Welcome to the
Plasmadynamics & Electric Propulsion Laboratory
The PEPL mission
- Make electric propulsion (EP) devices more efficient and of better performance
- Understand spacecraft integration issues that could impede the widespread use of these devices on scientific, commercial, and military spacecraft
- Identify non-propulsion applications of EP systems
News
Prof. Benjamin Jorns receives Department of Energy Early Career Award
Congratulations to lab co-director Benjamin Jorns on receiving the Department of Energy Early Career Award.…
Dean Alec Gallimore wins Stuhlinger Medal of Outstanding Achievement in Electric Propulsion.
Congratulations to lab director Alec Gallimore for winning the Stuhlinger medal of outstanding achievement in…
Tenure
Congratulations to lab co-director Benjamin Jorns on his promotion to the rank of Associate Professor…
Candidacy
Congrats to William Hurley for passing his preliminary exams and advancing to candidacy!
Congratulations to Dr Wachs!
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Benjamin Wachs for defending his dissertation!
Amelia Earhart Award
Congratulations to Leanne Su for winning the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Award! For more information…
NSTGRO
Congrats to Madison Allen for receiving the Nasa Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTGRO) fellowship!
NSF Fellowship
Congrats to Sophia Bergmann for receiving the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship!
Congratulations to Dr. Woods!
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Josh Woods for successfully defending his dissertation!
2022 AIAA SciTech Forum
We had a number of papers at this year's AIAA SciTech Forum Tate M. Gill,…
AIAA Paper
Check out our recent article on wire erosion in Hall thruster plumes in the AIAA…
Congratulations to Dr Hepner!
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Shadrach Hepner for defending his dissertation!
PEPL accepting new doctoral students for Fall 2022!
PEPL is looking for new doctoral candidates for the Fall 2022. Students with backgrounds…
Applied Physics Paper
We have a new paper about Krypton Hall thrusters in the Journal of Applied Physics
Best Paper at AIAA 2021
Congratulations to Chris Sercel, Tate Gill, Joshua Woods, and Benjamin Jorns for winning Electric Propulsion…
GEC Student poster award
Congratulations to Leanne Su for winning a Student Poster Award at the 2021 Gaseous Electronics…
Applied Physics Paper
Check out our recent article in the Journal of Applied Physics special issue on the…
2021 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum
We had a number of papers at this year's AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum Zachariah…
AIAA Technical Note
We just put out a technical note about rotating instabilities in hollow cathode plumes. Check…
AIAA 2020 Best Paper Award
Congratulations to Prof. Benjamin Jorns, PEPL alumnus, Dr. Ethan Dale, and PEPL doctoral candidate, Thomas…
JPP Publication
We have another publication out about the X3 nested Hall thruster!
JPP Publication
Check out our new publication on the X3 Nested Hall thruster in the Journal of Propulsion…
University of Michigan Space Symposium
Check out the talk Joshua Woods and Leanne Su gave for the UM Space Symposium…
Preliminary exams
Congratulations to Parker John Roberts for passing his preliminary examinations!
Collin B. Whittaker wins NSTGRO fellowship
Congratulations to PhD Candidate Collin B. Whittaker for receiving a 2021 NASA Space Technology Graduate…
Prof. Benjamin Jorns wins AIAA Sperry Award
Laboratory co-director, Prof. Ben Jorns has received the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award (https://www.aiaa.org/get-involved/honors-awards/awards/award/award-lawrence-sperry-award ). This AIAA…
Leanne Su gives talk at Women in Science Day
Our own PhD candidate Leanne Su recently gave a talk at Pioneer High School about…
PSST Publication
Check out our new publication on facility effects modeling in Hall thrusters in Plasma Sources…
Physics of Plasmas Publication
Professor Benjamin Jorns contributed to a review on challenges in ExB discharge technology.
Prof. Benjamin Jorns named AIAA Associate Fellow
Congratulations to laboratory co-director, Prof. Benjamin Jorns, on being elected to the class of 2021…
PSST Publication Part II
Check out part II of our article on anomalous transport in hollow cathodes!
PSST Publication
Check out our new PSST article on non-classical transport in hollow cathodes!
2020 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum
We had a number of papers at this year's AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum Benjamin…
MDPI Publication
We just published a new paper about future electric propulsion research!
MDPI Publication
PhD. Candidate Joshua Woods and Professor Ben Jorns contributed to a recent review paper on…
AIAA Propulsion and Power Publication
We have a new article about the effects of low cathode flow fraction on nested…
Dean Alec Gallimore receives AIAA Wyld Propulsion Award
Dean Alec Gallimore has received the prestigious AIAA Wyld award
Applied Physics Letters publication
We have a new article out in Applied Physics Letters about instabilities in magnetic nozzles!
Best food – Zach Brown
For our twelfth lockdown lab meeting, we showed off our favorite snacks and foods. Zach's…
Best art – Ethan Dale
Ethan's postmodern cat portrait was acclaimed our lab's "Best Art" in week 11 of COVID…
Best instrument — Tate Gill
Tate's homemade electric guitar (not pictured) won him best musical instrument in our 10th remote…
AIAA Electric propulsion best paper award
Congratulations to Prof. Ben Jorns and PEPL Alumnus Dr. Scott Hall who are co-authors on…
Best collection – Thomas Marks
Our tenth lockdown lab meeting had us showing off our collections. Thomas won with his…
Casual friday – Matt Byrne
In our ninth quarantine lab meeting, we put on our best most casual friday looks.…
Least favorite book – Chris Sercel
Our eighth quarantine lab meeting had us sharing our least favorite books. Chris Sercel's impassioned…
Preliminary examinations
Congrats to Collin Whittaker and Tate Gill for successfully passing their preliminary exams and becoming…
Best craft – Ethan Dale!
Our seventh quarantine lab meeting had Ethan Dale winning "Best Craft" with his custom made…
Best pitch – Leanne Su
In our sixth remote lab meeting, we presented "pitches" for our research work. Leanne Su,…
Best trinket – Pete Dahl
In our fifth remote lab meeting, Pete Dahl won Best Trinket with his Apollo 11…
Favorite book – Prof. Benjamin Jorns!
In our fourth lockdown lab meeting, we all shared our favorite books. Professor Ben Jorns's…
Best outfit – Tate Gill!
Our third lockdown lab meeting had Tate Gill winning "Best outfit" with his Apollo-Era NASA…
Crazy mug day
More fun during the lockdown: crazy mug/drinking vessel day during our weekly lab meeting. Thomas…
Silly hat day in the lab
Having some fun with virtual lab meeting: silly hat day. Our winner for best hat,…
Featured article in Physics of Plasmas
Our newest Physics of Plasmas article on non-classical electron transport in a cathode plume was…
PSST Publication
Check out our new PSST article on background pressure effects on magnetic nozzles!
Defense
Congratulations to Marcel Georgin on successfully defending his dissertation!
Defense
Congratulations to Ethan Dale on successfully defending his dissertation!
PoP Publication
Check out our new Editor's Pick PoP article on small wavelength fluctuations in Hall thrusters!
PSST Publication
Check out our new PSST article on magnetic nozzle efficiency!
NASA Visit
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine talked with PEPL students as part of a tour of the…
PSST Publication
Check out our new PSST article on near-wall ion measurements in shielded Hall thrusters!
Defense
Congratulations to Sarah Cusson on successfully defending her dissertation!
IEPC 2019
Check out our new publications from the 36th International Electric Propulsion Conference in Vienna, Austria.
PoP Publication
Check out our new article recently published in Physics of Plasmas!
P&E 2019
Check out our new publications from the AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum in Indianapolis.
100-hour Test
PEPL in collaboration with Lockheed Martin successfully completed a continuous 100 h test on PEPL’s…
Candidacy
Congratulations to Leanne Su, Chris Sercel, and Thomas Marks on successfully becoming PhD candidates!
White Paper
Check out this white paper, “Plasma Propulsion Research in Academia” submitted by 27 members of…
Defense
Congratulations to Tim Collard on successfully defending his dissertation and obtaining a PhD in aerospace…
NAE
Congratulations to laboratory director and Dean of Engineering Alec Gallimore for being elected to the…
PoP Publications
Two articles were recently published in Physics of Plasmas.
Seeker
Check out Seeker's new video featuring PEPL and the X3!
AFOSR YIP
Congratulations to laboratory co-director, Prof. Ben Jorns, on receiving an Air Force Office of Scientific…
MAISE
Congratulations to MAISE for a successful demonstration of their facility!
Welcome
Welcome to new Aerospace Engineering students Leanne Su and Chris Sercel as they join PEPL.
54th JPC
Check out our new publications from the 54thd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Candidacy
Congratulations to Josh Woods on successfully becoming a PhD candidate!
NSF Award
Congratulations to PEPL pre-candidate Angela Kimber on receiving an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!
JAP Publication
Our article "On channel interactions in Nested Hall thrusters" was recently published in the Journal…
Defense
Congratulations to Scott Hall on successfully defending his dissertation and obtaining a PhD in aerospace…
35th IEPC
Check out our new publications from the 35th International Electric Propulsion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
53rd JPC
Check out our new publications from the 53rd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Candidacy
Congratulations to Zach Brown, Shad Hepner, and Ben Wachs on successfully becoming PhD candidates. And…
Welcome
Congratulations to Shad Hepner and Ben Wachs on being awarded the NASA Space Technology Research…
Welcome
Welcome to Dr. Ben Jorns as he joins the Aerospace Engineering Department Faculty and PEPL.
Defense
Congratulations to Kimberly Trent on successfully defending her dissertation and obtaining a PhD in Applied…
Our Research
Get Involved
We’re always looking for enthusiastic graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research at PEPL. Feel free to contact us with general questions or if you’re interested in working at PEPL.
Undergraduate Opportunities
- Summer Undergraduate Research
- Summer Research Opportunity Program
- Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program