Return to: U of M Home |
|
|
myU | One Stop | Directories | Search U of M | |
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|
Expert Alerts |
|
|
|
Solar energy efficiency is topic of Nov. 1 workshop at the University of Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 10/27/2008 ) -- Solar energy experts and mathematicians from across the country will gather at the University of Minnesota for a one-day workshop to discuss ways to improve the efficiency and economic viability of solar energy for the future. The workshop, "Scientific Challenges in Solar Energy Conversion and Storage," will take place from 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1 at the University of Minnesota Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Building, Room 3-180, 200 Union St. S.E., Minneapolis. Eray Aydil, a U of M chemical engineering and materials science professor and solar energy expert, said that solar energy has huge potential. "We could supply all the electrical power used in the United States by covering an area as small as 100 miles wide by 100 miles long with 15-percent-efficient solar cells," Aydil said. "The next step is to find a way to take the science of solar cells and make them not only efficient, but also inexpensive to manufacture. More efficient solar cells are too expensive to compete with current fossil fuel costs." The workshop, organized and sponsored by the university's Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), will bring together scientists and mathematicians from universities and industry. "The workshop's goal is to inform participants from broad backgrounds in science and math on all aspects of this problem of national significance," said IMA Director Fadil Santosa. "Participants will then brainstorm ideas for funding proposals to the National Science Foundation's SOLAR initiative, which will provide $5 million per year for the research." To participate in the solar energy workshop, researchers are asked to send an e-mail to the IMA at directors@ima.umn.edu The IMA is a National Science Foundation Mathematics Institute with the mission of fostering interdisciplinary research to address important problems arising in science, technology, and society. It was established in 1982 on the University of Minnesota campus. ---------- |
|
||||
|
