The MIT PV Lab

Dr. Austin Akey joined the PV Lab in January 2013. He focuses on laser-processing of semiconductors for solar cell applications. He earned his PhD in Materials Science at Columbia University studying structural and optoelectronic properties of hybrid nanomaterials, particularly colloidal quantum dots and single-walled carbon nanotubes. He received his B.A. in Physics from Princeton University in 2006.

Dr. Jasmin Hofstetter is studying the kinetics of metallic impurities and dislocations in silicon, and their interaction during solar cell processing. She received a degree in physics from Freie Universität Berlin in Germany in 2006 and she completed a PhD in Photovoltaic Solar Energy at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain. She joined the PV group in July 2011 as a Humboldt fellow.

Rafael Jaramillo is a solid state physicist who feels an imperative to work to develop sources of energy for our economy that are sufficient, safe, and renewable. As a physicist with an engineering background he also has deep interests in the science that it will take to achieve this goal. Rafael received a B.S. summa cum laude in engineering physics from Cornell University in 2002, an M.Eng. from the same department in 2003, and a Ph.D. in physics from The University of Chicago in 2008. At Chicago he worked on projects that addressed the emergence of antiferromagnetic order in solids. He has held a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, in 2007 received the Yodh Award for Excellence in Experimental Physics from The University of Chicago, and in 2010 received the Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award from the Advanced Photon Source. From 2009 to 2011 he was a Ziff Environmental Fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment, where he worked to better understand electron transport across oxide interfaces, a problem with broad relevance to current and future solar cell technologies.

Dr. Tim Kirkpatrick’s research interests are in the device physics of non-planar photovoltaic junctions. He joined the PVLab in September 2012 and is researching ways of increasing power conversion efficiency of thin film silicon solar cells through material processing and junction design. He completed his PhD in condensed matter physics at Boston College in August 2012.

Dr. Kivambe joined the PVLab in November 2012 and is currently studying structural defects in thin film solar cell materials. His previous research was on defects and their interaction in crystalline silicon for solar cells. He is an alumni of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where he received his MSc in condensed matter physics and biophysics in 2007 and his PhD in materials science and engineering in June 2012.

Yun Seog Lee is a first year postdoctoral researcher. His current research interests include design and fabrication of high efficiency thin-film solar cells using low-cost materials. He received the B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, Korea, in 2006, the M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, CA, in 2007, and the Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, in 2013.

Dr. Christie Simmons joined the PVLab in March 2011. She is researching methods for improving the efficiency of thin silicon solar cells. She completed a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison studying electron spin qubits (quantum bits) in silicon/silicon-germanium quantum dots. She received a B.A. in physics from Oberlin College in 2005.

Vera Steinmann is interested in earth-abundant materials (with a focus on tin sulfide) and their application in thin-film solar cells. She studied physics at the University of Würzburg, Germany and at the New York State University at Albany, where she completed her M.Sc. thesis on liner materials for copper interconnects in 2008. Her Ph.D. was on organic photovoltaics at the University of Cologne, Germany (2008 – 2012). She joined the MIT PV group in January 2013.

Riley is currently working towards the Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on thin film transport and optical properties, fabricating higher efficiency solar cells from earth-abundant materials such as Cu2O, and developing thin film silicon wafering techniques. Prior to joining the group, he conducted research in chemical lasers and non-Newtonian microfluidics, as well as interning as a Product Design Engineer at Apple.

Sergio is a third year graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He received his B.S. in M.E. from the University of Arizona in December 2008. His current research focuses on the reduction of dislocations and stress characterization in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. He is a member of the MIT Energy Club, and in his free time he enjoys sailing, swimming, and playing soccer. Sergio is a 2010 recipient of the Roberto Rocca fellowship.

Rupak is a first year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering. He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University in 2010. His previous research experience includes ultracold atomic physics, quantum chemistry of photosynthetic complexes, and photoelectrochemical characterization of thin films. Rupak also spent six months with Twin Creeks Technologies working on novel manufacturing processes for crystalline silicon photovoltaics. He is currently interested in low-cost, earth-abundant materials for thin film solar cells.

David (extended bio and cv) is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering. His current research interests include studying the kinetics of impurities in silicon during high temperature solar cell processing and alternative device architectures for improved solar cell efficiency. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2008, where he researched water management in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.  David is a Martin Family Fellow for Sustainability and a recipient of the NSF graduate research fellowship and the MIT Presidential Fellowship.

Katy is a fifth year graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering. She is interested in earth-abundant materials for thin film solar cells, as well as the application of solar technology in developing countries. She currently researches tin sulfide (SnS) thin films. She completed her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at MIT in June 2008, and has also worked as an intern at Evergreen Solar, Inc. Outside of MIT, Katy enjoys cooking, biking, hiking, astronomy and live music. Katy was an NSF fellow and is currently an Intel PhD fellow.

Eric Johlin is a third year grad student in Mechanical Engineering, being co-advised by Prof. Buonassisi, and Prof. Grossman in DMSE. He received his B.S. from Caltech in 2009. His current research focuses on combining experimental and computational approaches to explore the structural origins of hole trapping, and the implications of stress on the electronic structure and transport properties in hydrogenated amorphous silicon for photovoltaic applications.

Jonathan is a first year Electrical Engineering graduate student at MIT. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and Physics from MIT. He has previously interned at Robert Bosch while working towards his M.Eng degree through MIT VI-A internship thesis program. He is interested in improving solar cell efficiency by the use of intermediate bandgap material and light trapping.

Ashley is a second year graduate student. She studies the kinetics of impurities in silicon during solar cell processing. She received her Bachelor of Engineering degree from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College in 2011, where she researched global pastureland productivity and its implications for meeting the growing demands for sustainable fuel, food, feed, and fiber. Ashley is an MIT School of Engineering SMA2 Fellowship recipient and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow. Outside of the lab, Ashley enjoys biking and listening to NPR.

David is a first-year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He is currently researching a spectral splitting multi-junction PV device as well as 2D simulations of structural defects in silicon and new architectures and manufacturing techniques to enable efficient devices on thin silicon substrates. He received a B.S. in physics in 2007 from the University of Oregon where he studied defect characterization of CIGS thin-film solar cells. He also spent a year in R&D for a solar thermal company in Cape Town, South Africa. Outside of the lab, you can probably find him skiing, hiking, or playing ultimate frisbee.

Doug is a second year graduate student. He received his B.S. in Mech E. from Ohio State University in 2008. His previous research experience includes solar hot water heating and sustainable housing design. Doug began his career as an Engineer on the Wind Systems Conceptual Design team at GE. His current research focuses on structural defects in crystalline silicon solar cells and photovoltaic manufacturing. Doug is a NDSEG fellow.

Stephanie is a first year grad student in Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on modeling of defects in thin film chalcogenide materials. Stephanie received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 2012.

Sin-Cheng is a second year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Prior to graduate school, he studied at the National University of Singapore where he received his B.Eng. in Engineering Science. His current research interests include designing and fabricating high efficiency thin film solar cells using inexpensive and non-toxic materials. Sin Cheng is a 2010 recipient of the Clean Energy Scholarship from the National Research Foundation of Singapore.

Joseph Sullivan is a fourth-year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. His current research focuses on the electronic characterization of an hyper-doped silicon material that has the potential to be used in high-efficiency thin-film devices. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and his M.S. from Stanford University in Civil Engineering with a focus on Atmosphere and Energy. Joe is an NSF fellow.

Amanda is a first year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering. She received her Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the Lebanese American University. Her current research focuses on the Atom Probe Tomography Technique and its application on solar cells to detect the concentration profiles of impurities at the atomic level. Amanda is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship in 2012.

Menghsuan Pan is a sophomore in Course 3. He is from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and received his high school education in Newport Beach, California. Recently joined course 3, he is extremely excited about material science especially the field of green energy including photovoltaic technology.

Max is a junior in Course 3 from Rochester, NY. He is particularly interested in learning about Solar Cells and is eager to do specific research on the solar cell fabrication process ever since taking 3.024 at the end of sophomore year. He also plays for the MIT Football team and is the treasurer for Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Thomas is a junior in Course 3 from San Antonio, TX. He enjoys working with fabrication technologies and learning about alternative energy technologies. Additionally, he plays for the MIT Men’s Rugby team and is active with the Solar Electric Vehicle Team.

Mariela is a Research Specialist/Lab Manager at the PVLab. She received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA, in May 2012. Prior to joining the laboratory, Mariela worked as an Engineering Technician at the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research Facilities. Originally from Washington, D.C, she joined the PVLab in October 2012.

Jungwoo is PVLab's solar cell fabrication engineer. This involves improving a baseline solar cell device fabrication process; processing batches of solar cell wafers into devices; characterizing device performance, assessing performance loss mechanisms, and implementing process improvements. She received her B.A. in physics from Wellesley College in 2010. Prior to joining the group, she spent 2 years as an engineer with Panasonic Boston Laboratory, which specializes in laser processing applications and optical devices.

Michael is a laboratory assistant contributing to earth abundant materials research for use in photovoltaics. He is currently working on issues involving the production of Cuprous Oxide as an absorber material. Michael received a B.A. in physics from Boston University in 2011.

Jim grew up on a farm where the tool shed had the basics to keep the machinery working, and corner space to take things apart to see how they worked. During the turmoil of the 1960's, a promising BS turned into an MTh, and he founded and ran a community development center. In the 1970's, he returned to technology via Valley Forge Instruments Co., vocational counseling, course credit equivalent programs for restless gifted students, and finally a powder metal company, developing its first electro-mechanical secondary operations machinery. He was a partner at Solar Design Associates from 1978 to 1981 and designed and installed large-area building-integrated solar thermal and PV systems from 1981 to 1989. He worked as research staff on MIT's 3-D Printing Project and profused multi-well bioreactor from 1989 to 1995. He is a founding member of 1366 Technologies on the Direct Wafer team.