Avi Kribus, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tel Aviv University
Speech Title:
Light, Heat, and Electricity: Making the Most of Solar Energy
Abstract:
The efficiencies of photovoltaic and thermal conversion of solar energy are both limited by thermodynamics, and by the complexity required in real conversion devices. A novel third alternative of photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) offers an intriguing synergy of direct photonic conversion together with thermal conversion, and theoretically may reach efficiency exceeding 50%. However, realizing this conversion path requires a major multi-disciplinary effort in semiconductor physics, surface science, thermal science, and systems engineering.
Bio:
Abraham Kribus holds a B.Sc. from Tel Aviv university and Ph.D. from Cornell University, both in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked at the Weizmann Institute of Science and currently he is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tel Aviv University. His research includes thermodynamics, heat transfer and systems engineering for solar thermal conversion, photovoltaic conversion, solar thermionic conversion, polygeneration, and thermal energy storage. He has consulted for the solar industry in Israel and abroad, co-founded a startup company in Israel, and served as Chief Technologist at eSolar, a startup in California. He has published over 200 journal and conference papers, and several patents.
