NREL Research Fellow Howard Branz Named APS

NREL Research Fellow Howard Branz Named APS
A solar energy scientist at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) who has done pioneering and breakthrough work on thin films and nanostructures has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). NREL Research Fellow Howard Branz was elected an APS fellow for “seminal research on thin-film silicon: defects, metastability, growth processes, nano-structuring and solar cells,” said James Riordan, spokesman for the APS.

Each year, less than one-half of 1% of APS members are accorded the honour, which recognises members who made advances in physics through original research and publication or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. The APS has 50,000 members and works to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through research journals, scientific meetings, education, outreach and advocacy.

Branz is recognised worldwide for his research in nano-structured anti-reflection silicon, solar hydrogen production and defects and diffusion in semiconductors. He and his National Centre for Photovoltaics team won a prestigious R&D 100 Magazine Award in 2010 for black silicon, an elegant way to turn silicon cells black in just minutes and virtually eliminate reflection waste. The process produced a confirmed record of 18.2% efficiency for a nano solar cell.

Branz also led a research initiative that demonstrated how an NREL-developed chemical vapour deposition process has promise in lowering the cost of making silicon solar cells. Branz’s colleague, NREL senior scientist Pauls Stradins, said Branz “is a very talented, productive scientist, gifted at creating novel renewable energy technology, very much an innovator.” Stradins cites two especially important innovations: Branz’s breakthrough work on the deep connections of hydrogen bonding and motion within the silicon network and his insights into the role of entropy in the thermal excitation process in solids.

Branz, a Fulbright Scholar, earned his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and joined NREL in 1987. In 2010, he won the Southeast Regional Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer. Earlier this year, he was named to NREL’s Research Fellows Council, the Laboratory’s top advisory council comprised of 10 internationally recognised scientists and engineers. He has published 106 journal articles and 104 conference papers. Branz also has 17 patents issued or applied for, and five pending NREL Records of Invention.