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Particle Technology Laboratory

Laboratory Director     Prof. David Y.H. Pui     Particle Technology Laboratory     ME 3101F     phone: (612) 625-2537     fax: (612) 625-6069     e-mail: dyhpui@umn.edu Administrative Support    Jennifer Andre     ME 3101     Phone: (612) 626-8111     Fax: (612) 625-6069     E-mail: jandre@me.umn.edu

PTL Seminars

The Particle Technology Laboratory (PTL) is one of the leading centers of small particle research in the U.S. Founded in the late 1950's by the late Professor K. T. Whitby, it has grown to its present size of seven faculty members, flve technical and support staff, and approximately 35 graduate students working on various research projects and degree programs. The Laboratory has published approximately 1,000 papers and reports, and produced approximately 100 Ph.D.'s and 300 Master level students.

Major facilities of the Laboratory include 15,000 square feet of general laboratory space, and 500 sq. ft. of class 100 cleanroom space; wind tunnel, filter testing, and vacuum facilities; instruments for particle generation, measurement, sampling and analysis in the 0.002 to 100 um diameter range; and microscopes, electron microbalances, gas analyzers, anemometry and other laboratory instruments. The estimated value of the laboratory instrumentation is in excess of $3 Million

The Laboratory also offers an annual Aerosol Measurement Shortcourse for training industrial personnel. It has now been offered 22 times with over 1,200 attendees.

Cleanrooms and Microcontamination Control Research on clean manufacturing technologies for very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. The research has been supported by an industrial consortium consisting of 16 past and current member companies. It has graduated 35 graduate students including 23 Ph.D.s; 75% of them are working in microelectronics companies as engineering directors, chief design engineers, and senior managers.

Air, Gas and Liquid Filtration Research on filter media and filtrationsystems. The research has been supported by an industrial consortium consisting of 7 current member companies.

Air Pollution and Environmental Studies Research on atmospheric pollution, visibility impairment, and global change. The research has contributed to our understanding of smog formation in Los Angeles, the sources of pollutant haze at the Grand Canyon, and the formation of new particles in the remote locations, including the Arctic Ocean, Mauna Loa, Colorado Rockies and Tasmania.

Ventilation and Bioaerosols Studies Research on characterizing, modeling and controlling of bioaerosols in ventilation systems of residential, commercial and hospital buildings. A current project investigates effluents from various cooking appliances and optimum design of kitchen ventilation.

Materials Synthesis in Reacting Flows Research is aimed at: (A) Developing new methods for the controlled growth of nanoparticles with desired microstructure and morphology. (B) Understanding the fundamental mechanisms for particle formation through the application of microscopic based models and in-situ characterization. Application areas are geared toward structural ceramics and composite particles with interesting and unique properties (magnetic, optical).

Basic Aerosol Research and Instrumentation Research on properties and behavior of small airborne particles and methods for their characterization and analysis. Faculty members have developed twenty plus aerosol instruments which are widely used by researchers around the world.

PTL in the News