Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (archive)

Addressing alternate energy: Assistant Professor Sumit Chaudhary, who joined Iowa State in fall 2007, is working on polymer-based (plastic) solar cells. He zeroed in on this research area because he felt that it was the best way to use his core expertise to make an impact toward one of the biggest challenges facing the engineering community—how to make solar energy conversion economical.

Increasing efficiency: The plastic solar cells Chaudhary created are thin, lightweight, flexible, translucent, and relatively inexpensive to produce. He was able to realize carbon nanotube electrodes and achieve the highest efficiency anyone in the field had reached. “It was a great project, but it solved only a part of the problem that polymer solar cells are facing. Now I'm focusing on other approaches that can have a more transformative impact toward increasing efficiency,” Chaudhary says.

Solar-powering electronics: Chaudhary says he thinks the plastic solar cells will be used initially in consumer electronics.“It looks like in a couple of years you might see the first plastic solar cells in small-scale, off-grid consumer electronic applications such as small flexible sheets that charge your iPod as you jog and reddish translucent window blinds that can charge your cell phones," Chaudhary says. Those solar cells also could be woven into clothing or even the fabric of a tent to supply power to a remote campsite or battlefield. A couple of start-up companies are working towards commercializing this technology by 2010.

Living green: Chaudhary says students and others can contribute to the environment in many ways. "Drive less if you can, use the Cyride, and shut the lights off when you leave your apartment. Small things add up. To save our environment, we have to follow the philosophy of global rationality. Do your part and assume that everybody is doing his or her part. Not doing your part because you think nobody else is doing it is a downward spiral.”

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