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UA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Industry and Research Collaborate to Improve Solar Cell Efficiency

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Industry and Research Collaborate to Improve Solar Cell Efficiency

Nov. 13, 2009
Research meets industry as two Tucson companies and UA professor Ray Kostuk have been awarded a three-year grant to investigate holographic optical collectors in solar technologies.

Professor Raymond K. Kostuk and two Tucson companies have secured a $330,000 three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate methods to optimize solar energy efficiency that blend low-cost holographic optical collectors with thin-film solar cell technologies. 

Solar energy is the most abundant form of renewable energy but the greatest issue with harnessing this resource is the cost of the conversion process, said Kostuk, a professor of electrical and computer engineering.