Peter Tsai (蔡秉燚; born February 6, 1952) is a Taiwanese-American inventor and material scientist who is best known for inventing and patenting improved meltblown filtration techniques, used in respirators like N95 masks.[1][2][3] He is an expert in the field of nonwoven fabric.[4] Tsai was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee, but ended his retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic to research N95 mask sterilization.[5][6]
Early life and education[edit]
Tsai grew up on his family's farm in the Qingshui District of Taichung, Taiwan and graduated from Taichung Municipal Cingshuei Senior High School.[7] He studied chemical fibre engineering at the Provincial Taipei Institute of Technology, now known as National Taipei University of Technology.[8][9]
Career[edit]
After graduating college he went to work at the Taiwan Textile Research Institute before finding work in a dyeing and finishing plant. He then went abroad to the United States for postgraduate work at Kansas State University in 1981, completing over 500 credits in a variety of subjects including mathematics, physics, and chemistry.[2]
After receiving his doctorate in materials science, Tsai went to teach and work at the University of Tennessee.[2][5] In total, he holds 12 U.S. patents and over 20 commercial license agreements.[5] Tsai retired from the University of Tennessee in 2019.[9] He was a professor in the Department of Material Science and Engineering.[5]
In 2020, Tsai came out of retirement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been working with the scientific collective N95DECON on ways to decontaminate N95 masks.[6][10]
Meltblown Charge Techniques[edit]
In 1992 while at the University of Tennessee, Tsai led a team attempting to improve electrostatic filtration technology.[2][6] The material consists of both positive and negative charges, which are able to attract particles — such as dust, bacteria and viruses — and trap at least 95 percent of them by polarization before they can pass through the mask.[2][3] It was patented in the U.S. in 1995.[3][5][6][11]
Tsai continued to do work into mask technology and in 2018 he developed a new technique which doubled the filtration capacity of medical masks.[9]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Tsai, Peter P.; Wadsworth, Larry C., "AIR FILTRATION IMPROVED BY ELECTROSTATICALLY CHARGING FIBROUS MATERIALS", Particulate Science and Technology, doi:10.1080/02726359408906659
- ^ a b c d e "Meet the U.S. scientist who invented the N95 mask filter". U.S. Embassy in Georgia. August 12, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Scottie, Andrew (July 15, 2020). "He invented the N95 mask filter. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and he was called to help once again". CNN. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
- ^ Pei-chun, Huang (April 8, 2020). "Virus Outbreak: Taiwan-born researcher the man behind N95 mask". www.taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "The Man Behind the Mask". tickle.utk.edu. The University of Tennessee. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Page, Sydney (July 7, 2020). "The retired inventor of N95 masks is back at work, mostly for free, to fight covid-19". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Meet Peter Tsai, the Taiwanese inventor behind the N95 mask". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ "What's inside the N95 mask: Dr. Peter Tsai's life-saving hard work". National Taipei University of Technology. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Hsu, Phoenix; Mazzetta, Matthew. "Taiwanese inventor of N95 mask returns to work amid COVID-19 pandemic". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Bowman, Emma. "N95 Mask Shortage Brings Inventor Out Of Retirement In Search Of Safe Reuse Method". www.npr.org. NPR. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Tsai, Peter P.; Wadsworth, Larry C., "AIR FILTRATION IMPROVED BY ELECTROSTATICALLY CHARGING FIBROUS MATERIALS", Particulate Science and Technology, doi:10.1080/02726359408906659