The auto aftermarket business seems an unlikely source of food technology, but Dana executives are pursuing licensing deals that could bring microwave-absorbing plasma and 95 percent efficient microwave heating to food preparation. Semi-conductive nanoparticles are used to ignite the plasma, or gas, which absorbs and focuses the microwaves, reducing arcing and evenly distributing the heat. Plasma is maintained without vacuum, reducing complexity and expense.
Devendra Kumar and his younger brother, Satyendra, are listed as the inventors of plasma-assisted joining, the first patent issued for the core technology. Both are physicists; Satyendra's PhD is in material science, while Devendra's doctorate concentrated in the field of microwave spectroscopy. His graduate and undergraduate degrees were earned at India's Delhi University, where he also taught physics before emigrating to the US to carry out research involving lasers, DC and RF plasmas and photoacoustic and optogalvanic techniques at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Devendra was director of LSU's molecular spectroscopy group when brother Satyendra lured him to Rochester Hills eight years ago to begin work on the microwave and plasma technology.