Jennifer L. Zirnheld

Jennifer L. Zirnheld, PhD, is Associate Professor and Director of Energy Systems Integration in the Department of Electrical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo, where she also holds the Maxwell Technologies Inc. Professorship.

Education:

• PhD, Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, 2004
• MS, Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, 1997
• BS, Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, 1993

Her research intersects high-voltage engineering, dielectric materials, pulsed-power systems, and emerging biomedical applications of non-thermal plasma. Core themes include insulation coordination for mobility and energy platforms, nano-dielectrics, multifactor stress aging, partial discharge analysis, and the integration of complex energy systems. A recent translational direction involves investigating non-thermal plasma for targeted cancer-cell treatment.

Across more than 50 journal and conference publications, her work consistently couples fundamental dielectric physics with practical energy-system challenges. Early studies concentrated on capacitor reliability, thin-film breakdown, and micro-discharge detection under repetitive pulsed stresses. Mid-career contributions expanded to dielectric elastomer actuators, energy-harvesting circuits, and exploding-metal-foil phenomena. Since 2015, a growing portfolio explores plasma–cell interactions, ROS induction in melanoma, and gap-junction-mediated feedback mechanisms for combination cancer therapies.

Awards & Honors

• IEEE Region 1 Outstanding Teaching Award
• UB Student Association Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Award (twice)
• UB Career Services “Positive Influence on Students” (twice)
• Tau Beta Pi NY Nu Professor of the Year
• UB Mentor of Excellence & President Emeritus Meyerson Award
• UB Alumni Association Dr. Richard T. Sarkin Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2013

Student Mentoring & Outreach: Dr. Zirnheld mentors both graduate and undergraduate researchers and actively broadens participation through NSF programs such as LSAMP, Bridges to the Doctorate, and McNair. She serves on the steering committee for UB’s iSEED initiative and the interdisciplinary RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) program.

Laboratories & Teams: She directs the Energy Systems Integration activity, leveraging UB’s state-of-the-art high-voltage, pulsed-power, and plasma laboratories. Collaborations span government (DoD/US Army), industry (National Grid USA, Imperial Machine & Tool Co.), and clinical partners to translate bench-top plasma devices toward cancer-therapy prototypes.