Sarah R. Kurtz is an American

materials scientist Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials scien ...

known for her research on

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 ...

and

photovoltaics 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 commerciall ...

, including the application of

multi-junction solar cell Multi-junction (MJ) solar cells are solar cells with multiple p–n junctions made of different semiconductor materials. Each material's p–n junction will produce electric current in response to different wavelengths of light. The use of mult ...

s in

robotic spacecraft Uncrewed spacecraft or robotic spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input, such as remote control, or remote guidance. They may also be autonomous, in which t ...

. Formerly a research fellow at the National Center for Photovoltaics and principal scientist at the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and ...

, she is a professor of materials science and engineering at the

University of California, Merced The University of California, Merced (UC Merced or colloquially, UCM) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Merced, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of ...

Education and career

Kurtz attended public schools in her hometown of Defiance, Ohio, and graduated in 1979 from Manchester College, majoring in chemistry and physics. She earned a Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1985 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

; her dissertation was ''Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon, titanium nitride, and titanium dioxide thin films''. She joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 1985 as a post-doctoral researcher. She moved to the University of California, Merced in 2017.

Recognition

Kurtz and fellow NREL scientist Jerry Olson won one of the 2007

Dan David Prize The Dan David Prize is an international group of awards that recognize and support outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. Nine prizes of $300,000 are awarded each year to outstand ...

s "for their exceptional and profound contributions to the field of photovoltaic energy". In 2012 the

IEEE Electron Devices Society The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office i ...

gave her their William R. Cherry Award for her work on multi-junction cells. The US Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) Initiative gave her their 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. She was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2020, "for contributions to the development of GaInP/GaAs photovoltaic cells and leadership in solar cell reliability and quality". She became the first faculty member at UC Merced to be elected to the academy.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtz, Sarah Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American materials scientists American women engineers Women materials scientists and engineers Manchester University (Indiana) alumni Harvard University alumni University of California, Merced faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 21st-century American women