David B. Go

David B. Go serves as the Viola D. Hank Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Concurrent Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. As Vice President and Associate Provost for Academic Strategy, he leads implementation of the University Strategic Framework, oversees faculty appointments/promotions, and directs institutes including the Lucy Institute for Data and Society and Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. He holds leadership roles on the Provost’s Cabinet, President’s Leadership Committee, and multiple university committees.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University (2008)
• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Cincinnati (2004)
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame (2001)

Prof. Go's research centers on plasma science, heat transfer, and energy conversion. His group investigates direct thermal-to-electrical energy conversion using pyroelectric crystals and thermionic emission for waste heat recovery, solar conversion, and building efficiency. They develop thermal diodes for improved energy systems and microfluidic platforms for cancer diagnostics. Interdisciplinary approaches combine theoretical modeling, computational analysis, and experimental validation to advance sustainable energy solutions and biomedical applications.

His 2020 publications demonstrate consistent focus on plasma applications for energy conversion and catalysis. Key themes include plasma-surface interactions for chemical analysis, non-equilibrium plasma catalysis for ammonia synthesis, and piezoelectric energy harvesting systems. These works reveal his strategic emphasis on leveraging microscale plasma phenomena to突破 thermodynamic limitations in chemical processes and energy harvesting.

Major recognitions include:

• NSF CAREER Award (2013) and AFOSR Young Investigator Award (2010) for foundational plasma research
• IEEE NPSS Early Achievement Award (2018) for plasma engineering contributions
• Electrochemical Society Toyota Fellowship (2015) for catalysis innovations
• ASME Fellow (2016) and ESA Rising Star Award (2018)
• Commercialization success with 1st Source Bank Award (2021) for Atlas3D startup

Prof. Go has secured major funding from NSF, AFOSR, DARPA, DOE, NIH, and industry partners totaling over $10M. His grants support plasma-catalyzed ammonia synthesis, thermal management in additive manufacturing, and microfluidic cancer diagnostics. These projects have yielded two licensed technologies and the Atlas3D startup (acquired by Siemens). He has mentored numerous graduate students and postdocs through the Go Research Group.

The Go Research Group maintains specialized laboratories for plasma diagnostics, thermal analysis, and microfluidics. The team collaborates with architects on energy-efficient building design, chemists on plasma catalysis, and biomedical researchers on cancer diagnostics. Current initiatives focus on scaling plasma-catalyzed ammonia production and developing point-of-care microfluidic devices for early cancer detection.