Interview: What does the future hold for energy and lighting? December 28, 2012 by Lisa Zyga (Phys.org)
As 2012 comes to a close, scientists and engineers are looking forward to molding the future, starting with the work they do in their own labs. Phys.org has interviewed a few of today's leading researchers in the areas of energy and lighting, and asked them what they're most excited about in their fields in the years to come.
Dr. David Faiman, Director of Israel's National Solar Energy Center and Chairman of the Department of Solar Energy & Environmental Physics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, specializes in the large-scale provision of electric power from solar energy.
Professor Nadarajah Narendran, Director of Research at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, specializes in optics, optoelectronics, and lighting. His main area of research is solid-state lighting.
Phys.org: To reflect on the past, in your opinion, what has been the most exciting part of your field over the past 10-15 years or so – especially if this is something that most people would not have predicted to be exciting 10-15 years ago?
Narendran: Semiconductor light sources displacing traditional incandescent and gas discharge light sources in lighting applications.
Faiman: First, that concentrator photovoltaics is capable of being cost-competitive with fossil fuel, in sunny parts of the world. Second, that solar and wind power could be as "cheap" as hospitals, schools and roads, if they were all paid for with our taxes.
Phys.org: What do you predict will be one or some of the most exciting discoveries or advances in your field in the next 10-15 years?
Narendran: Solid-state light sources catering to the dynamic lighting needs of people with very little energy use. Faiman: I don't make predictions. But the most important area for research is electrical storage – in order to enable the intermittent output from solar and wind generators to be readily available for the needs of the electricity grid.
Phys.org: Where do you see personal electronics going in the next 10-20 years? What kinds of devices might we have, and how will we interact with them?
Narendran: Personal electronics (like smart phones) interacting and controlling appliances within and remote from the space one occupies.
Phys.org: Which alternative energy generation technology (such as solar, concentrated solar, wind, geothermal, etc.) do you think will grow the most in the next 10 or 20 years? Why?
Faiman: I don't make predictions. Generally, they all need to grow. In fact, their respective growth rates will depend upon the whim of politicians, followed by VCs.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-future-energy.html#jCp
As 2012 comes to a close, scientists and engineers are looking forward to molding the future, starting with the work they do in their own labs. Phys.org has interviewed a few of today's leading researchers in the areas of energy and lighting, and asked them what they're most excited about in their fields in the years to come.
Dr. David Faiman, Director of Israel's National Solar Energy Center and Chairman of the Department of Solar Energy & Environmental Physics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, specializes in the large-scale provision of electric power from solar energy.
Professor Nadarajah Narendran, Director of Research at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, specializes in optics, optoelectronics, and lighting. His main area of research is solid-state lighting.
Phys.org: To reflect on the past, in your opinion, what has been the most exciting part of your field over the past 10-15 years or so – especially if this is something that most people would not have predicted to be exciting 10-15 years ago?
Narendran: Semiconductor light sources displacing traditional incandescent and gas discharge light sources in lighting applications.
Faiman: First, that concentrator photovoltaics is capable of being cost-competitive with fossil fuel, in sunny parts of the world. Second, that solar and wind power could be as "cheap" as hospitals, schools and roads, if they were all paid for with our taxes.
Phys.org: What do you predict will be one or some of the most exciting discoveries or advances in your field in the next 10-15 years?
Narendran: Solid-state light sources catering to the dynamic lighting needs of people with very little energy use. Faiman: I don't make predictions. But the most important area for research is electrical storage – in order to enable the intermittent output from solar and wind generators to be readily available for the needs of the electricity grid.
Phys.org: Where do you see personal electronics going in the next 10-20 years? What kinds of devices might we have, and how will we interact with them?
Narendran: Personal electronics (like smart phones) interacting and controlling appliances within and remote from the space one occupies.
Phys.org: Which alternative energy generation technology (such as solar, concentrated solar, wind, geothermal, etc.) do you think will grow the most in the next 10 or 20 years? Why?
Faiman: I don't make predictions. Generally, they all need to grow. In fact, their respective growth rates will depend upon the whim of politicians, followed by VCs.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-future-energy.html#jCp
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