The European Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics (or in short the Becquerel Prize) is a prize to honour scientific, technical or managerial merits in the field of
photovoltaic
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...
solar energy
Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...
. It has been established in 1989 by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
at the occasion of the 150th anniversary of a groundbreaking experiment by
Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, also known as Edmond Becquerel, in which he discovered the
photovoltaic effect
The photovoltaic effect is the generation of voltage and electric current in a material upon exposure to light. It is a physical phenomenon.
The photovoltaic effect is closely related to the photoelectric effect. For both phenomena, light is a ...
. The prize is awarded to a single individual who is recognized for continuous achievements in the field of photovoltaic energy conversion. The prize is primarily a European award but not restricted exclusively to European citizens. The prize is granted by the European Commission. The Becquerel Prize Committee selects the individual to be honoured.
The prize is awarded periodically at the annual
European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EU PVSEC).
Prize winners
The Becquerel Prize Committee lists the following winners:
["Becqerel Prize Winners".](_blank)
Becquerel Prize Committee. Retrieved 8 October 2019
*1989
Roger Van Overstraeten
Roger Joseph, Baron Van Overstraeten (7 December 1937, Vlezenbeek – 29 April 1999, Leuven) was a professor at the Catholic University of Leuven and later the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, an IEEE Fellow and the founder of the micro- an ...
*1991
Werner H. Bloss
*1992
Antonio Luque Lopez
*1994 Morton Prince
[
*1995 Karlheinz Krebs ][
*1997 Adolf Goetzberger ][
*1998 Walter Sandtner ][
*2000 Frederick C. Treble][
*2003 Wolfgang Palz]["Becquerel Prize website"](_blank)
/ref>
*2024 Daniel Lincot
See also
* List of physics awards
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becquerel Prize
Awards established in 1989
Solar energy
European science and technology awards
1989 establishments in Europe