Two PhD students from the Research School of Electrical, Energy and Materials Engineering (RSEEME) at the Australian National University have received awards at the world’s largest Photovoltaic Solar Conference.
Thomas Allen and Mohsen Goodarzi joined over 1,700 experts in the field for the 32nd Annual European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EU PVSEC) and Exhibition held in Munich, Germany. They were both presented with EU PVSEC Student Awards.
The EU PVSEC Student Awards recognise the most remarkable and outstanding research work in the field of PV. Research papers are reviewed and scored by the international Scientific Committee, made up of more than 200 leading research and industry experts from the global PV community.
Fourth year PhD student Thomas was awarded for his research in finding easier and simpler ways to form electrical contacts to silicon solar cells.
“The award and plenary talk means greater exposure for my work and the work of my colleagues. Being able to present to such a large audience made it easier for me to network with a greater number of researchers” says Thomas.
Mohsen’s research focuses on silicon material characterisation at the ingot level. This provides invaluable information about contamination, as well as providing immediate feedback on silicon crystalline growth quality. With another year and a half remaining of his PhD, Mohsen’s research is already delivering promising results, with a paper expected to be published in a journal at the end of the month.
“Usually as a PhD student, you do not have many sources of feedback on your work. Winning a Student Award at the EU PVSEC Conference has shown my research is being recognised and appreciated by the Silicon Photovoltaic community and confirmed the quality of the work and high level of supervision that I’m receiving in my research.”