Science Cafe at Orca Books: Towards a Clean Energy Future: Improving Solar Energy

Currently the world relies on fossil fuels to provide over 80% of its energy needs. The worldwide energy demand is expected to increase by 56% in the next 45 years while the need to mitigate the consequences of fossil fuel use grows greater every year. Therefore it is critical to develop renewable energy technologies capable of generating electricity and fuels on a large scale and a reasonable cost. In this talk, we will discuss the use of abundant and inexpensive minerals to harvest solar energy. We will review recent research and progress towards understanding how to design materials, at the atomic scale, to maximize the efficiency of next-generation solar cells and hydrogen fuel production.

Dr. Riley Rex earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Washington State University in 2016 and is currently working as a visiting faculty member at The Evergreen State College.

Science Cafe of Olympia meets each month on the second Tuesday. It provides an informal atmosphere where people with and without scientific background can meet to deepen their understanding on interesting topics in science and technology.