---
title: Groundbreaking Plasma Innovation Shines as Top Invention of the Year
date: 2024-04-30T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/groundbreaking-plasma-innovation-shines-as-top-invention-of-the-year"
section: Articles
---
# Groundbreaking Plasma Innovation Shines as Top Invention of the Year

*April 30, 2024* — by [Jordan Dunklee](/author/jordan-dunklee)


> Innovate Maryland Also Celebrates Research on AI Detection, Cancer Treatment, Quantum Computing

*Innovate Maryland 04292024 SC 8131 1920x1080 — Distinguished University Professor Liangbing Hu (second from left) is honored at the Innovate Maryland Invention of the Year award event. Also pictured (from left), Professor Robert Briber, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Chair Ji-Cheng (JC) Zhao, UM Ventures Associate Director Felicia Metz, UM Ventures Executive Director Ken Porter.*

In a mesmerizing display, a kaleidoscope of tiny lightning strikes gives way to a brilliant glow hotter than the surface of the sun. While this spectacle may sound like a scene from a sci-fi blockbuster, it’s happening not in a film studio, but in a University of Maryland laboratory.

That miniature lightning is electric arcs passing between two “hairy”-looking blocks made up of carbon fibers; the glow is a plasma that reaches 8,000 degrees Celsius—nearly twice as hot as the highest melting point of any metal. But it isn’t just ultra-hot; it’s also stable enough to revolutionize high-temperature materials engineering. The method took home the top prize Monday in the university’s annual Invention of the Year competition.

"Our simple and practical ultra-high temperature plasma technology overcomes the challenges we've seen with producing extreme materials and opens the door to large-scale manufacturing powered by renewable energy, but with low cost and high benefit to the planet,” said Distinguished University Professor Liangbing Hu, the project’s principal investigator.

Along with winners in three other categories, the award was announced as part of Innovate Maryland—an annual celebration of UMD researchers’ creativity in translating cutting-edge research into practical, impactful solutions to address global challenges.

“Each of tonight’s nominees for Invention of the Year started with that spark of an idea that was allowed to grow and evolve with the help of our robust research enterprise, which we all contribute to and improve on a daily basis,” Vice President for Research Gregory F. Ball said of this year’s 12 finalists. “I firmly believe that no grand challenge is too daunting for our world-class researchers to confront head-on and work toward a solution.”

In addition to the Invention of the Year awards, two faculty innovators received special recognition awards for their significant contributions to UMD’s innovation ecosystem and for making a lasting impact in the region and beyond:

- President Darryll J. Pines presented a special recognition award to Hu, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Hu has submitted 134 invention disclosures, making him the second-most prolific inventor in the university’s history—a feat he accomplished in only 11 years. He also co-founded the highest number of university IP-based startups, with a record four this fiscal year alone.
- Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice presented a special recognition award to James Fey, a professor emeritus in the College of Education’s Center for Math Education. Fey co-authored a series of children’s mathematics workbooks and curricula that have generated $4.1 million in revenue for UMD since 1991. Fey donated his share of the royalties back to the department to fund over a dozen PhD students in the Fey-Graeber Fellowship program.


*winners pose at Innovate Maryland — From left: Chief Innovation Officer Dean Chang; President Darryll J. Pines; Vice President for Research Gregory F. Ball; Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice; Postdoctoral Fellow William Viviani; Kristyn Lue Ph.D. '23; Postdoctoral Fellow Margaret Walton; Professor Daniel Chazin; Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership Chair Nihat Polat; UM Ventures Executive Director Ken Porter; UM Ventures Associate Director Felicia Metz.*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Artificial Intelligence](https://today.umd.edu/topic/artificial-intelligence), [Quantum Science](https://today.umd.edu/topic/quantum-science), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences), [College of Education](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-education), [Division of Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-research)