Press Releases

Notre Dame Researchers Develop Paint-on Solar Cells

DATE: December 21, 2011

Notre Dame researchers have developed paint-on solar cells.

Imagine if the next coat of paint you put on the outside of your home generates electricity from light—electricity that can be used to power the appliances and equipment on the inside.

A team of researchers at the University of Notre Dame has made a major advance toward this vision by creating an inexpensive “solar paint” that uses semiconducting nanoparticles to produce energy.

“We want to do something transformative, to move beyond current silicon-based solar technology,” says Prashant Kamat, John A. Zahm Professor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry and an investigator in Notre Dame’s Center for Nano Science and Technology (NDnano), who leads the research.

“By incorporating power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, we’ve made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment.”

The team’s search for the new material, described in the journal ACS Nano, centered on nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide, which were coated with either cadmium sulfide or cadmium selenide. The particles were then suspended in a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste.

When the paste was brushed onto a transparent conducting material and exposed to light, it created electricity.

“The best light-to-energy conversion efficiency we’ve reached so far is 1 percent, which is well behind the usual 10 to 15 percent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells,” explains Kamat.

“But this paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future.”

“That’s why we’ve christened the new paint, Sun-Believable,” he adds.

Kamat and his team also plan to study ways to improve the stability of the new material.

NDnano is one of the leading nanotechnology centers in the world. Its mission is to study and manipulate the properties of materials and devices, as well as their interfaces with living systems, at the nano-scale.

This research was funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Faculty Members Named AAAS Fellows

DATE: December 20, 2011

Five Notre Dame faculty have been named AAAS fellows.

Five University of Notre Dame faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in honor of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

AAAS, founded in 1848 as a nonprofit association, is the world’s largest scientific society and publisher of the prestigious journal Science.

The new Notre Dame AAAS fellows are: Mark Alber, Vincent J. Duncan Family Professor of Applied Mathematics, concurrent professor of physics and computer science and engineering, director, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Biocomplexity and adjunct professor of medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine; Panos Antsaklis, H. Clifford and Evelyn A. Brossey Professor of Electrical Engineering; Margaret Dobrowolska, Rev. John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Professor of Physics; Jacek Furdyna, professor of physics, Aurora and Thomas Marquez Professor of Information Theory and Computer Technology and professor of physics; and Gary Lamberti, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.

Alber, a member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1990, was cited for “distinguished contributions to the mathematical and computational modeling of dynamic biological processes, in particular, blood clot formation and swarming of bacteria.” His research interests include mathematical and computational biology, multi-scale modeling and scientific computing. In particular, he developed combined simulation and laboratory approaches for studying how members of any dense bacterial swarm spread efficiently while being able to perceive and interfere minimally with the motion of others, resulting in better understanding of the spread of infection.

Antsaklis, who joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1980, was cited for “distinguished contributions to the field of systems and control, particularly for feedback control of multivariable systems, intelligent, hybrid and discrete event systems.” His research addresses problems of control and automation, including the analysis of behavior and design of control strategies for complex autonomous intelligent systems. He has conducted extensive research in hybrid and discrete event dynamical systems with contributions that have helped shape the research directions in the field. Most recently, he has focused on the control of cyber-physical systems, which are crucial to the functioning of technologies that are used in applications from automatic pilots in airplanes, to stability controls in automobiles, to energy, manufacturing, healthcare and biomedical applications.

Dobrowolska, a member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1988, was cited for “seminal experimental studies of semiconductor materials and tireless contributions to undergraduate education and outreach to local communities on energy conservation.” She specializes in magnetospectroscopy of semiconductor heterostructures — systems composed of ultrathin layers of different semiconductor compounds, with thickness in the range of a few atomic monolayers. Most recently, her interest has focused on structures in which some layers are magnetic, which also affords the possibility of investigating the effect of reduced dimensionality on magnetic properties of such structures.

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1987, Furdyna was cited for “transformative discoveries in preparation and characterization of many semiconductor systems, including magnetic semiconductors, semiconductor quantum wells, superlattices, and self-assembled quantum dots.” He specializes in the design and development of new semiconductor materials, including magnetic semiconductors aimed at performing new and extremely fast functions in computers. The new functionality of these materials is based on the use of electron spin (in addition to its charge) in the design of electronic circuits, which is expected to lay the groundwork for non-volatile magnetic memories for the next generation of computing systems.

Lamberti, who joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1989, was cited for “distinguished contributions to the field of aquatic science, particularly for advancing our knowledge of food web interactions and stream ecology.” His primary research interests are in stream and watershed ecology and include identifying and remediating human impacts on aquatic ecosystems; the ecology of native and introduced Pacific salmon; and the control of invasive aquatic organisms. He conducts research in Alaska and around the Great Lakes, where he investigates methods to restore degraded streams, rivers and wetlands that provide important ecosystem services and support unique biodiversity.

The tradition of AAAS fellows began in 1874 and this year the association is honoring 539 individuals as fellows. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of fellow if nominated by the steering group of the Association’s 24 sections, by three fellows, or by the Association’s chief executive officer. Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and forwards a final list to the AAAS Council.

The AAAS Council votes on the final aggregate list. The Council is the policy making body of the Association, chaired by the president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Academies of Science.

The five new Notre Dame fellows will be presented with an official certificate and gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pins on Feb. 18 during the 2012 AAAS annual meeting in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Murphy Named Associate Dean for Entrepreneurship and ESTEEM Director

DATE: December 9, 2011

David W. Murphy has joined the College of Engineering.

David Murphy, former president and chief executive officer of Better World Books, a for-profit social venture initially created and spun out of the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed associate dean for entrepreneurship for the Colleges of Science and Engineering and director of Notre Dame’s Engineering, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Masters (ESTEEM) program.

A one-year master of science collaborative program between the Colleges of Science and Engineering and the Mendoza College of Business, ESTEEM augments the scientific and technical skills of individuals who have already earned their bachelor’s degree by providing the opportunity to obtain the unique skills required to take science and/or engineering inventions and translate them into commercial ventures. The primary goal of the program is to prepare students for a lifelong engagement with innovation that is wholly congruent with the University’s distinctive Catholic character, fostering a culture of excellence, inclusion, collaboration, respect for diverse ideas and care for the common good.

Murphy served as president and chief executive officer of Better World Books from 2004 to July 2011 and continues to serve on the company’s board of directors. Prior to his tenure at Better World Books, he worked for 20 years in corporate finance, operations, and mergers and acquisitions with firms such as International Paper Company; The First Boston Corporation; Hutchinson SA, a multi-billion dollar French subsidiary of the Total Energy Group; and Transcend Services Inc. He has developed three start-up companies and joined three others in their infancy in a C-level capacity. Murphy has also raised more than $85 million in capital to build and scale multiple organizations in the manufacturing, healthcare services, technology and online retail sectors.

“David Murphy brings with him a depth and breadth of experience that closely matches the goals of the ESTEEM program,” said Peter Kilpatrick, McCloskey Dean of Engineering. “David is also one of the world’s leaders in implementing social entrepreneurship, a new brand of business which emphasizes intergenerational and social justice, in addition to creating wealth and economic well-being for all stakeholders and employees in a company. This relatively new type of business venture is wholly consistent with the eminent tradition of Catholic social teaching and I am excited about David’s vision for how this can be implemented here at Notre Dame.”

A relatively new effort at the University, the ESTEEM program “has already shown a great deal of promise in the development of new businesses and the growth of our students,” says Gregory Crawford, W.K. Warren Dean of Science. "We look forward to even greater growth in the coming years with the help of David Murphy.”

Murphy graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1980 and earned his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1984.

Murphy is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2012 and also serves on the board of directors for the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, Indaba Systems LLC and was recently asked to serve on the Fetzer Institute’s Advisory Council on the Business Professions. He also serves on the advisory boards of Books for Africa and The Prison Book Program and is actively involved as a judge in Notre Dame’s annual McCloskey Business Plan Competition. Murphy is also a member of the University’s IrishAngels organization.