environmental research 
Nonthermal plasma for gaseous pollution control (VK Mathur)
Parsons G116
Major challenges facing the United States are continued economic growth, environmental protection and energy security. Achieving these objectives depends on an adequate supply of affordable energy produced in an environmentally friendly way. In the United States, there are several hundred years of coal reserves. A major criticism of coal as a fuel source for power generation is that it produces large amounts of pollutants. During the past several years, control of NOx, SO2 and Hg emissions has become a national priority. One of the most promising classes of new technologies for the treatment of these pollutants is the use of non-thermal plasma to overcome some of the difficulties associated with current pollution control technologies.
The research and development of dielectric barrier discharge, an electrical technique, have been conducted by Dr. Mathur's researchers for several years. Based on this work, several efforts are in progress to commercialize this technique for NOx, SO2 and Hg removal from utility boiler flue gas.