A Review of Diverse Academic Research in Nanosecond Pulsed Power and Plasma Science

This article was invited in order to summarize for the special edition of a Plenary Review presentation at the IEEE ICOPS/PPC meeting, June 23 2019 by M. Gundersen. It is a review of research conducted into primarily academic environments in nanosecond pulsed power, applications of the pulsed power research to bioelectrics, and combustion and ignition over a period of 45 years. Research was conducted primarily at the University of Southern California (USC), at Texas Tech University (TTU), and through collaborations with other laboratories and personnel. Pulsed power, applied on a nanosecond time scale, was found to enable a range of new applications; several examples are detailed below. The range of applications for research based in short-pulse, or nanosecond pulsed power, and applied plasma science, strongly encourage defining and supporting the extension of programmatic research goals to beyond the academic laboratories and into the commercial environment.