Professor of Chemistry Wins $115,000 to Pursue Solar Research Project

Andrew Rappe, Professor of Chemistry, has received an Energy Commercialization Institute Award for Alternative Energy Translational Research and Commercialization. The honor includes $115,000 to help finance his collaborative research project, “Ferroelectric Semiconductor Thin-films for Inexpensive and Efficient Solar Cells.”

Rappe’s team will work to develop a thin-film process and solar cell technology based on a new class of materials—ferroelectric semiconductors—which are more cost-effective to produce. The ferroelectric semiconductors absorb visible light and then separate the leftover carriers. This method will help pave the way for the future of less expensive solar cell fabrication techniques.

Rappe was recently selected as a recipient of a 2011-2012 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. He is also the co-director of Pennergy, the Penn Center for Energy Innovation, which launched in September, 2009. The Center’s mission is to bring together world-class researchers to solve scientific and technological problems through the efficient use of current energy sources.