Powering the Future: Watson College Tackles Clean Energy Challenges

The earth is heating up, fam. Like, for real. We gotta ditch fossil fuels, and, like, yesterday. Thankfully, brainiacs worldwide are on the case, cooking up sustainable energy solutions. And guess what? Binghamton University’s Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science is totally killin’ it in this arena. We’re talking big-time grants and shout-outs for their cutting-edge energy research. This article dives deep into the awesome stuff happening at Watson College, where they’re seriously dedicated to a cleaner, greener future.

Generation: Revolutionizing Solar Power

Imagine a world powered by the sun – sounds pretty rad, right? Solar energy has the potential to be a game-changer, but traditional silicon solar panels have some, uh, limitations.

Limitations of Silicon Solar Panels

First off, silicon – the stuff they make solar panels from – is a pain to mine and purify. It’s expensive and not exactly eco-friendly. Plus, recycling those old panels? Whole other can of worms.

Perovskite: A Promising Alternative

Enter perovskite, a super-promising material that’s shaking up the solar scene. Here’s the deal:

• Perovskite can convert sunlight to electricity just as well as silicon, maybe even better!
• We can manufacture it cheaply using a cool process called roll-to-roll printing. Imagine newspapers, but instead of news, it’s solar panels – how cool is that?

But (there’s always a but, isn’t there?), perovskite isn’t perfect. It’s kinda sensitive to the elements, you know, rain, wind, that kind of thing. Not exactly ideal for something that’s supposed to live on your roof.

Tara P. Dhakal: Enhancing Perovskite Solar Cell Stability

That’s where Tara P. Dhakal comes in. This rockstar professor heads up the Center for Autonomous Solar Power (CASP) and is all about making perovskite solar cells tougher than a $ steak.

Dhakal’s groundbreaking research has scored major funding from bigwigs like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE). And get this – she even launched a spinoff company, Pinwheel Solar, to bring her lab creations to the market. Talk about a boss move!

Seokheun “Sean” Choi: Powering the Internet of Things with Biobatteries

Ever heard of biobatteries? No? Well, buckle up! Seokheun “Sean” Choi is another brilliant mind at Watson, and he’s developing teeny-tiny batteries powered by – get this – stuff like human sweat and bacterial spores. Yep, you read that right.

These biobatteries are perfect for powering the Internet of Things (IoT) – think sensors, smart labels, medical gadgets, even microscopic “smart dust.” Choi’s work has earned him a stack of grants from the NSF and the Office of Naval Research. The future is gonna be wild, y’all!