US-Egypt Joint Workshop on Solar Energy Systems and Materials, Cairo, Egypt, March 2011

1037104McLeskey 描述：该奖项支持将于 2011 年 2 月在开罗举办的美国-埃及太阳能系统和材料研讨会。组织者是里士满弗吉尼亚联邦大学的 James McLeskey 博士和埃及开罗尼罗河大学的 Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb 博士。涵盖的主题包括降低光伏技术的成本、提高下一代光伏技术的效率、使用氢存储太阳能以及将太阳能技术整合到电网中。研讨会将包括14名美国科学家和工程师、4名美国研究生以及来自埃及和中东其他国家的参与者。 研讨会将有四个科学重点： 平价1：提高下一代低成本光伏技术（主要是有机器件，包括染料敏化太阳能电池和聚合物太阳能电池）的效率和稳定性； 平价2：降低当前光伏技术的制造成本（晶体硅新工艺技术以及纳米结构硅、硅纳米线和石墨烯电极的使用）； 电力传输：将太阳能技术并入电网； 太阳能热能：研究用于太阳能热能储存的先进传热流体和材料及其在聚光太阳能发电和工业过程热中的应用。智力价值：会议的主题显然很有趣。太阳能被认为是非碳替代能源的主要来源，但目前最好的技术依赖于晶体硅，晶体硅难以制造，因此价格昂贵。使用量子点或染料敏化太阳能电池的替代技术使用稀有或毒性太大而无法大规模生产的成分。该研讨会将促进新的合作，以解决这些问题并帮助降低成本并提高太阳能电池的效率。 美国将获得潜在的研究生和测试太阳能技术的绝佳地区。埃及将获得最先进太阳能技术的重要培训。美国和埃及的两个集团活跃于硅基光伏领域。埃及组织者正在与埃及纳米技术中心密切合作，该中心正在研究低成本薄膜光伏、低成本石墨烯电极以及非晶硅结构和氢钝化的计算建模和模拟。更广泛的影响：研讨会将促进美国和中东科学家之间科学信息、想法和经验的交流。它将有助于建立合作，推广太阳能系统和材料，造福社会。 该研究概述具有重要意义，因为提高光伏设备和材料的效率并降低成本有助于减少世界对不可再生能源的依赖。该研讨会还将支持对来自美国和埃及的年轻科学家和女性的培训。 它将提供一个论坛来讨论美国和埃及太阳能系统和材料的研究生教育。下一代科学家和工程师的教育可以在该领域的进一步研究中发挥重要作用。参加研讨会的许多埃及参与者都是女性。 该研讨会的部分资金来自美国-埃及联合基金计划。 土木、机械和制造创新司以及化学司也与国际科学与工程办公室共同资助该项目。

1037104McLeskeyDescription: This award supports a US-Egypt Workshop on Solar Energy Systems and Materials to be held in Cairo in February 2011. The organizers are Dr. James McLeskey from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb of Nile University, in Cairo, Egypt. Topics to be covered include lowering the costs of photovoltaic technology, increasing the efficiency of next generation photovoltaic technology, storing solar energy using hydrogen, and integrating solar technology into the grid. The workshop will include 14 US scientists and engineers and 4 US graduate students as well as participants from Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. The workshop will have four scientific emphases: Grid Parity 1: Increasing the efficiency and stability of next generation low-cost photovoltaic technology (primarily organic devices including dye-sensitized solar cells and polymer solar cells); Grid Parity 2: Lowering the manufacturing costs of current photovoltaic technology (new process technology for crystalline silicon as well as the use of nano-structured silicon, silicon nanowires, and graphene electrodes); Power Transmission: Integrating solar technology into the grid; Solar Thermal: Investigating advanced heat transfer fluids and materials for solar thermal energy storage with applications to concentrated solar power and industrial process heat.Intellectual Merit: The topic of the conference is clearly of great interest. Solar energy is thought to be the major source for a non-carbon-based alternative energy, yet the best current technologies rely on crystalline silicon which is difficult to manufacture and therefore expensive. Alternative technologies using quantum dots or dye-sensitized solar cells use components that are rare or too toxic for mass production. The workshop will foster new collaborations which can address these issues and help decrease the cost and increase the efficiency of solar cells. The US will gain access to potential graduate students and a great region to test solar technologies. Egypt will get important training in state of the art solar technology. The two groups in the US and in Egypt are active in silicon-based PV. The Egyptian organizer is working closely with the Egyptian Nanotechnology Center which is investigating low-cost, thin-film photovoltaics, low-cost graphene electrodes, and computational modeling and simulation of a-Si structures and hydrogen passivation. Broader Impact: The workshop will facilitate the exchange of scientific information, ideas, and experiences between US and scientists in the Middle East. It will help build collaborations to promote solar energy systems and materials for the benefit of society. The research outlined is relevant since increased efficiency and lower cost for PV devices and materials could help reduce the world's dependence on non-renewable sources of energy. The workshop will also support the training for young scientists and women from the U.S. and form Egypt. It will provide a forum to discuss graduate education in solar energy systems and materials in the US and Egypt. The education of the next generation of scientists and engineers could play an important role in further research in this area. Many of the Egyptian participants in the workshop are female. This workshop is funded partly under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program. The Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovations and the Chemistry Division are also co-funding the project with the Office of International Science and Engineering.