Workshop Organizers

Qing Shen, The University of Electro-Communications

Qing Shen is a professor at the University of Electro-Communications, Japan. She received her BS and MS degrees in physics from Nanjing University in 1987 and 1989, respectively. She earned her PhD degree in applied chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1995. Then she continued to work in the University of Tokyo as a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (PD) and a research assistant. In 1996, she joined the University of Electro-Communications and became a full professor in 2016. She was also concurrently a researcher in the Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO) program “Photoenergy Conversion Systems and Materials for the Next Generation Solar Cells”, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), from 2009 to 2015. She received several awards: Young Scientist Award of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (1997), the Best Paper Award of the Japan Society of Thermophysical Properties (2003), the Young Scientist Award of the Symposium on Ultrasonic Electronics of Japan (2003), the Excellent Women Scientist Award of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (2014). Her current research focuses on (1) photoexcited carrier dynamics and photo-physics as well as interface engineering of solar cells (perovskite solar cells, quantum dot solar cells and organic solar cells) and light-emitting devices for enhancing their photoelectronic conversion efficiency, (2) colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots (such as perovskite quantum dots, PbS quantum dots) including synthesis, fundamental optical properties, photoexcited carrier dynamics and application to optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and light-emitting devices.

Kai Zhu, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Kai Zhu is currently a Principal Scientist and Distinguished Member Research Staff at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He received his PhD degree in physics from Syracuse University in 2003, where he studied the electrical & optical properties and device physics of solar cells based on amorphous-silicon thin films and dye-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 films. He then spent about one year at Kansas State University as a postdoctoral researcher, working on III-Nitride wide-bandgap semiconductors for high-power blue and UV light emitting diodes. In 2004, he joined NREL as a postdoctoral researcher, working on fundamental charge carrier transport and recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells. Since 2007, he has worked as a staff scientist at NREL. Zhu’s current research interests are focused on both basic and applied research on perovskite solar cells, including perovskite material development, device fabrication and characterization, and basic understanding of charge carrier dynamics in these cells. In addition to solar cell applications, his research interests have also included hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical cells as well as nanostructured electrodes for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors.

Speakers

Jing Guo, First Solar

Jing Guo is the Head of Disruptive Technologies at the California Technology Center of First Solar, Inc. She received her BS from Peking University in 2000 and PhD from Princeton University in 2005, both in Chemistry with a focus on surface modification and thin film deposition. Since then, she served a variety of roles at Lam Research (then Novellus Systems), Nano Solar, Apple and First Solar in process development for thin film technologies with application in Semi, PV and touch/display. She is right now leading the perovskite advanced RnD for First Solar and has been in this role since 2022.

Jinsong Huang, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jinsong Huang is currently Louis D. Rubin, Jr. Distinguished Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received his PhD degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of California-Los Angeles in 2007. After working in a small business company for two years, he joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009 as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2014, and professor in 2016. He joined the faculty in the department of Applied Physical Sciences of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017. His current research interests include solution processed electronic materials for applications in energy, sensing, and consumer electronics.  He has authored > 250 publications, >30 patents, >10 books and book chapters.
       

Joseph Luther, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Joey Luther is a senior research fellow within the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science directorate at NREL. He began his research career studying III-V light-emitting diodes and multijunction solar cells at North Carolina State University, and then moved to NREL during his graduate studies to study defects within various photovoltaic technologies. Under the direction of Arthur Nozik, he developed solar cells from colloidal nanocrystals, which exploit a phenomenon where multiple excitons are generated and harvested per incident photon. Luther then became a postdoctoral scholar in Paul Alivisatos’ group at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 2009, he rejoined NREL as a senior research scientist. Luther’s research interests focus on developing clean energy technologies through the frontiers of nanoscience and low-cost advanced processing. His research is funded by Basic Energy Sciences Energy Frontier Research Centers, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, the U.S. Department of Defense, strategic partnerships with industry, and NASA.

Takurou N. Murakami, AIST

Takurou N. Murakami is a team leader of the Organic-Inorganic Hybrid PV Team, Global Zero Emission Research Center (GZR), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). He is currently leading an R&D project for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells under the Green Innovation Fund project. In this project, AIST supports companies in their technology development. Murakami received his PhD in engineering from Toin University of Yokohama in 2005 and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Michael Graetzel at EPFL before becoming a lecturer at Toin University of Yokohama in 2007. In 2005, he received the Scientific American 50 Award for his invention of the photocapacitor, which combines photoelectric conversion and storage in a single device. In 2006, he received the Honda Fujishima Award for his work on plastic dye-sensitised solar cells and photocapacitors. He also co-invented the world's first solid-state perovskite solar cell with Professor Henry Snaith of Oxford University, which was published in Science in 2012 and became the starting point for the development of perovskite solar cells worldwide.

Atsushi Wakamiya, Kyoto University
 
Atsushi Wakamiya received his PhD degree from Kyoto University in 2003. He began his academic career at Nagoya University as an assistant professor in 2003. In 2010, he moved to Kyoto University as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 2018. He has received several awards: The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work (2020), Commendation for Science and Technology by MEXT Japan: Award for Science and Technology Research Category (2022), etc. He is a project leader of the Green Innovation Program (NEDO) and JST-Mirai Program. He is a co-founder and a director (as Chief Scientific Officer, CSO) of “EneCoat Technologies, Co. Ltd.”, a startup company for perovskite solar modules. His research interests include physical organic chemistry, elemental chemistry, and materials chemistry.
   

Yanfa Yan, University of Toledo

Yanfa Yan is an Ohio Research Scholar Endowed Chair and a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Toledo. He is also a Faculty Member of the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization.  Previously, he was a Principal Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He earned his PhD degree in Physics from Wuhan University in 1993. His expertise includes thin-film solar cell fabrication, defect physics of semiconductors, and nanoscale characterization of microstructures, interfaces, and defects in thin-film photovoltaic materials. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Yang Yang, University of California, Los Angeles

Yang Yang earned his PhD from the University of Massachusetts in 1992, followed by short-term postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Riverside, in the same year. Prior to joining UCLA in 1997, he served as a staff scientist at UNIAX (now DuPont Display) from 1992 to 1996. Yang's primary research focuses on solar energy and highly efficient electronic devices. During his tenure at UCLA, Yang has supervised the completion of approximately 50 Ph.D. students and mentored around 50 postdoctoral researchers. Remarkably, roughly 40% of his mentees have gone on to become faculty members at esteemed institutions worldwide. His contributions have garnered significant recognition, with his work accumulating approximately 150,000 citations and boasting an impressive H-Index of 185. Presently, he holds the esteemed positions of Distinguished Professor at UCLA and the Carol and Lawrence E. Tannas Jr. Endowed Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.