Renewable Energy
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The Department of Physics is a significant and visible contributor in the arena of sustainability and renewable energy. On the research frontier, physics faculty are leading a major multi-institutional initiative, the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, focused on creating the next-generation of batteries. The Microphysics Laboratory at the Department of Physics is collaborating closely with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, on research and development projects involving thin film solar cells. In particular, they are working to develop a fundamental understanding of the structural properties of polycrystalline CdTe, as used in photovoltaic solar cell devices. On the education frontier, UIC is a leader in the Midwest with its Summer Institute on Sustainable Energy. On the outreach frontier, UIC faculty and staff are founders of InSPIRE (the Institute for Solar Photovoltaic Innovation, Research, and Edu-training), a non-profit organization working to promote solar and renewable energy.