Future: Quest for Energy

Sarah R. Kurtz and Jerry M. Olson have made exceptional and profound contributions to the field of photovoltaic energy.

Dr. Kurtz was a research fellow with the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) and is currently a professor at the University of California Merced. 

Dr. Olson is a consultant on III-V Materials and Devices.

Both were Principal Scientists, III-V Materials and Devices Group, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, U.S.

The contributions made by Olson and Kurtz have the potential to alleviate the world’s impending energy crisis. Their key contribution has been the development of the GaInP/GaAs multi-junction solar cell, which has demonstrated much higher solar energy conversion efficiency than ever before (now 39%), twice that of most silicon cells (usually 15-21%).

This technology also reduces by a large factor the area needed for collection and is already the choice for most space applications. For example, this technology powered the highly successful Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. This multi-junction concentrator technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar electricity by about a factor of two, in part because large arrays of concentrating mirrors are much less expensive than an equal area of solar cells. Their achievement is already a success and capable of growing into a major addition to our abilities to harness solar power for electricity.

The 2007 Dan David Prize honors Dr. Sarah Kurtz and Dr. Jerry Olson for their significant contributions in the field of Quest for Energy.