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Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

 

The fifth annual Winton Symposium will be held 3 November at the Cavendish Laboratory on the theme of “Solar Energies – science of light harvesting.”

The one-day event is an opportunity for students, researchers and faculty from across the University to hear a series of talks given by world leading experts and engage in a debate on a topical issue related to sustainability.


Former Head of the Chemistry Department, Professor Sir David King, will open the Symposium.  He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the government where he had a key role in raising public awareness for climate change, and now serves as the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change.


There is no registration fee for the Symposium and complimentary lunch will be provided, however due to the large demand for places, participants are required to register on-line for the event.


Other speakers include:


  • Professor Jenny Nelson, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, has focused her research on understanding molecular semiconductor materials.  In her talk she will explore these materials and their nanostructure for producing solar cells.
  • Professor Albert Polman leads the Photonic Materials group in FOM Institute AMOLF. In his talk he will discuss how light interactions on the nanoscale can be used to realize solar cells with high efficiency.
  • Professor Tonio Buonassisi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology heads the photovoltaic research laboratory.  Working in collaboration with a number of solar-energy companies, he contributed to the development of various solar-cell technologies in commercial production today.
  • Dr Frank Dimroth, Head of III-V Epitaxy and Solar Cells Department, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energies has worked on III-V based solar cells that have produced records of up to 46% conversion efficiency.
  • Professor Greg Engle, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, will shed light on how processes in nature such as photosynthetic antenna complexes operate with close to perfect efficiency, and the interface between biology and quantum mechanics.
  • Professor Henry Snaith, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, will describe the research that has led to high efficiency thin film solar cells made with lead halide perovskite materials.  These offer the prospect of providing low cost solar energy.

The Department of Chemistry has strong collaborations with the Cavendish Laboratory and the Winton Programme, which was established in 2011 through a £20 million donation to the Cavendish by alumnus David Harding.  This has provided the freedom to explore basic science that could generate the breakthroughs needed to meet the growing demand on our natural resources.