Science and Engineering Council of Santa Barbara:February Luncheon
Elephant Bar Restaurant, Thursday February 14, 2008, 12:00-1:30
------- THIS MONTH’S TOPIC -------
Low Cost "Plastic" Solar Cells
Dr. Heeger will summarize recent progress on the performance of solar cells fabricated from semiconducting polymers. He sees a clear technology pathway to efficiencies required for rooftop applications. He will discuss lifetime issues and progress toward manufacturing plastic solar cells by printing/coating technology. Dr. Heeger will demonstrate that the dream of low cost plastic solar cells is becoming a reality.
------ PRESENTER ------
Dr. Alan Heeger, UCSB, Professor of Physics and Professor of Materials
Dr. Alan J. Heeger is widely known for his pioneering research in and the co-founding of the field of semiconducting and metallic polymers. Professor Heeger is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2000), the Oliver E. Buckley Prize for Condensed Matter Physics, the Balzan Prize for the Science of New Materials, and honorary doctorates from universities in the United States, Europe and Asia.
His B.S. degree from the University of Nebraska was in Physics and Mathematics. He did graduate work at UC Berkeley where he completed his PhD in Physics in 1961.
Prof. Heeger moved to UC Santa Barbara in 1982 where he joined the Physics Department. He was a founding member of the Materials Department (in Engineering) and he was a founder and first Director of the Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids. He currently holds the Presidential Chair at UCSB where he serves as Professor of Physics and Professor of Materials.
Prof. Heeger has more than 700 publications in scientific journals and holds approximately 50 patents. He founded UNIAX Corporation in 1990; UNIAX was acquired by DuPont in 2000. Prof. Heeger serves on the Board of Directors Konarka Technologies Inc., and he is a Venture Partner in NGen Partners, a materials-based venture capital firm in Santa Barbara. He is Chairman of CBrite Inc. in Santa Barbara, a new start-up that is focusing on opportunities for printing "plastic electronics". He is Vice-Chairman of CytomX a newly founded venture to exploit micro fluidics in cell sorting and related areas.
His research group in the Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids continues to focus on semiconducting and metallic polymers. Current interests also include biosensors for detecting targeted sequences on DNA, specific proteins, and biologically relevant small molecules.
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OTHER INFORMATION -------
$14 SEC members, $20 non-members.
Information: Barbara Keaney (E-mail scieng@silcom.com) or call (805) 684-4927.
Reservations not required. Visit our web page at http://www.scieng.org
Elephant Bar Restaurant: 521 Firestone Road, off Hollister
-- near airport administration, in Goleta.
From the Co-Presidents:
Tim Murphy and Gary Kravetz