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Session Description

Ticketed event: $45.00
This workshop, led by the members of the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technology ERC, an NSF and DOE-funded center dedicated to the development of photovoltaic technologies, featuring the Center Executive Director Dr. Christiana Honsberg and Dr. Richard Corkish – Head of School – as well as other representatives of School of Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia, will expose participants to an overview of successful solar energy courses, curriculum, and degrees. Due to its success in producing the largest number of graduate (B.A.-Ph.D.) engineers with a photovoltaic concentration, the School of Photovotaic & Renewable Energy Engineering will be a focus point of discussion. Discussion of the translation of the curriculum, programs of study, and degree plans from the Australian to the U.S. context will be lead by Honsberg, who participated in the development of the UNSW program, is the PI of the QESST center and has served as professor at Arizona State University and University of Delaware. Participants will engage in collaborative discussion to identify and address their own concerns and questions regarding teaching PV in the context of existing degree structures, course requirements, and content prioritization.

This workshop will combine the technical expertise of members of the QESST ERC team who have taught photovoltaic solar energy courses at leading institutions around the world. Honsberg will discuss the obstacles and opportunities the universities experienced as they developed new courses, programs, and curriculum. The content discussion will focus on current industry trends and technological innovations.

Members of the solar industry will participate in discussions concerning the state of the industry and the urgent need for PV training for new and existing engineers. Discussion of the potential cognitive bottlenecks and motivational affordances students experience when learning PV will be lead by the educational director of the QESST center, Jenefer Husman. For more information concerning the educational efforts of the QESST group, please go to PVeducation.org and click on the link for ASEE workshop.

Speakers

1. Dr. Jenefer Husman

   University of Oregon

   Jenefer Husman received a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, in 1998. An Associate Professor in the School of Social and Family Dynamics, Dr. Husman also serves as the Director of Education for the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technology Center. In 2006 she was awarded the U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER grant award and received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the President of the United States. She has conducted and advised on educational research projects and grants in both the public and private sectors, and served as an external reviewer for doctoral dissertations outside the U.S.

2. Christina DUPE Honsberg

   Arizona State University

   Professor, Christiana Honsberg joined the ASU electrical engineering faculty in 2008. She received her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from University of Delaware in 1986, 1989, and 1992, respectively, all in electrical engineering. Before joining the ASU faculty, Honsberg was an associate professor and director for the high performance solar power program at the University of Delaware. Dr. Honsberg is the Director of the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technology Center – An NSF-DOE funded Engineering Research Center.

3. Stuart Bowden

   Arizona State University

   Stuart Bowden received his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 1996 for work on static concentrators using silicon solar cells. Following graduation, he transferred the buried contact solar cell technology from UNSW to Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT). In 1998, he joined the Inter-University Micro Electronics Centre (IMEC) in Belgium where he demonstrated rear surface passivation of multicrystalline silicon wafers using boron diffusions and inversion layers created by silicon nitride. He presently heads the industrial collaboration laboratory at Arizona State University.

4. Dr. Richard Corkish

   University of New South Wales

   Richard Corkish graduated received his PhD PhD degree under the supervision of Professor Martin Green at the University of New South Wales’ Centre for Photovoltaic Devices and Systems. After a brief period working with the Rainbow Power Company in Nimbin he has worked on solar cell theory and applications at UNSW. He is currently the Head of School at the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW and an author of “Applied Photovoltaics” (2nd Edition).