Sunny-side Up

Can we look to the sun to meet our increasing energy needs? Do we have technologies advanced enough to tap into the full potential of solar power? These were some of the questions Serdar Sariciftci, University of Linz, Austria, and Patchanita Thamyongkit, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, tried to address in their talks on day 3 of ICTP's 50th anniversary celebrations.

Sariciftci, a world-renowned expert on photovoltaics and professor of physical chemistry at the University of Linz, gave a talk titled "Solar energy for world peace."  "Solar energy is not a new concept," he said, outlining the history of using solar energy to power engines, which dates back to 1878.  He said that the challenge has been finding efficient means to store and transport solar energy. This is where creating an artificial fuel using solar power and fixed atmospheric CO2 comes into the picture.

"We need a global solar marshal plan," said Sariciftci, pointing out that the next decades might see a convergence of multiple crisis conditions, which will include energy, climate and economic crises, and advances in solar technologies might help us be better prepared to face these challenges.

The talk by Thamyongkit, the 2013 ICTP Prize winner, touched upon one such technological advance: porphyrin-based solar cells. Porphyrin is a class of organic compound that can be manipulated to develop solar-energy conversion systems. Her ICTP Prize, in fact, recognises her work on the chemical synthesis of porphyrin-based light harvesting systems that paves the way for promising applications in solar cells.

ICTP has expanded its scope to include research on energy and sustainability and quantitative life sciences to meet the demands of the developing countries, and two sessions at the 50th anniversary celebrations were dedicated to these new focus areas.