Perovskites could provide a big boost to silicon solar cells, GCEP study finds.

Steven Chu was the keynote speaker at net energy analysis workshop.

GCEP alumni help drive innnovative energy effort.

 

From the Director

In this newsletter, I'd like to share with you the latest about exciting GCEP efforts, including:

• GCEP investigator Michael McGehee and graduate student Colin Bailie demonstrate how perovskites could dramatically improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells.
• At a recent GCEP workshop, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel joined other experts to discuss the role of net energy analysis as a technology assessment tool for academia and business.
• A new technology developed by GCEP researcher Biondo Biondi and his team could revolutionize offshore oil and natural gas extraction and lessen its impact on marine life.

Please also join me in congratulating:

• GCEP alumni Kendra Kuhl, Etosha Cave, Dan Riley and Jared Schwede, who landed key roles at a new energy effort at Berkeley Lab.
• Chris Field, a GCEP research theme leader and investigator, who has been nominated by the U.S. State Department to serve as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

And finally, a special thanks and best wishes to Rod Nelson, former chairman of Schlumberger Technology Corporation. In this edition, Rod reflects on his work with GCEP over the past seven years.

Many thanks to all of you for your continued interest and support of GCEP.

Sally M. Benson, Director Global Climate and Energy Project

• Biondo Biondi and colleagues use ocean waves to monitor offshore oil and gas fields
• Aluminum battery offers safe alternative to conventional batteries, Honjie Dai's study finds
• A research team led by Zhenan Bao shows how a rare molecule can improve flexible electronic devices
• Jennifer Dionne and Hemamalu Karunadasa honored as outstanding early-career scientists
• Sally Benson interview: Assessing our rapidly changing world of energy
• At AAAS conference, Yi Cui says future batteries need to triple capacity, cut price by 67%
• Chris Field explains how solar could meet California energy demand three to five times over
• Incoming Stanford graduate students may apply to attend Energy@Stanford&SLAC, a conference co-sponsored by GCEP