REU Site: Solar Energy Research for the Terawatt Challenge

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site for Solar Energy and Photovoltaics Research is hosted by Arizona State University (ASU) using the facilities of the NSF/DOE jointly funded Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies (QESST) Engineering Research Center (ERC). The challenge of sustainability meeting the world's energy demand-the "terawatt challenge"-has been described as the defining challenge of this generation. Many of the most pressing world issues today are fundamentally intertwined with energy, ranging from climate change to poverty. Photovoltaic (PV) devices are the most promising sustainable energy source, and have made the transition from lab to fab in the past decade. Provided that the PV industry maintains its present growth rates, it can provide all of the new electricity required by the world within a decade, and it can meet the world's total energy demand by 2050. However, motivated and innovative engineers in both academia and industry are needed to achieve this goal. The aim of the REU Site is for undergraduate students to be introduced to research generally and solar research specifically, to experience how the course work they are studying can be put into practice to tackle the terawatt challenge, and to practice how the principles of scientific research can be applied to any engineering challenge. This REU Site offers opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in solar research during a 9-week summer program, on topics that range from fundamental (e.g., new growth methods for the active layers in III-V multi-junction solar cells) to applied (e.g., degradation mechanisms in silicon modules in the field). Participants in the REU program will be immersed in this intellectual melting pot of ongoing solar research, both strengthening existing projects (e.g., high-mobility transparent conductive oxides) and being involved in the initiation of others (e.g., silicon-based tandem solar cells). The REU projects will be designed to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries-as photovoltaic research is apt to do-synergistically combining device physics, materials science, chemistry, electrical engineering, and sustainability. The REU students' laboratory experience will be enhanced by seminars and workshops that provide them with access to experts in a wide range of fields including PV research and development, the social science of energy usage, sustainability, and the solar energy industry. The program will also include a number of social activities designed to encourage formal and informal communication skills, collaborative problem solving and teamwork with colleagues from diverse cultural, geographic, and demographic backgrounds. Each student will travel to one conference or workshop to present his or her work. The REU will recruit heavily from the network of QESST partner institutions, most of which have substantial populations of students that are under-represented in engineering. Through research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and a diverse base of mentors, this REU Site will retain students of all backgrounds in engineering as they pursue advanced degrees and careers.