Several Sustainability Scientists and ASU engineers are developing ultra-thin silicon solar cells that produce more electricity from the sun with a Department of Energy SunShot Initiative three-year grant. Given $3.5 million, project leader Stuart Bowden is teaming up with Stephen Goodnick, Christiana Honsberg, Mariana Bertoni, and Zachary Holman to advance the U.S.'s solar energy future. All team members are also part of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering. Much of the work will take place in ASU's Solar Power Lab on the Tempe campus and Research Park.

"A wave of advances is expected in photovoltaic solar cell technologies that should propel solar-energy industry growth within the next several years, and our efforts stand to make a big contribution to move that forward," Bowden says.

Project partner institutions include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology, the University of New South Wales in Australia, and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.