Peter Tsai Explained

Peter Tsai (; born February 6, 1952) is a Taiwanese-American inventor and material scientist who is best known for inventing and patenting improved meltblown filtration manufacturing techniques, used in respirators like N95 masks. He is an expert in the field of nonwoven fabric.[1] Tsai was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee, but ended his retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic to research N95 mask sterilization.[2]

Early life and education

Tsai grew up on his family's farm in the Qingshui District of Taichung, Taiwan and graduated from Taichung Municipal Cingshuei Senior High School.[3] He studied chemical fibre engineering at the Provincial Taipei Institute of Technology, now known as National Taipei University of Technology.[4] [5]

Career

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.

After receiving his doctorate in materials science, Tsai went to teach and work at the University of Tennessee. In total, he holds 12 U.S. patents and over 20 commercial license agreements. Tsai retired from the University of Tennessee in 2019.[5] He was a professor in the Department of Material Science and Engineering.[6]

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.[7]

Meltblown Charge Techniques

In 1992 while at the University of Tennessee, Tsai led a team attempting to improve electrostatic filtration manufacturing. The material consists of both positive and negative charges, which are better able to attract particles — such as dust, bacteria and viruses — and trap them by polarization before they can pass through the mask. It was patented in the U.S. in 1995.

Tsai continued to do work into mask technology and in 2018 he developed a new technique which doubled the filtration capacity of medical masks.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pei-chun . Huang . Virus Outbreak: Taiwan-born researcher the man behind N95 mask . www.taipeitimes.com . April 8, 2020 . Taipei Times . April 24, 2020.
  2. News: 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.
  3. Web site: Meet Peter Tsai, the Taiwanese inventor behind the N95 mask. February 21, 2021. CommonWealth Magazine.
  4. Web site: What's inside the N95 mask: Dr. Peter Tsai's life-saving hard work. February 21, 2021. National Taipei University of Technology. en.
  5. Web site: Hsu . Phoenix . Mazzetta . Matthew . Taiwanese inventor of N95 mask returns to work amid COVID-19 pandemic . focustaiwan.tw . April 23, 2020 . Focus Taiwan . April 23, 2020.
  6. Web site: The Man Behind the Mask . tickle.utk.edu . April 17, 2020 . The University of Tennessee . April 24, 2020.
  7. News: Bowman . Emma . N95 Mask Shortage Brings Inventor Out Of Retirement In Search Of Safe Reuse Method . www.npr.org . NPR . April 24, 2020.