The US has set a goal to eliminate fossil fuels as a form of electricity generation by 2035. Ilke Celik, an assistant professor of mechanical & materials engineering at Portland State University, believes that target is attainable.
My career goal is to make solar energy more sustainable and to make sustainable education more solar-energy-involved.
Celik, who joined the PSU faculty last year, focuses her research and teaching on improving solar energy materials and methods. Last November she was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award by the National Science Foundation (NSF). CAREER awards are one of NSF's most prestigious awards, presented to faculty who can lead advances in their field and serve as academic role models.
In order to meet the US’s green energy targets, we need to increase our sustainable energy workforce. Celik strives to increase that workforce by mentoring students and tailoring her curriculum to provide hands-on learning. She hopes to continue this work in a research laboratory currently under development here at PSU.
Her recent projects have focused on developing sustainable energy storage systems for emerging reduction-oxidation, or “redox,” battery systems and, under another NSF grant, exploring sustainable methods to effectively recycle perovskite solar cells, which contain heavy metals.
"We know solar energy is already sustainable, right?” Celik explained. “It is a lot better than conventional energy sources. But my research goal is finding ways to make it even more sustainable. So what does that mean? It's learning how we can improve the manufacturing process to bring those solar panels to our roofs. It's finding those materials that are more environmentally friendly, or are recyclable materials, not rare earth elements. So avoiding depleting limited sources, and also making it cheaper. Because if it's not cheaper, it's not economically feasible. So it's all about the cost perspective, environmental perspective, and social perspective. Those are the pillars of sustainability, all working together."
Converting to solar power is a major investment, but over time, the energy generated allows investors to recoup the money they put in. This time frame, known as the solar panel "payback time," currently averages between five and eight years.
Celik and her graduate students conduct computational and experimental work to assess sustainability tradeoffs, improve materials, and reduce that payback time. With support from NSF and the CAREER award, Celik is helping to make investing in solar energy the most sensible, cost-effective choice–thus helping to set us on a course toward a more sustainable, energy-efficient future.
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