School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
The School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering is internationally recognised for its research in the area of photovoltaics, most of which is now conducted under the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Silicon Photovoltaics and Photonics. It was also the first organisation internationally to offer undergraduate training in the area of Photovoltaics and Solar Energy, and since then has extended the educational programs offered to include postgraduate and research training opportunities.
Announcements
SUNSWIFT Solar Racing Team Blitz from Darwin to Adelaide
UNSW SUNSWIFT Solar Racing Car
31 October 2009
"UNSW’s solar racing team is celebrating its victory in the Global Green Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide. Sunswift IV was the first Australian car to cross the finish line.
As the top-placed silicon cell car, it’s a double win for the elated members of the student-led team, who completed their epic campaign yesterday afternoon." To read more from the UNSW media unit click here. Richard Corkish, Head of School, said, "60 students raised $280,000 for this event. With over 10,000 hours volunteered the immense effort has certainly paid off and we are all very proud of them."
Best Poster at the 24th EU PVSEC 2009
PhD Student Zi Ouyang - Principal Author
6 October 2009
PhD Student Zi Ouyang and his co-authors have been selected as the winners of the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference’s Poster Award (in Hamburg, Germany) in the area of "Thin-Film Photovoltaics”.
Their paper was entitled Enhanced Photocurrent in Evaporated Solid-Phase-Crystallised Poly-Si Thin-Film Solar Cells Using Rear Surface Plasmons by Z. Ouyang, F. Beck, O. Kunz, P. Campbell, K.R. Catchpole, S. Varlamov, S. Pillai, M.A. Green.
“Surface Plasmons, as a novel light-trapping method, have the potential to significantly improve solar cell performance with little add-on cost and are especially viable for thin-film solar cells”, said Zi Ouyang. “At the conference there were six topics and eight best posters awards among 1,081 accepted posters (991of them were presented at the conference as award candidates). Our poster was in "Thin-Film Solar Cells" topic. Because it is a very big topic area the judges selected two papers for the best poster award.” To view the official webpage about the award click here. To view the poster click here (pdf).
Scholarships: Applications now OPEN for the Semester 1 2010
UNSW Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) / University Postgraduate Awards (UPA)
29 September 2009
Applications close 5pm, 30 October 2009. Successful applicants will be notified, via email, from the week commencing 14 December 2009. For more information or to apply click here.
ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence Annual Report 2008
2008 ARC Photovoltaics
Centre
of
Excellence Annual Report
24 August 2009
The Australian Research Council’s Phtovoltaics Centre of Excellence 2008 Annual Report has been released and is now available for downloading. This report contains the research achievements of the centre for First, Second and Third Generation Photovoltaics as well as technology commercialisation and industry collaborative research. To go to the download page for this document (163 pages ~ 10.5MB pdf) click here.
Professor Stuart Wenham is presented with the Green Globe Award
Green Globe Award
30 July 2009
The Green Globe Awards are the leading environmental awards in New South Wales. Now in its tenth year, the NSW Government's Green Globe Awards showcase outstanding achievements in the sustainable use of natural resources in NSW and leadership in tackling climate change. For more information on NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change Green Globe Awards click here. For more information on the winners of this year's prizes click here
2009 Certificate of Excellence Awards
Award Winners
Left to Right: Yu Yao, Yu Feng & Xue Bai
Not pictured: Dong Lin
29 July 2009
Four School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering students have received 2009 Certificate of Excellence awards for outstanding academic performance in the Asia-Pacific Undergraduate Partnership Program. Yu Yao, Yu Feng, Xue Bai (pictured above) & Dong Lin (not pictured) were awarded their certificates by Dr. Richard Corkish, Head of School, on the 22nd of July, 2009.
SPEED OF LIGHT 2 is available free on-line for duration of World Solar Challenge
Speed of Light 2: The 1999 World Solar Challenge
23 June 2009
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), considered to be the ultimate challenge in solar racing, will run from 25 – 31 October 2009. (Click here to find out more about the WSC.) Run from Darwin to Adelaide, this 3010 km race pushes engineering and tactics to their limits in what has been described as “the ultimate brain sport”. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the publication of SPEED OF LIGHT 2: The 1999 World Solar Challenge, the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering is placing it on the web until the closing date of the WSC. View the teams, the cars, the solar cells, the batteries and the tactics used a decade ago. (For those interested in purchasing the CDRom it is available from the UNSW Bookshop by clicking here.) To view SPEED OF LIGHT 2 on the web click here.
Dr. Gavin Conibeer Presents: Photovoltaics Technology Overview
Click here to see video of overview
10 June 2009
Deputy Director Gavin Conibeer of the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence at UNSW has presented an 18 minute overview to the Australian PV Association. To view this video presentation click here.
SPREE student Telia Curtis has won $1,000 at the UNSW Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Showcase for her poster entitled Sunny Solution for a Nutty Nuisance
Telia's Poster
Sunny Solution for a Nutty Nuisance
26 May 2009
Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Showcase 18 & 19 May 2009
The Office of the DVC(R) and the CC&ES Research Showcase Committee have put together a broad and varied program showcasing the breadth of talent working in the areas of climate change and environmental sustainability. Researchers will showcase their work in presentation and poster format.
Research staff and students are encourage to attend. This is a great opportunity to hear about the latest research being done in these critical areas, meet with colleagues and to discuss ideas. To learn more about this and other showcases at UNSW click here. To download the pdf of the poster click here.
Professor Stuart Wenham named New South Innovations Inventor of the Year
Professor Stuart Wenham
24 April 2009
Solar cell inventor Stuart Wenham has won the top prize at the 2009 Inventor of the Year awards hosted by New South Innovations, UNSW’s technology commercialisation company.
Professor Wenham is a world-leading solar cell inventor who heads UNSW’s ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence. In a career spanning more than a quarter of a century, he has invented or co-invented eight suites of solar cell technologies that have been licensed to solar cell makers around the world, including Suntech-Power, BP Solar and Samsung. These companies have annual production volumes valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in an industry that is now the world’s fastest-growing energy sector... Click here to read more of this article from the UNSW Media website.
Professor Stuart Wenham to recieve the IEEE's 34th PVSC Cherry Award
20 April 2009
"This award is named in honor of William R. Cherry, a founder of the photovoltaic community. In the 1950's, he was instrumental in establishing solar cells as the ideal power source for space satellites and for recognizing, advocating, and nurturing the use of photovoltaic systems for terrestrial applications. The William R. Cherry award was instituted in l980, shortly after his death. The purpose of the award is to recognize engineers and scientists who devote a part of their professional life to the advancement of the technology of photovoltaic energy conversion. The nominee must have made significant contributions to the science and/or technology of PV energy conversion, with dissemination by substantial publications and presentations. Professional society activities, promotional and/or organizational efforts and achievements are not considerations in the election for the award." IEEE ~ For more information on the Cherry Award click here.
World's Largest PV Class?
A/Prof Alistair Sproul teaching Applied Photovoltaics
18 March 2009
“The School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering may be teaching the world’s largest Photovoltaics class”, says Prof. Stuart Wenham, Director of the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence. “With 246 undergraduate and postgraduate students, the Applied Photovoltaics class has moved from a specialty area of study into mainstream engineering. Of course we wouldn’t be able to teach a class of this size unless industry needed engineers skilled in these areas but it is still amazing to see how quickly this class has grown.” To find out more about the classes Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering students take click here. To find out how to enrol in the online version of Applied Photovoltaics for Professional Engineers click here.
President of South Korea Visits UNSW Photovoltaics Labs
Left: President Lee Myung-bak, South Korea
Right: Dr. Richard Corkish, Head of School
Left to Right:
A/Professor Chung-Sok Suh, Director, Korea-Australasia Research Centre (KAREC)
Professor Les Field, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
Dr Richard Corkish, Head, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering
President Myung-bak Lee, President of the Republic of Korea
Professor Fred Hilmer AO, Vice-Chancellor and President
Professor Richard Henry AM, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
Ms Jennie Lang, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International)
Mr. Youn-ho Lee, Minister of Knowledge Economy of the Republic of Korea
4 March 2009
The ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence was honoured by the visit of President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea. For more information about this visit please see:
Chinese Governor Visits UNSW Photovoltaics Labs
Above left to right:
Dr. Richard Corkish, Head of School
Governor Guo Geng Mao, Peoples Government of Henan Province, China
Professor Richard Henry, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
3 February 2009
The ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence was honoured by the visit of His Excellency Mr. Guo Geng Mao, Governor of Henan Provincial Government and delegates. “We are most pleased to show His Excellency thorough our photovoltaics laboratory.” says Dr. Richard Corkish. “We have very strong academic and industrial links with many Chinese Universities and PV manufacturing groups. Visits such as these are instrumental in fostering collaborative activities.”
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IEEE Honours Professor Stuart Wenham14 November 2008 |
UNSW Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence recognized for world record 25% conversion efficiency
28 October 2008
With the International Electrochemical Commission’s adjustment of the internationally recognized solar spectrum the Centre has now achieved 25% conversion efficiency. For more information see the Sydney Morning Herald article here or to listen to the ABC Radio National Science Show's interview with Prof. Green click here.
United Nations Report ~ "Green" energy should create 20 million jobs by 2030
30 September 2008
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Development of alternative energy should create more than 20 million jobs around the world in coming decades as governments adopt policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a U.N. report released on Wednesday. Click here to go to the Reuters site.
Professor Martin Green honored as New South Wales Scientist of the YearClick here to view video on NSW Office for Science and Medical Research webpage. |
12 September 2008
Pioneering UNSW solar energy researcher, Scientia Professor Martin Green, has been named the New South Wales Scientist of the Year – leading a stellar performance by UNSW academics in the inaugural State awards to recognise scientific excellence.
Professor Green, a Federation Fellow and Executive Research Director of the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence at UNSW, was recognised with the State’s highest award for science for his innovative work in solar cell development. He also won the Environment, Water and Climate Change Sciences category.
Professor Green has led the development of the world’s highest efficiency silicon solar cells and is a co-inventor of “second-generation” silicon-on-glass solar cell technology, which offers dramatic cost reductions for solar cell manufacture by reducing the amount of silicon used. He is now working on high-efficiency “third generation” thin-film photovoltaic technology... Click here to read more of this article from the UNSW Media website. Click here to go to the NSW Office for Science and Medical Research webpage.
New Energy Research Centre Opens at UNSW
View the CERPA Opening 12 minute slide presentation by Prof. Wenham. |
12 August 2008
The UNSW Centre for Energy Research and Policy Analysis is a multi-faculty institute focused on innovation and understanding in all aspects of energy generation, utilisation and conservation. With the goal of developing real-world solutions to the energy challenges of today and the future, CERPA harnesses the diverse strengths of UNSW and brings together world-class researchers who are working together on the key areas of:
- Renewable energy technologies
- Fuels for a cleaner environment
- Distributed Energy Systems
- Efficient energy technologies
- Economic, social and regulatory policy
To go to the CERPA website click here. To read about the opening of the centre click here.
APPLIED PHOTOVOLTAICS TEXTBOOK NOW IN CHINESE
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Note: this book is now available from the UNSW Bookshop. Click here to go to the bookshop's webpage. |
27th May 2008
The Centre's book Applied Photovoltaics has just been published in Chinese. "We expect that this publication will become one of the most used photovoltaics textbooks in China", says Dr. Richard Corkish, Head of School and co-author. "With the explosive growth of the Chinese PV industry, engineers and students are looking to find authoritative textbooks published in their own language." This publication has been available in English in China for some time and because of its great demand a Chinese translation has now been published through Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press. To view the cover and publication info click here (2 pages PDF). To go to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press click http://www.jiaodapress.com.cn/2008061305.htm. You can also order this book from here or here.
AWARD FOR UNSW SOLAR VISIONARY
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(The above video was kindly supplied by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.)
16th May 2008
UNSW solar energy innovator, Scientia Professor Stuart Wenham, has won one of the most prestigious Australian research accolades – an Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Clunies Ross Award – for his enormous contributions to solar cell development and commercialisation. Click here for more information on this award. Click here to go to the ATSE website. Click here to go to the Clunies Ross Foundation website.
UNSW MAKING CHANGES TOWARDS A BETTER WORLD
UNSW aims to be the most sustainable campus in the southern hemisphere and lead climate change research. Here's how the uni is going about it.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UxbV1jsr4pw&feature=PlayList&p=5F5F335FC2E5F316&index=0
UNSW ALUMNI AWARD GOES TO DR ZHENGRONG SHI OF SUNTECH POWER
March 2008
Jenny Lu, Manager of Suntech Power Australia, accepted an award from the UNSW Alumni Association on behalf of Dr
UNSW wishes to recognise alumni who have achieved excellence in their chosen field of endeavour. The Alumni Awards for Achievement are made to eminent UNSW alumni in Australia and throughout the world who have made outstanding contributions to their community, have stimulated new ideas and services and have shown exceptional dedication, creativity or leadership. The Awards, an annual event since 1981, are a celebration of alumni achievement and demonstrate what can be achieved with a UNSW education.
The long awaited 2nd edition of Photovoltaics: Devices, Systems and Applications by Chris Honsberg & Stuart Bowden is now available for review free of charge from the University of Delaware. Click here to go to the UDEL site: http://pvcdrom.pveducation.org This is the companion multimedia CDRom for the PV Centre’s textbook Applied Photovoltaics (this textbook is available from the UNSW Bookshop by clicking here).
Photovoltaic Devices and Applications is the on-line version of the 4 th year and postgraduate engineering class Applied Photovoltaics. New for 2008, this 12 - 16 week on-line class is now available either in an engineering strand for professional engineers or in a essay based ‘minimal mathematics’ strand for professional architects and related occupations ~ click here for more information.
Applied Photovoltaics 2nd ed is the school's most recent publication. All of the web links referenced in the book are now listed and updated monthly. New links are added and dead links are removed.
Download a free copy of RaySim Version 6.0 from the RaySim subsite.
Learn more about the UNSW School of Photovoltaics and Solar Energy Engineering's Bachelor of Engineering in Photovoltaics and Solar Energy Engineering AND the Bachelor of Engineering in Renewable Energy Engineering. Over 1 hour of video ~ click here to open in new (pop up) browser (you may need to Control-Click on some browsers) ~ click here to open in current browser. Presentation 800 by 600.