STEMoirs

Professor Sarah Kurtz, former senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and now a professor at the University of California Merced, sits down with guest host Rebecca Saive and Sebastian Husein to chat about all-things energy related.
Listen to her take on what the "coolest" photovoltaic tech is, how she feels about her electric car, and how we need to challenge our conventional ways of thinking in multiple areas, including world population growth and even the relationship between renewable advocates and fossil fuel companies.

Extra watching:
A New Era for Solar by Sarah Kurtz

Extra reading:
Main Figure comparing maintenance costs of "light duty vehicles" (LDV):
Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEV)
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HV, electric motor assists combustion engine)
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV, can be driven fully by the electric motor for a limited range, <40 miles typically, has a combustion engine)
Battery Electric Vehicles (battery only; no combustion engine)
The full study can be read here by clicking "View Technical Report"

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Dr. Parikhit Sinha from First Solar—the only solar manufacturer to bring thin-film solar panels to the gigawatt scale (so far...looking at you, perovskite-enthusiasts)—joins STEMoirs to share about the winding path of his scientific career.
We hear about his start at Harvard University, his transition into a science degree, moving to Seattle and how he found himself flying over wildfires in Africa taking air samples, and ending up in Arizona. We also touch on life cycle assessments and discuss what ultra-low carbon photovoltaics are.

Check out First Solar's Youtube channel.
Though a bit dated in the rapidly changing world of solar energy, many of the comparisons of First Solar to other manufacturing methods hold true: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HPFKcsgNrk
There's also a short look at First Solar's cadmium telluride manufacturing process here

This episode was not sponsored by First Solar. The opinions stated in the episode do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of First Solar or others mentioned.

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Lisa Fischer of E3G—Third Generation Environmentalism—joins STEMoirs. We  look back at the influences that brought her to work on climate economics and policy, and hear about the urgent work being done at E3G to accelerate the transition to climate safety across all levels of society. Lisa's insights point to keeping people at the core of innovation and climate change solutions to frame effective policy solutions.
Stay up to date on Lisa's work by following her on Twitter @FactFisching and reading E3G's latest releases on their website.

In particular, check out Lisa and Eleonora Moro's March 2021 briefing of 6 key design principles for shaping policy for a climate neutral energy sector: Closing the Gap to Climate Neutrality

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Professor Anna Fontcuberta i Morral from the Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials at EPFL in Switzerland joins STEMoirs. We hear about her journey from growing up in the outskirts of Barcelona, her time in Paris and Pasadena, and now about her work in Lausanne, Switzerland. She tells us about where her inspirations for material growth come from, and what it takes to persevere through those difficult periods when experiments—and life—don't always go how you planned.
Follow her on Twitter @i_morral and find her publications on Google Scholar.
She was featured by EPFL as "Woman Scientist of the Month", and you can read her interview here and watch another (if you're French is good enough) here on Youtube.

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Dr. Camilla Jensen joins STEMoirs. She is the founder of InterPlay, LLC where she uses her background in industrial design engineering, Lean Startup methods, and expertise in LEGO® Serious Play® facilitation to enable organizations to secure growth through venture-based innovation principles.
Her work studying play has revealed that a play mindset can be crucial for enhancing group cohesion and dynamics, as well as effective knowledge sharing in cross-disciplinary teams.

If you're interested in LEGO® Serious Play® and utilizing these methods to increase your teams creativity, flexibility, and ability to generate value, reach out to Dr. Jensen at:
linkedin.com/in/camilla-nørgaard-jensen-phd/

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Dr. Albert Polman, professor of photonic materials for photovoltaics at the University of Amsterdam, joins STEMoirs. We hear about his scientific journey, the thoughtful questions he asked himself on setting up and maintaining a meaningful scientific career, what he has found most rewarding, a bit about nanophotonics, and what is possibly his favorite rare earth element.
You can find more of his work through his group's website: www.erbium.nl
following him on Twitter, or by looking him up on Google Scholar.

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Eva Pettinato, a guidance, navigation, and controls aerospace engineer, joins STEMoirs. She tells us about her path becoming a rocket scientist and engineer—which started with her belief that engineers only drive trains, but led to her double checking components of a 90+ foot long rocket she helped build while lying on a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. We also hear about her love of 70's & 80's metal, her secret to winning 15+ concert tickets, perspectives on science outreach and women in STEM, and how playing poker has influenced her life.

Follow her on @firstcoffeethenrockets!

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

On this episode of STEMoirs, Dr. Amanda Youssef talks about her journey from Lebanon to MIT, the cultural differences of working in Germany and France (hint: may involve sunbathing after work and hiking on weekends), and now living on the west coast of the US.
We hear about oxygen complexes and crystal defects in silicon solar cells, how she navigated the fast-paced environment of MIT, the amazing support of her family, and about women standing up for themselves in the workplace.

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We're back! For now. Here's a quick update about what's been happening over this past year for me, the host, Sebastian Husein.
New episodes coming out soon :)

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Back in August of 2020, Professor Giulia Tagliabue sat down with Sebastian to discuss her life as a scientist, including her time at Caltech, her work in photocatalysis, her thoughts on diversity, and her love of rock climbing.

Professor Tagliabue was recently presented with 1st place in the Rising Stars of Light Award by the Nature journal, Light: Science & Applications.

You can find more of her work linked to at her institute's page.

Music credits:
RetroFuture Clean and Furious Freak by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/