ECE Graduate Seminar
<p> </p> <p> You are cordially invited to attend the following seminar:</p> <p> </p> <p> Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering</p> <p> Old Dominion University</p> <p> GRADUATE SEMINAR</p> <p> </p> <p> Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Nanostructured</p> <p> Solar Cells: A Path Toward Inexpensive,</p> <p> Commercially-Viable Photovoltaics</p> <p> </p> <p> by</p> <p> Dr. Patrick Boland</p> <p> Research Scientist</p> <p> Applied Research Center</p> <p> Old Dominion University</p> <p> </p> <p> Friday, April 4, 2014</p> <p> 3:00 p.m. KH 224</p> <p> Host: Dr. Marsillac</p> <p> </p> <p> Solar cell technology has come a long way since the first observation of the photovoltaic effect in 1839. Solar cells are undergoing rapid technological growth and improvement in energy conversion efficiency via development of numerous types of devices. Photovoltaics fall under the broader categories of multi-junction, single-junction GaAs, crystalline Si, thin-film technologies, and emerging photovoltaics (PV) and each type has its pros and cons related to cost, efficiency, ease of manufacture, and useful lifetime. With cost per watt ($/W) being a prime driver impacting commercial viability, considerable focus continues to be placed on the improvement of organic solar cells in the emerging PV category where production is considerably less expensive than inorganics. However, power conversion efficiencies are much lower than with inorganic devices. A possible solution is to combine both organic and inorganic materials in such a way as to maintain low cost while increasing efficiency. This presentation will highlight the fabrication and operation of hybrid inorganic/organic solar cells.</p> <p> </p> <p> Bio:</p> <p> Dr. Patrick M. Boland Jr.</p> <p> Research Scientist, Applied Research Center, Old Dominion University Dept. of Electrical and Comp. Engineering. Received his B.S.E degree from the University of South Carolina in Dec. 1990 and his Master of Engineering Management (M.E.M) and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering degrees from Old Dominion University in May 1995 and Dec. 2011, respectively. Upon graduation, he worked as a tactical communications systems engineer and information warfare systems requirements officer as a member of the U.S. Air Force. While on active duty he completed a Masters in Engineering Management (M.E.M.) degree from ODU in August 1995. Upon retiring from the Air Force, he studied Biomedical Engineering and Optics at Virginia Commonwealth University before transferring to ODU to complete a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. At VCU he worked on biomedical signal analysis methodologies on preterm infants to assess their ability to feed successfully. He also studied laser-based optical techniques for chemical analysis using fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) embedded in glass optical fibers. At ODU he studied the simulation and fabrication of hybrid organic/inorganic solar cells. He joined Old Dominion University Research Foundation upon completing his Ph.D. in December 2011 and is currently a research scientist in ODU’s Virginia Institute of Photovoltaics (VIPv). His current research interests are mainly in vacuum technologies, thin film deposition, and CIGS (CuInGaSe2) absorber layer fabrication. To date, he has authored and co-authored over 15 refereed journal articles.</p>
Posted By: Linda Marshall
Date: Mon Mar 31 11:24:32 EDT 2014