Solar energy

In partnership with the University of Arizona, from November 1-5, 1955, SRI held the first World Symposium on Applied Solar Energy. Five hundred engineers and scientists and 29,000 people participated over five days.

Since then, SRI researchers’ work in solar technology has resulted in more than a dozen U.S. and international patents. In 1974, for example, researchers at RCA’s David Sarnoff Research Center (now part of SRI) designed the world’s first amorphous solar silicon cell.

SRI’s facilities today are equipped to conduct a wide range of solar experiments. Work includes developing a licensable process for manufacturing solar-grade silicon, a novel application of graphene for photovoltaic cells, and development of thin-film solar cells.