REU Site: Solar Energy Research for the Terawatt Challenge

本科生研究体验(REU)太阳能和光伏研究网站由亚利桑那州立大学(ASU)主办，使用美国国家科学基金会/能源部共同资助的量子能源和可持续太阳能技术(QESST)工程研究中心(ERC)的设施。满足世界能源需求的可持续性挑战--“太瓦挑战”--被描述为这一代人的决定性挑战。当今许多最紧迫的世界问题从根本上与能源交织在一起，从气候变化到贫困。光伏(PV)装置是最有前景的可持续能源，在过去的十年中已经从实验室过渡到工厂。如果光伏产业保持目前的增长速度，它可以在十年内提供世界所需的所有新电力，到2050年可以满足世界总能源需求。然而，要实现这一目标，学术界和工业界都需要有积极性和创新性的工程师。REU网站的目的是向本科生介绍一般研究和具体的太阳能研究，体验如何将他们正在学习的课程工作应用于应对太瓦挑战的实践，并练习如何将科学研究原理应用于任何工程挑战。该REU网站为本科生提供机会，在为期9周的暑期项目中从事太阳能研究，主题从基础(例如，III-V多结太阳能电池中有源层的新生长方法)到应用(例如，现场硅模块的退化机制)。REU计划的参与者将沉浸在这个正在进行的太阳能研究的智力大熔炉中，既加强现有的项目(例如高迁移率透明导电氧化物)，又参与其他项目的启动(例如硅基串联太阳能电池)。REU项目的设计将跨越传统的学科界限--就像光伏研究很容易做到的那样--协同结合设备物理、材料科学、化学、电气工程和可持续发展。REU学生的实验室经验将通过研讨会和研讨会得到加强，这些研讨会和研讨会使他们能够接触到光伏研发、能源利用社会科学、可持续发展和太阳能产业等广泛领域的专家。该计划还将包括一些旨在鼓励正式和非正式沟通技能、协作解决问题以及与来自不同文化、地理和人口背景的同事进行团队合作的社交活动。每个学生将前往一个会议或研讨会来展示他或她的作品。REU将从QESST伙伴机构网络中大量招聘，这些机构中的大多数都有相当大的学生人口，但在工程学方面的代表性不足。通过跨越学科界限和不同导师基础的研究，这个REU网站将留住在追求更高学位和职业的过程中具有各种工程背景的学生。

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.