UCLA MAE Professor Richard Wirz’s research group was highlighted in AIAA Aerospace America 2021 Year in Review.

From the article:

Electric propulsion: An expanding capability and community

BY JOHN W. DANKANICH | DECEMBER 2021

The Electric Propulsion Technical Committee works to advance research, development and application of electric propulsion for satellites and spacecraft.

The electric propulsion community had a landmark year with new discoveries, flight systems deployed at historic levels and multiple first flights of novel technologies.

The Wirz Research Group at the University of California, Los Angeles, discovered plasma-infused materials that may enable higher energy density systems. NASA also initiated the Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute, or JANUS, with team members from Georgia Tech, the University of Michigan, UCLA, the University of Illinois, Colorado State University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Colorado, Stanford University and Western Michigan University, to address challenges with implementation and testing of high-power devices.

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