The increasing diversity of applications in microsystems for sensing and actuation motivates a significant amount of research in lithography-based fabrication techniques. The general goals for these processes include the facilitation of structural complexity and material diversity, amongst others. This talk will address how microplasmas (which are ignited between co-planar or stacked thin film metal electrodes patterned on a single wafer surface) can facilitate certain types of structural complexity by permitting materials such as Si to be etched in unique ways; and how micro-arcs (which are ignited between a micromachined electrode array and planar workpiece) can facilitate material diversity by permitting stainless steel and other metals to be micromachined for devices such as cardiac stents. Beyond manufacturing issues, the ability to predict and control microdischarges permits them to be exploited in transduction schemes. Spectroscopic sensing of chemicals in both gas and liquid phase is an obvious application. For example, microdischarges to liquid microchannels have been used to detect inorganic contaminants such as lead and chrome in water. However, the converse application, which is the use of liquids to serve as inexpensive but tunable sources for radiation wavelengths that are otherwise not easy to generate, may also offer value. These issues will be addressed as well.