Research Areas: Carbon Dioxide Capture, Conversion & Sequestration
Combustion, Gasification and Power Systems
Environmental Engineering
Fuels & Catalysis Science
Clean Fuels & Catalysis
Education Background: • B.S. Aerospace Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University
• M.S. Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington
• Ph. D. Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Washington
About:
Knecht is an assistant teaching professor and the head of the low-temperature plasma science and engineering research group, an interdisciplinary research group focusing on the design, development, and validation of transformative plasma technologies. He joined the faculty at Penn State in 2015, after a period at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory. Knecht earned his B.S. in aerospace engineering from Penn State, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in plasma science in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at the University of Washington in Seattle. Knecht received the first National Institutes of Health grant in the field of plasma medicine.
Research Interests:
• Engineering design
• Plasma science and engineering
• Plasma-enhanced catalysis
• Plasma-material interactions
• Plasma-assisted combustion
• Plasma medicine
Memberships & Committees:
• American Physical Society
• IEEE
• AIAA
Honors & Awards:
• 2008 SMART Scholarship Alternate
• 2006 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention
• 2006 William M. and Marilyn Conner Fellowship – University of Washington
• 2004 W. Lamar Kopp International Achievement Award – Pennsylvania State University
• 2002 Most Innovative Product, Engineering Design Showcase – Pennsylvania State University
Teaching:
• EDSGN 100 - Introduction to Engineering Design
• EDSGN 460 - Capstone Engineering Design
• AERSP 430 - Space Propulsion and Power
• E Sci 540 - Fundamentals of Laser Optics
AlQahtani, M. S., Xiaoxing X. Wang, S. D. Knecht, S. G. Bilen, and C. S. Song, (2021). Plasma-enhanced catalytic reduction of SO2: Decoupling plasma-induced surface reaction from plasma-phase reaction, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, v. 286, pp. 119852.
Wang, J., M. S. AlQahtani, Xiaoxing X. Wang, S. D. Knecht, S. G. Bilen, C. S. Song, and W. Chu, (2021). One-Step Plasma-Enabled Catalytic Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation to Higher Hydrocarbons: Significance of Catalyst-Bed Configuration. Green Chem., 23, 1642-1647.
AlQahtani, M. S., S. D. Knecht, Xiaoxing X. Wang, S. G. Bilen, and C. S. Song, (2020). One-Step Low-Temperature Reduction of Sulfur Dioxide to Elemental Sulfur by Plasma-Enhanced Catalysis, ACS Catalysis, v. 10 (9), pp. 5272–5277, https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c00299.
AlQahtani, M. S., Xiaoxing X. Wang, J. L. Gray, S. D. Knecht, S. G. Bilen, and C. S. Song, (2020). Plasma-Assisted Catalytic Reduction of SO2 to Elemental Sulfur: Influence of Nonthermal Plasma and Temperature on Iron Sulfide Catalyst, Journal of Catalysis, v. 391, pp. 260-272.
Brubaker, T. R., M. J. Nicol, G. S. Kirimanjeswara, C. A. Siedlecki, A. Kazemi, P. C. Snyder, S. G. Bilén, and S. D. Knecht, (2020 January). Influence of dielectric coatings on pin-to-rod nanosecond-pulsed discharges in phosphate-buffered saline, IEEE Trans. Rad. Plasm. Med. Sci.
Knecht, S. D., C. A. Siedlecki, S. G. Bilen, M. M. Micci, I. Gilchrist, and G. S. Kirimanjeswara, (2020). Low-temperature plasma catheter for less-invasive, localized treatment of endocarditis and atherosclerosis, US Patent App. 16/637,168.
Nicol, M. K. J., T. R. Brubaker, B. J. Honish, A. N. Simmons, A. Kazemi, A. A. Geissel, C. T. Whalen, C. A. Siedlecki, S. G. Bilen, S. D. Knecht,a nd G. S. Kirimanjeswara, (2020). Antibacterial effects of low-temperature plasma generated by atmospheric-pressure plasma jet are mediated by reactive oxygen species, Scientific Reports, v. 10 (1), pp. 1-11.
Palomino, J. E., S. G. Bilen, T. Cawley, B. Ludwig, and S. D. Knecht, (2020). Combustion of aluminum powder with steam entrained in a helium plasma using a 2.45 GHz microwave plasma torch, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, v. 53 (18), [185204].
AlQahtani, M., S. Knecht, Xiaoxing X. Wang, S. Bilen, and C. S. Song, (2019). Cold plasma catalysis for SO2 reduction with CH4 over metal sulfide catalysts, American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, Orlando, FL, v. 257, pp. 228.
Nicol, M. J., T. R. Brubaker, B. J. Honish, A. N. Simmons, A. Kazemi, M. A. Geissel, C. T. Whalen, C. A. Siedlecki, S. G. Bilén, G. S. Kirimanjeswara, and S. D. Knecht, (2019 December). Antibacterial effects of low-temperature plasma generated by atmospheric-pressure plasma jet are mediated by reactive oxygen species, Scientific Reports, v. 10 (1), pp. 1-11
