FROM THE INSTITUTE
A tiny plasma device may hold the key to a long‑standing problem in aviation: skin‑friction drag. A thin strip of electrodes that ionizes the air (plasma) on an aircraft’s skin could make the aircraft more efficient, while using a minimum amount of energy. Thomas Corke, Clark Chair Professor of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame and the founding director of the university’s Flow Physics and Control Institute, explained that such a device can help a plane glide through the sky with less effort – without spending any more energy – by reducing drag, a long-standing challenge in aviation.
