FTPP UAB Lead Investigator Dr. Yogesh Vohra Named Interim Dean of UAB College of Arts and Sciences
The Future Technologies & enabling Plasma Processes (FTPP) team is proud to celebrate the appointment of Dr. Yogesh K. Vohra, FTPP UAB lead and internationally recognized physicist and materials scientist, as interim dean of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) College of Arts and Sciences.
UAB Provost and Senior Vice President Janet Woodruff-Borden, Ph.D., named Vohra to the position effective July 1. He previously served as associate dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Arts and Sciences and was recently named a Distinguished Professor in UAB’s Department of Physics.
Vohra brings decades of research leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration to his new role. His research has focused on high-pressure physics, synthetic diamond technologies, nanostructured biomedical materials and plasma-based materials synthesis. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and holds six U.S. patents.
As a founding director of the UAB Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration, Vohra has led major interdisciplinary research initiatives while also directing federally funded education and workforce development programs supported by organizations including the National Science Foundation and NASA.
Advancing Plasma Science Through FTPP
His involvement with FTPP builds on a longstanding interest in plasma physics that began through his pioneering work in synthetic diamond research. At UAB, Vohra developed research focused on the growth of synthetic diamonds using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition, resulting in multiple patents and contributing to the development of plasma research infrastructure.
FTPP support has helped sustain and expand this infrastructure at UAB, including a large-area microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition system used for translational research and commercialization.
Today, Vohra’s FTPP-supported research includes the synthesis of high-entropy materials using low-temperature plasma methods. These materials, which contain five or more elements, can exhibit enhanced physical and mechanical properties and have potential applications in extreme environments, including the aerospace and nuclear industries.
“Alabama plasma physics research could have impact in materials under extreme conditions – including aerospace – and plasma surface modified biomaterials in clinical use,” Vohra said.
Building Alabama’s Plasma Science Workforce
Beyond research, Vohra’s work reflects FTPP’s broader mission to strengthen Alabama’s plasma science and engineering workforce and create pathways for students into high-impact STEM careers.
Research collaborations developed through previous NSF EPSCoR efforts, including Connecting the Plasma Universe to Plasma Technology in Alabama (CPU2AL), and through FTPP have contributed to new collaborative research opportunities and extramural grant applications.
Vohra has also helped train graduate students through CPU2AL and FTPP who have gone on to careers in Alabama industry as well as faculty positions at historically Black colleges and universities across the state. His appointment as interim dean is a recognition of the leadership, research excellence and interdisciplinary collaboration he has brought to UAB and the broader scientific community.
FTPP congratulates Dr. Vohra on this well-deserved achievement and looks forward to seeing his continued leadership and impact across Alabama’s research and STEM communities!