Penn Scientists Demonstrate New Design for Solar Cell Construction

Researchers at Penn have experimentally demonstrated a new paradigm for solar cell construction that may ultimately make solar panels less expensive, easier to manufacture, and more efficient at harvesting energy from the sun.

The study was led by Professor Andrew M. Rappe and Research Specialist Ilya Grinberg of the Department of Chemistry, along with Class of 1942 Term Professor  and Chair Peter K. Davies of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Professor Jonathan E. Spanier of Drexel’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. It was published in the journal Nature.

They have created a new class of ceramic material, one that would be less expensive and composed of materials which are not rare, toxic, or expensive, as are those that make up “thin-film” panels. This new material contains potassium, niobium, barium, and nickel, which are relatively abundant and environmentally benign.

The research was supported by the Energy Commercialization Institute of Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Sciences, the Army Research Office, the American Society for Engineering Education, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Science Foundation.

Gaoyang Gou of Chemistry; D. Vincent West, David Stein and Liyan Wu of Materials Science and Engineering; and Maria Torres, Andrew Akbashev, Guannan Chen and Eric Gallo of Drexel also contributed to the study.

Read the full story here.

Arts & Sciences News

Azuma and Hart Named Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professors of American History

Eiichiro Azuma specializes in Asian American and transpacific history, while Emma Hart teaches and researches the history of early North America, the Atlantic World, and early modern Britain between 1500 and 1800.

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Arts & Sciences Students Honored during 37th Annual Women of Color Day

Sade Taiwo, C’25, and Kyndall Nicholas, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience, were honored for their work.

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Nine College Students and Alums Named Thouron Scholars; Will Pursue Graduate Studies in the U.K.

The Scholars are six seniors and three recent graduates whose majors range from neuroscience to communication.

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Irma Elo Named Tamsen and Michael Brown Presidential Professor in Sociology

Elo’s main research interests center on inequalities in health and mortality across the life course and demographic estimation of mortality. In recent years, she has extended her research to include predictors of cognition in high-, middle-, and low-income countries.

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Julia Hartmann Named Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics

She specializes in algebra and arithmetic geometry, a newer field that applies techniques from algebraic geometry to solve problems in number theory and co-developed the method of field patching.

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Holger Sieg Named Baird Term Professor of Economics

Sieg focuses his research on public and urban economics, as well as the political economy of state and local governments.

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