Karen J. Nordheden, Ph.D.

School of Engineering - Chemical & Petroleum Engineering

Associate Professor

Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois (UIUC)

nordhed@ku.edu

Primary office:

785.864.8820

Learned Hall, 4132D

University of Kansas

1530 West 15th Street

Lawrence, KS 66045

Bio
Academics
Publications
Presentations
Awards/Honors

My research interests are in the areas of plasma conversion, plasma diagnostics, and microfabrication. Our most recent project involves the plasma conversion of carbon dioxide to CO and O₂. Plasma reactors are an attractive alternative to conventional conversion processes since the electrons and active species in the plasma can stimulate dissociation even when the bulk gas is near room temperature and at atmospheric pressure. They are also more energy efficient. The CO obtained by splitting CO₂ could be combined with hydrogen to form synthesis gas for the production of value-added fuels and chemicals.

Education

Teaching Interests

Process Dynamics & Controls
Process Safety & Sustainability
Introduction to Semiconductor Processing
Momentum Transfer
Heat Transfer
Methods of Chemical & Petroleum Calculations
Introduction to the Chemical Engineering Profession

Research Interests

Plasma processing and catalysis
Plasma diagnostics
Dry reforming, microfabrication

Selected Publications

Banerjee, Atindra M, Joel Billinger, Karen J Nordheden, and Floran J J Peeters. “Conversion of CO₂ in a Packed-Bed Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor.” Journal Articles. Special Issue on Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas: Chemistry & Material Interactions 36, no. 4 (2, 2018): 04F403. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5024400.

Nordheden, Karen J, Atindra M Banerjee, Joel Billinger, Susan M Stagg-Williams, R V Chaudhari, and Bala Subramaniam. CO₂ Conversion in a Cylindrical Packed-Bed Dielectric Barrier Discharge. Conference Proceedings. 22nd International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry, 2015. http://www.ispc-conference.org.

Jiang, Qiying, Karen J. Nordheden, and Susan M. Stagg-Williams. “Oxygen Permeation Study and Improvement of Ba_0.5SSr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_x Perovskite Ceramic Membranes.” Journal Articles. J. Membrane Science 369, no. 1–2 (March 2011): 174–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2010.11.073.

Jiang, Q., S. Faraji, K. J. Nordheden, and S. M. Stagg-Williams. “CO₂ Reforming Reaction Assisted with Oxygen Permeable Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_x Ceramic Membranes.” Journal Articles. J. Membrane Science 368, no. 1–2 (2011): 69–77.

Faraji, Sedigheh, K. J. Nordheden, and Susan M. Stagg-Williams. “A Comparative Study of Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_x (BSCF) and SrFeCo_0.5O_x (SFC) Ceramic Membranes Used for Syngas Production.” Journal Articles. Applied Catalysis B, Environmental 99, no. 1–2 (2010): 118–26.

Slade, David A., Qiying Jiang, K. J. Nordheden, and Susan M. Stagg-Williams. “A Comparison of Mixed-Conducting Oxygen-Permeable Membranes for CO₂ Reforming.” Journal Articles. Catalysis Today 148, no. 3–4 (2009): 290–97.

Jiang, Qiying, Karen J. Nordheden, and Susan M. Stagg-Williams. Reaction Performance of Ba_0.5SSr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_x Asymmetric Oxygen-Permeable Ceramic Membrane Reactor. Conference Proceedings. AICHE Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, Conference Proceedings, Pp. 539a/1-4, 2009.

Faraji, Sedigheh, K. J. Nordheden, and Susan M. Stagg-Williams. “The Interaction Between SrFeCo_0.5O_x Ceramic Membranes and Pt/CeZrO₂ during Syngas Production from Methane.” Journal Articles. Catalysis Letters 131, no. 1 (2009): 114–21.

» Show All Publications

All Publications

Banerjee, A. M., Billinger, J. Nordheden, K. J., & Peeters, F. J. (in press). Conversion of CO2 in a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A.

Jiang, Q. Faraji, S. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2011). CO2 reforming reaction assisted with oxygen permeable Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox ceramic membranes. J. Membrane Science, 368(1-2), 69-77.

Jiang, Q. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2011). Oxygen permeation study and improvement of Ba0.5SSr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox perovskite ceramic membranes. J. Membrane Science, 369(1-2), 174-181. DOI:10.1016/j.memsci.2010.11.073

Jiang, Q. Stagg-Williams, S. M., & Nordheden, K. J. (2010). Ba0.5SSr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox Asymmetric Oxygen-Permeable Ceramic Membrane for CO2 Reforming and Partial Oxidation of Methane. In ACS Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 21-25. Preprints of Symposia - American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry, 55(1), 454-456 (Vol. , pp. ).

Faraji, S. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2010). A comparative study of Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox (BSCF) and SrFeCo0.5Ox (SFC) ceramic membranes used for syngas production. Applied Catalysis B, Environmental, 99(1-2), 118-126.

Faraji, S. Stagg-Williams, S. M., & Nordheden, K. J. (2009). Ba0.5SSr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox Mixed Conducting Ceramic Membranes for Syngas Production. In AIChE annual meeting, Nashville, TN, Conference Proceedings, pp. 150e/1-3 (Vol. , pp. ).

Nordheden, K. J., Pathak, B. A., & Alexander, J. L. (2009). ICP etching of ZnO in BCl3/SF6 gas mixtures. In Zinc Oxide Materials and Devices, Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 7217, pp. 72170Q-72170Q-5.

Jiang, Q. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2009). Reaction Performance of Ba0.5SSr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox Asymmetric Oxygen-Permeable Ceramic Membrane Reactor. In AICHE Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, Conference Proceedings, pp. 539a/1-4.

Slade, D. A., Jiang, Q. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2009). A Comparison of Mixed-conducting Oxygen-permeable Membranes for CO2 Reforming. Catalysis Today, 148(3-4), 290-297.

Faraji, S. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2009). The Interaction Between SrFeCo0.5Ox Ceramic Membranes and Pt/CeZrO2 during Syngas Production from Methane. Catalysis Letters, 131(1), 114-121.

Jiang, Q. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2008). Oxygen Permeation Studies of Asymmetric Ba0.5SSr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2Ox Membranes. In AIChE annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 344/1-3.

Faraji, S. Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2008). The Interaction Between SrFeCo0.5Ox Ceramic Membranes and Pt/CeZrO2 During Syngas Production from Methane. In AIChE annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 328/1-3.

Nordheden, K. J., Dineen, M. & Welch, C. (2007). Inductively coupled plasma etching of ZnO. In Zinc Oxide Materials and Devices, Proceedings of the SPIE, SPIE Vol. 6474, pp. 6474OP1-4.

Van Nguyen, T. Vu Nguyen, M. Nordheden, K. J., & He, W. (2007). Effect of Bulk and Surface Treatments on the Surface Ionic Activity of Nafion Membranes and Their Performance in a PEMFC. J. Electrochem. Soc, 154(11), A1073-A1076.

Slade, D. A., Duncan, A. M., Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2007). Mixed-conducting oxygen permeable ceramic membranes for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane. Green Chemistry, 9(6), 577-581.

Slade, D. A., Murphy, S. M., Duncan, A. M., Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2006). Mixed-conducting oxygen-permeable ceramic membranes for the CO2 reforming of CH4. In ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, pp.746-747.

Slade, D. A., Murphy, S. M., Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2006). Synthesis Gas Generation Using Ionic/Electronic Oxygen Permeable Membranes. In AIChE Annual Meeting, Conference Proceedings, pp. 353c/1-6.

Murphy, S. M., Slade, D. A., Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (2006). Increasing Oxygen Flux through a Dense Oxygen Permeable Membrane by Photolithographic Patterning of Platinum. J. Membrane Science, 277(1-2), 94-98.

Agarwal, A. S., Berry, V. Alapati, R. & Nordheden, K. J. (2005). Characterization of SiCl4/N2 Plasmas. J. Electrochem. Soc, 152(3), G210-G212.

Nordheden, K. J. (2004). Plasma etching of ZnO: a review. In Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices, Proceedings of the SPIE, SPIE Vol. 5359, pp. 228-233.

Nordheden, K. J., & Sia, J. F. (2003). Characterization of BCl3/N2 Plasmas. J. Appl. Phys, 94(4), 2199-2202.

Taherion, S. Hui, R. Nordheden, K. J., Sia, J. Baldanzi, A. Goano, M. Bellotti, E. & Jiang, H. (2001). Experimental and Theoretical Study of Refractive Indices of Wurtzite GaN Thin Film from Visible to Infrared. In Trends in Optics and Photonics, Integrated Photonics Research, Monterey, CA, pp. IWB5/1-3.

Lee, Y. Upadhyaya, K. & Nordheden, K. J. (2000). Selective RIE in BCl3/SF6 Plasmas for GaAs HEMT Gate Recess Etching. In Electrochemical Society Proceedings Vol. 2000-1 on State Of The Art Processing Of Compound Semiconductors (SOTAPOCS XXXII), pp.182-188.

Nordheden, K. J., Upadhyaya, K. Lee, Y. Gogineni, S. P., & Kao, M. (2000). GaAs Etch Rate Enhancement with SF6 Addition to BCl3 Plasmas. J. Electrochem. Soc, 147(10), 3850-3852.

Lee, Y. Sia, J. F., & Nordheden, K. J. (2000). Mass Spectrometric Characterization of BCl3/SF6 Plasmas. J. Appl. Phys, 88(8), 4507-4509.

Lee, Y. Upadhyaya, K. Nordheden, K. J., & Kao, M. (2000). Selective RIE of GaAs/AlAs in BCl3/SF6 for Gate Recess. J. Vac. Sci. Technol, B18(5), 2505-2508.

Abraham-Shrauner, B. Nordheden, K. J., & Lee, Y. (1999). Model For Etch Depth Dependence on GaAs Via Hole Diameter. J. Vac. Sci. Technol, B17(3), 961-964.

Nordheden, K. J. (1999). Reactive Ion Etch Initiation Delay in BCl3/SF6/Ar Plasmas Due to Native Oxide Removal in NH4OH/H2O,” Electrochem. Solid-State Lett, 2(1), 43-45.

Nordheden, K. J., Hua, X. D., Lee, Y. S., Yang, L. W., Streit, D. C., & Yen, H. C. (1999). Smooth and anisotropic reactive ion etching of GaAs slot vias for monolithic microwave integrated circuits using Cl2/BCl3/Ar plasmas. J. Vac. Sci. Technol, B17(1), 158.

Nordheden, K. J., & Hoeflich, M. H. (1999). Undergraduate Research & Intellectual Property Rights. IEEE Transactions on Education, 42(4), 233-236.

Nordheden, K. J., & Hoeflich, M. H. (1997). Undergraduate Research and Intellectual Property Rights. The Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy, VI(III, Summer/Fall).

Wang, V. S., Matyi, R. J., & Nordheden, K. J. (1994). Characterization of reactive ion etch damage in GaAs by triple crystal x-ray diffraction. In Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol. 324, pp. 445-450.

Yang, L. W., Komiak, J. J., Kao, M. Y., Houston, D. E., Smith, D. P., & Nordheden, K. J. (1994). E-Beam Re-Aligned HBTs and A New Broadband MMIC Power Amplifier Using Bathtub as Heat Sink. In IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) Tech. Digest, San Francisco, CA., pp. 203-206 .

Chao, P. C., Kao, M. Y., Nordheden, K. J., & Swanson, A. W. (1994). HEMT Degradation in Hydrogen Gas. In U.S. Conference on GaAs Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH), pp. 105-108.

Yang, L. W., Komiak, J. J., Smith, D. P., Kao, M. Y., Brozovich, R. S., Nordheden, K. J., Helms, D. R., Houston, D. E., & Bardsley, F. R. (1994). Manufacturing Technology for High Performance HBT Linear Power Amplifiers. In IEEE GaAs IC Symp.Tech. Digest, Philadelphia, PA., pp. 127-130.

Chao, P. C., Kao, M. Y., Nordheden, K. J., & Swanson, A. W. (1994). HEMT Degradation in Hydrogen Gas. IEEE Electron Device Lett, 15(5), 151-153.

Wang, V. S., Matyi, R. J., & Nordheden, K. J. (1994). Triple crystal x-ray diffraction analysis of reactive ion etched gallium arsenide. J. Appl. Phys, 75(8), 3835-3841.

Chin, A. Yang, L. Martin, P. A., Nordheden, K. J., Ballingall, J. M., Yu, T. H., & Chao, P. C. (1993). High performance heterojunction bipolar transistors grown by molecular-beam epitaxy using novel growth method. J. Vac. Sci. Technol, B11(3), 972-975.

Nordheden, K. J., Ferguson, D. W., & Smith, P. M. (1993). Reactive ion etching of via holes for GaAs high electron mobility transistors and monolithic microwave integrated circuits using Cl2/BCl3/Ar gas mixtures. J. Vac. Sci. Technol, B11(5), 1879-1883.

Kao, M. Fu, S. Ho, P. Smith, P. M., Chao, P. C., Nordheden, K. J., & Wang, S. (1992). Very High Voltage AlGaAs/InGaAs Pseudomorphic Power HEMTs. In IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) Tech. Digest, pp. 319-321, Dec. 13-16, San Francisco, CA.

Hoeflich, M. H., & Nordheden, K. J. (1992). Accelerating Science: A Problem for the Legal System. UMKC Law Review, 60(4), 717.

Smith, P. M., Nordheden, K. J., & Ballingall, J. M. (1991). Ku-band high efficiency high gain pseudomorphic HEMT. Electronics Lett, 27(3), 270.

Nordheden, K. J., Dill, T. R., & Verdeyen, J. T. (1990). Predictable Reactive Ion Etching of GaAs and AlGaAs in HCl/Ar RF Discharges. J. Electrochem. Soc, 137(2), 691.

Nordheden, K. J., & Verdeyen, J. T. (1986). The Effect of Oxygen on the Etch Rate of NF3 Discharges. J. Electrochem. Soc, 133(10), 2168.

(Nordheden) Badura, K. J., & Verdeyen, J. T. (1985). Radiative Efficiencies of Radio Frequency Sulfur Discharges. IEEE J. Quantum Elect, QE21(7), 748.

» Show Selected Publications

Selected Presentations

Nordheden, K. J., Banerjee, A. M., Stagg-Williams, S. M., Billinger, J., Chaudhari, R. V., & Subramaniam, B. (7/5/2015 - 7/10/2015). CO₂ conversion in a cylindrical packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge. 22nd International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry. Antwerp, Belgium

Nordheden, K. J., Banerjee, A. M., Stagg-Williams, S. M., Chaudhari, R. V., & Subramaniam, B. (3/31/2014 - 4/2/2014). CO₂ Splitting in a CeO₂ -ZrO₂ Packed-bed dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor. Solvay Workshop on Plasmas for Environmental Applications. Brussels, Belgium

Faraji, S., Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (11/7/2010 - 11/12/2010). Improvement of Catalytic Hydrogen Production from Methane Using Dense Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_x Ceramic Membranes. 2010 AIChE Annual Meeting, paper no. 683c. Salt Lake City, UT

Jiang, Q., Wentworth, T., Nordheden, K. J., & Stagg-Williams, S. M. (11/7/2010 - 11/12/2010). Studies of Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_x Asymmetric Membranes. 2010 AIChE Annual Meeting, paper no. 156e. Salt Lake City, UT

Nordheden, K. J., Pathak, B. A., & Alexander, J. L. (1/25/2009 - 1/28/2009). ICP etching of ZnO in BCl₃/SF₆ gas mixtures. Zinc Oxide Materials and Devices IV, Photonics West, SPIE. San Jose, CA

Selected Awards & Honors

Bellows Scholar
School of Engineering, University of Kansas
2010

Celebration of Teaching Award
KU Center for Teaching Excellence
2010

W. T. Kemper Fellow Award for Teaching Excellence
2002

Henry E. Gould Award for Distinguished Service to Undergraduate Engineering Education
1999

H. Bernerd Fink Award for Excellence in Teaching
1998

Harry Talley Excellence In Teaching Award
1997

Senior Member
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

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