Photon to Power

This book comprehensively explores the multifaceted realm of solar energy conversion, delving into various cutting-edge technologies and methodologies spanning photovoltaics, thermal energy conversion, electrochemical energy conversion, innovative approaches, and solar optics. It provides a thorough understanding of the principles, advancements, and challenges across these domains, catering to researchers, practitioners, and academics in the field of optical sciences and photonics.

Dr. Prasanth Ravindran, Professor of Green Energy Technology at Pondicherry University, obtained his Ph.D. from Eindhoven University of Technology. He pursued his post-doctoral research at the Peter Debye Institute at Utrecht University. His invention of resonance enhancement of second harmonic generation and polariton confinement in nanocavity led to the development of polariton lasers. His current research interest is developing one-dimensional and zero-dimensional nano-systems for solar energy conversion.

Dr. Deepa KG is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at Kerala University, India. She obtained her Ph.D. from Cochin University of Science and Technology. Her research interests are in the areas of Materials for solar cells. Nanostructured materials for various applications, Photocatalysis, Electrochromic windows.

Dr. Adersh Asok, a senior scientist at the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies, is eminent in sustainable energy research and is part of the CSIR - National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology. He also holds a position as an assistant professor of engineering at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) in India. With a Ph.D. from IIT Bombay, Dr. Asok's expertise lies in optics and optical materials, currently focusing primarily on engineering sustainable solar energy systems. His research plays a pivotal role in advancing the development of multifunctional photovoltaics and photothermal technologies for integrated applications in decentralized energy generation, a cornerstone of sustainable infrastructure. Currently, Dr. Asok is advancing solar energy management technologies that significantly contribute to achieving carbon neutrality in buildings, agriculture, and industrial processes. His team is at the forefront of creating advanced solar light management solutions for agrivoltaics and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), which are now in the field trial phase. 

Dr. Durga Sankar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (IFM) at Linköping University, Sweden. He earned his PhD from Anna University, Chennai, and completed part of his doctoral research at Rutgers University, USA, as a Fulbright scholar. He later worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Materials Design division at Linköping University. His research focuses on low-dimensional materials, including MXenes, 1D nanofilaments, and Brownmillerite metal oxides, for solar energy harvesting applications such as photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Driven by a commitment to sustainability, his work aims to develop advanced materials for clean energy solutions.

Dr Jumlat Ahmed is a Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIRO, Australian National Science Agency. His field of research is thermoelectric energy materials, transport properties of materials, organic electronic materials and application of nanotechnology. Dr Ahmed completed the PhD degree in Material Engineering  from the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia in May 2021. His PhD research topic was development of nano engineered perovskite based thermoelectric material for waste heat recovery.He was Assistant Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Khwaja Yunus Ali University, Bangladesh. Dr Ahmed completed the Master of Technology (M.Tech) degree in Green Energy Technology (Renewable Energy) from UNESCO Madanjeet School of Green Energy Technologies, Pondicherry University, India in May, 2013. He was awarded Pondicherry University Gold Medal for outstanding academic performance.