Fabrication and Physics of CdTe Devices by Sputtering: Final Report, 1 March 2005 - 30 November 2008

Work to understand CdS/CdTe solar cell device physics; increase magnetron sputtering rate (while keeping high device quality); reduce thickness of CdTe layers (while keeping voltage and fill factor)

Sputtered II-VI Alloys and Structures forTandem PV: Final Subcontract Report, 9 December 2003 - 30 July 2007

This report elaborates on Phase 3 and provides summaries of the first two Phases. Phase 3 research work was divided into five task areas covering different aspects of the II-VI tandem cell

Production of Hydrogen for Clean and Renewable Source of Energy for Fuel Cell Vehicles

This was a two-year project that had two major components: 1) the demonstration of a PV-electrolysis system that has separate PV system and electrolysis unit and the hydrogen generated is to be used to power a fuel cell based vehicle; 2) the development of technologies for generation of hydrogen through photoelectrochemical process and bio-mass derived resources. Development under this project could lead to the achievement of DOE technical target related to PEC hydrogen production at low cost. The PEC part of the project is focused on the development of photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation devices and systems using thin-film silicon based solar cells. Two approaches are taken for the development of efficient and durable photoelectrochemical cells; 1) An immersion-type photoelectrochemical cells (Task 3) where the photoelectrode is immersed in electrolyte, and 2) A substrate-type photoelectrochemical cell (Task 2) where the photoelectrode is not in direct contact with electrolyte. Four tasks are being carried out: Task 1: Design and analysis of DC voltage regulation system for direct PV-to-electrolyzer power feed Task 2: Development of advanced materials for substrate-type PEC cells Task 3: Development of advanced materials for immersion-type PEC cells Task 4: Hydrogen production through conversion of biomass-derived waste

Synthesis, Structure and Reactivity of Sulfur-Rich Cyclopentadienyl-Transition Metal Complexes: Sulfur Chemistry from an Organometallic Point of View

Metal-sulfur centers play an important role in the activity of metalloproteins in enzymatic catalysis and the activity of metal sulfides as heterogeneous catalysts. The systematic search for M[BOND]S model compounds led to the discovery of an interesting and novel structural chemistry, which stems from the numerous coordination possibilities of sulfur ligands. The intention of this review article is to present and outline new approaches to sulfur chemistry from the organometallic point of view. Reactive cyclopentadienyl-transition metal fragments incorporate elemental sulfur to give polynuclear sulfur-rich complexes, which can contain either mono-, di- or polysulfido ligands or several such ligands in combined form. The versatile structural chemistry of the complexes formed and their reactivity towards organic, inorganic and organometallic compounds are discussed, and examples of some simple and rational procedures for their synthesis starting from cyclopentadienylcarbonyl- and cyclopentadienylhydrido-complexes are outlined. Their reactivity is manifested in numerous metal- and ligandcentered reactions. Finally the, albeit far less extensive, complex chemistry of the other chalcogens (O, Se, Te) is also considered for comparison, thus providing a more detailed survey of particular aspects of this area of chemistry

Mathematical and Computational Modeling in Biomedical Engineering

Mathematical and computational modeling allow for the rationalization of complex phenomenon observed in our reality. Through the careful selection of assumptions, the intractable task of simulating reality can be reduced to the simulation of a practical system whose behavior can be replicated. The development of computational models allow for the full comprehension of the defined system, and the model itself can be used to evaluate the results of thousands of simulate experiments to aid in the rational design process. Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles to the field of medicine and biology. This discipline is composed of numerous diverse subdisciplines that span from genetic engineering to biomechanics. Each of these subdisciplines is concerned with its own complex and seemingly chaotic systems, whose behavior is difficult to characterize. The development and application of computational modeling to rationalize these systems is often necessary in this field and will be the focus of this thesis. This thesis is centered on the development and application of mathematical and computational modeling in three diverse systems in biomedical engineering. First, computational modeling is employed to investigate the behavior of key proteins in the post-synapse centered around learning and memory. Second, computational modeling is utilized to characterize the drug release rate from implantable drug delivery depots, and produce a tool to aid in the tailoring of the release rate. Finally, computational modeling is utilized to understand the motion of particles through an inertial focusing microfluidics chip and optimize the size selective capture efficiency