphasis on plasmas used in the semiconductor industry.

“Awards and recognition from your peers is always special,” Shannon said. “The culmination of decades of work recognized by your community is amazing. Even more than that, it is humbling.”

Plasma, commonly referred to as the fourth state of matter because of its properties distinct from solids, liquids and gases, can be used to generate chemical environments for materials processing and is vital to multiple semiconductor manufacturing processes. Today, plasma systems for industrial applications are a multi-billion dollar industry.

Shannon specializes in the industrial applications of plasma discharges, specifically in enhancing current plasma applications and developing new plasma applications for next-generation material and device fabrication. He has won multiple grants for this research since joining NC State in 2008.

His research group, the Fourth State Applications Research Laboratory, studies the controlled formation of plasma using electromagnetic energy as well as plasma as a contributor to advanced manufacturing in everything from medicine to agriculture.

“What makes this award so special for me is looking down the list of people who have received this recognition in the past – friends, mentors, collaborators, every single one of them aspirational to me on my own journey,” Shannon said. “Words cannot describe how humbled I am to join them as a Plasma Prize awardee. Thank you to the awards committee and nominators for this recognition.”