Solar Researcher Named New South Wales Scientist of the Year

Solar energy researcher Martin Green, a professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, has been named New South Wales Scientist of the Year. Professor Green, executive research director of the Australian Research Council Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence at UNSW, was recognized with the state’s highest award for science for his innovative work in solar cell development. Green has led the development of the highest efficiency silicon solar cells and is a co-inventor of second-generation silicon-on-glass solar cell technology, which dramatically cuts the cost of manufacturing solar cells by reducing the amount of silicon used. He is now working on high-efficiency third generation thin-film photovoltaic technology. Green received 40,000 AUD for the main award and 5000 AUD for also winning in the environment, water, and climate change sciences category.