45.7% Efficiency for Concentrator Solar Cell

This achievement represents one of the highest photovoltaic research cell efficiencies achieved across all types of solar cells.Credit: NREL (Click to enlarge)

This achievement represents one of the highest photovoltaic research cell efficiencies achieved across all types of solar cells.
Credit: NREL (Click to enlarge)

Improvements in solar power are being developed all around the world, with scientist and researchers continuously attempting to apply electrochemistry and other sciences to solar cells in order to improve efficiency. Recently, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has reported one of the highest photovoltaic cell efficiencies achieved across all types of solar cells.

Researchers at the NREL have demonstrated a 45.7 percent conversion efficiency for a four-junction solar cell at 234 suns concentration.

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Congratulations Graduates!

students

Congratulations to all graduating ECS student members!
Photo from the Student Mixer at the ECS 225th Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

All of us at ECS wish our graduating student members the best on their December commencement!

Seeking employment? Check out the ECS Redcat Job Board for current opportunities.

Changing jobs or moving? We want to know where you are going next! Don’t forget to log into your ECS account and submit a change request for your information.

Any questions or need assistance? Reach out to us at customerservice@electrochem.org.

Happy Holidays!

Member Spotlight – Telpriore “Greg” Tucker

Tucker, a six year ECS member, aims to develop future transportation that is sustainable and fun to use.Credit: Arizona State University

Tucker aims to develop transportation that is sustainable and fun to use.
Credit: Arizona State University

Hard-work and perseverance have paid off for The Electrochemical Society’s Telpriore “Greg” Tucker. From chemist, to mentor, to entrepreneur—the Arizona State University doctoral graduate aims to make an impact in renewable energy and transportation.

With his new degree in hand, Tucker plans to revisit his business plans for The Southwest Battery Bike Company, which focuses on developing electric bicycles that can provide a more affordable and greener source of transportation.

“I’ve always had an interest in transportation and how to make it more affordable and sustainable for the public,” Tucker says. “Since my degree focuses on batteries for renewable energy purposes, I began to see a lot of applications from my research. Some of the best jobs can spring from your hobby or projects that you enjoy doing.”

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ABAF and IMLB Proceedings for ECS Transactions

With the largest digital collection of electrochemistry and solid state related proceedings, ECST has published 750+ issues and over 16,000 articles since its launch in 2005.

With the largest digital collection of electrochemistry and solid state related proceedings, ECST has published 750+ issues and over 16,000 articles since its launch in 2005.

New issues of ECS Transactions have now been published from the ABAF and IMLB meetings. These meetings are sponsored by The Electrochemical Society. Their dates, volumes, and meeting information is as follows:

Volume 63
15th International Conference on Advanced Batteries, Accumulators and Fuel Cells (ABAF 2014), Brno, Czech Republic, August 24-28, 2014

Volume 62
17th International Meeting on Lithium Batteries (IMLB 2014), Como, Italy, June 10-14, 2014

Issues are continuously updated and all full-text papers will be published here as soon as they are available.

Get currently published issues of ECST.

To be notified of newly published articles or volumes, please subscribe to the ECST RSS feed.

Position Announcement: Director of Publications

ECS logoECS, the world’s leading society publisher in electrochemistry & solid state technology, is seeking a talented, innovative, and proactive Director of Publications to lead the strategic direction of its Publications department.

ECS (The Electrochemical Society) is a leading nonprofit publisher in the electrochemical and solid state sciences located in Pennington, NJ, with a long history of successful support of the scientific community it serves. The ideal candidate either works for a publishing house, a scholarly society, or perhaps in another role involving scholarly publications and have built a reputation for success.

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ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship

ecs_toyota

Request for Proposals

The Electrochemical Society with Toyota North America
Announces the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship
for Projects in Green Energy Technology

Proposal Submission Deadline: January 31, 2015
line_Dividers

ECS, in partnership with the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRINA), a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), is requesting proposals from young professors and scholars pursuing innovative electrochemical research in green energy technology.

Global development of industry and technology in the 20th century, increased production of vehicles and the growing population have resulted in massive consumption of fossil fuels. Today, the automotive industry faces three challenges regarding environmental and energy issues: (1) finding a viable alternative energy source as a replacement for oil, (2) reducing CO2 emissions and (3) preventing air pollution. Although the demand for oil alternatives—such as natural gas, electricity and hydrogen—may grow, each alternative energy source has its disadvantages. Currently, oil remains the main source of automotive fuel; however, further research and development of alternative energies may bring change.

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Help ECS Support Young Scientists

2014highlightsImagine a world where anyone—from the student in Atlanta to the researcher in Port au Prince—can freely read the scientific papers they need to make a discovery, where scientific breakthroughs in energy conversion, sensors or nanotechnology are unimpeded by fees to access or publish research.

At ECS, that is our vision of the future. We’re working to provide open access to all ECS publications, while maintaining our high standards of peer-review and fast delivery of content.

Please help us make this vision a reality by
making a tax-deductible donation to ECS today.

Your donation fosters the growth of electrochemistry and solid state science and technology by supporting ECS publications and the participation of scientists from around the world at our biannual meetings.

Through travel grants and reduced fees, ECS enables the participation of young scientists and students who otherwise might not be able to attend an ECS meeting. This is particularly important as the work of these scientists, and all ECS members, increasingly holds the keys to solving global challenges in energy, waste and sustainability.

Please help us continue the important work of ECS by donating today.

Thank you again for your incredible work and continued support.

Glasgow_blog_imageThe ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV is an international conference convening in Glasgow, July 26-31, 2015, and is devoted to the following areas:

  • Section A: Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-XIV)–All aspects of research, development, and engineering of solid oxide fuel cells
  • Section B: Batteries–A wide range of topics related to battery technologies
  • Section C: Low Temperature Fuel Cells–Low-temperature fuel cells, electrolyzers, and redox flow cells

This is the first of a series of planned biennial conferences in Europe by The Electrochemical Society on electrochemical energy conversion/storage materials, concepts, and systems, with the intent to bring together scientists and engineers to discuss both fundamental advances and engineering innovations.

This major international conference will be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow and includes a full day of short courses followed by a Sunday evening welcome reception, technical presentations scheduled Monday-Friday, a dynamic technical exhibit, poster sessions, guest and award winning lecturers, and much more.

Please visit the Glasgow meeting page for the most up-to-date information regarding hotel accommodations, registration, short courses, special events and to review the online technical program.

Important Deadlines

  • Friday, February 20, 2015 – Deadline for submitting your abstracts. Submit now.
  • Take advantage of exhibition and sponsorship opportunities, submit your application by April 24, 2015.
  • Discounted hotel options will be available until June 15, 2015 or until the blocks sell out, reserve early!
  • Early-bird registration opens in March 2015, early-bird pricing will be available through June 15, 2015.

PS: Don’t forget, as a meeting attendee you are eligible for an Article Credit which allows you to publish a paper with ECS as Open Access with no further payment from either you or your institution. Find out more!

3 New Job Postings in Electrochemistry

Find openings in your area via the ECS job board.

Find openings in your area via the ECS job board.

ECS’s job board keeps you up-to-date with the latest career opportunities in electrochemical and solid-state science. Check out the latest openings that have been added to the board.

P.S. Employers can post open positions for free!

Copper Electrodeposition for Via Filling
Osaka Prefecture University – Sakai, Japan
The researcher will be engaged in the development of new electrodeposition process for three dimensional packaging including TSV process; design copper deposition bath containing appropriate additives and fabricate copper filled deep vias on silicon wafer; use analytical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, SEM, XRD, and so on. Presents of research at international conferences and publish in peer-reviewed journals are encouraged upon approval from collaborating companies and institutes.

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Teaching Polymers with Pasta (Video)

A bowl of "anelloni," consisting of ring-shaped pasta made from linguine.Credit: David Michieletto

A bowl of “anelloni,” consisting of ring-shaped pasta made from linguine.
Credit: David Michieletto

If the complexities of polymer physics elude you, the scientists from the University of Warwick may have a way to more clearly explain this premise.

Davide Michieletto and Matthew S. Turner have taken to the kitchen in an effort to more clearly explain polymer complexities. In order to do this, the two physicists have created a new type of pasta called the “anelloni.”

The “annoloni” – which is the Italian word for “ring” – works as a sort of analogy to explain the complicated shapes that ring-shaped polymers can adopt.

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