Building Preeminent Teams is a research-centric approach to faculty hiring that asks: How would you put your research expertise and leadership skills to use to form a team (approximately 4-8 current + new faculty) to catapult your research area, or an emerging research area of potential, to international preeminence? What existing faculty expertise and infrastructure exist at Purdue and what is still needed to maximize our potential for success in this area? These investment areas are being developed through a public process akin to that where entrepreneurs pitch a proposal to venture capitalists, and is part of the College's ongoing theme of bringing characteristics of the entrepreneurial world to the research world.

The preeminent team process is part of the college's strategic growth plan that will add as many of 107 faculty over five years. In addition to the team hiring, other hires are related to strengthening disciplines and taking advantage of opportunities to enhance quality and diversity.

Engineering's strategic growth plan is part of the Purdue Moves, a range of initiatives designed to broaden Purdue's global impact and enhance educational opportunities for students.

Garner and Hassanein: 2014-2015 Preeminent Teams Winners — Cold Plasmas

Extreme density, low-temperature plasmas for electronics, aerospace, food science and biotechnology applications. The team is led by Sergey Macheret, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics. Low-temperature plasmas (LTP) are weakly ionized gases that are being extensively used in fluorescent lights and in microchip fabrication. New ways of generating and controlling LTP could lead to new applications ranging from medicine and food processing to enhancing aerodynamics and propulsion performance of existing and future airplanes. The ability of plasmas to interact with electromagnetic waves, combined with controllability and "tunability" of plasma characteristics, could enable novel radio-frequency devices.

Team Leader:

• Sergey Macheret, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Team Members:

• Alina Alexeenko, Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Sally Bane, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Timothy Fisher, James G. Dwyer Professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Allen Garner, Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering
• Ahmed Hassanein, Paul L. Wattelet Professor of Nuclear Engineering
• Kevin Keener, Professor of Food Science
• Robert Lucht, Ralph and Bettye Bailey Professor of Combustion in Mechanical Engineering
• Dimitrios Peroulis, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering