Peter Tsai

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 manufacturing techniques, used in respirators (like N95 respirators, which is a 1995 NIOSH standard made to address the shortcomings of USBM standards).[1][a] He is an expert in the field of nonwoven fabric.[5] Tsai was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tennessee, but ended his retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic to research mask and respirator sterilization.[a][6][7]

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.[8] He studied chemical fibre engineering at the Provincial Taipei Institute of Technology, now known as National Taipei University of Technology.[9][10]

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.[3]

After receiving his doctorate in materials science, Tsai went to teach and work at the University of Tennessee.[3][6] In total, he holds 12 U.S. patents and over 20 commercial license agreements.[6] Tsai retired from the University of Tennessee in 2019.[10] 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][11]

Meltblown Charge Techniques

In 1992 while at the University of Tennessee, Tsai led a team attempting to improve electrostatic filtration manufacturing.[3][7] 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.[3][4] It was patented in the U.S. in 1995.[4][6][7][12]

Tsai continued to do work into mask technology and in 2018 he developed a new technique which doubled the filtration capacity of medical masks.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Note: In spite of the claims made by sources cited in this biography on Tsai's N95 involvement, please refer to the N95 respirator article for more information. The N95 is a 42 CFR Part 84 standard, effective July 10, 1995. Citations to support Tsai's work follow:[2][3][4]

References

  1. ^ NIOSH Guide to the Selection and Use of Particulate Respirators Certified Under 42 CFR 84. 1996.
  2. ^ Tsai, Peter P.; Wadsworth, Larry C. (1994), "Air Filtration Improved by Electrostatically Charging Fibrous Materials", Particulate Science and Technology, 12 (4): 323–332, doi:10.1080/02726359408906659
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c d e "The Man Behind the Mask". tickle.utk.edu. The University of Tennessee. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Meet Peter Tsai, the Taiwanese inventor behind the N95 mask". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "What's inside the N95 mask: Dr. Peter Tsai's life-saving hard work". National Taipei University of Technology. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Hsu, Phoenix; Mazzetta, Matthew (April 23, 2020). "Taiwanese inventor of N95 mask returns to work amid COVID-19 pandemic". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Bowman, Emma. "N95 Mask Shortage Brings Inventor Out Of Retirement In Search Of Safe Reuse Method". www.npr.org. NPR. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Tsai, Peter P.; Wadsworth, Larry C. (1994), "Air Filtration Improved by Electrostatically Charging Fibrous Materials", Particulate Science and Technology, 12 (4): 323–332, doi:10.1080/02726359408906659