University Chapel Hour: Saraswati Puja

This worship of Saraswati, Hindu Goddess of learning and the arts (using Odissi dance liturgy) was sponsored by the Hindu Student Association. It took place on September 13, 2000. Tonushree Jaggi, Harvard University \u2701, performs this religious ceremony during Chapel Hour. IWU Chaplain Denny Groh \u2761 speaks at the beginning of this event. For the benefit of audience members, Professor of Physics Narendra Jaggi narrates the ceremony as his daughter performs

Novel Materials for Photovoltaic Solar Cells

Solar cells are a critically important component of the sustainable energy movement. In recent years, the cost of silicon based solar cells has decreased a lot as a result of advances in manufacturing technology. However the conversion efficiency of turning sunlight into electrical energy has stagnated at around 18-22%. In recent years, a class of materials called Perovskites have been found to be a promising platform for high efficiency solar cells. From 2006-2021, scientists have improved the efficiency of perovskite based solar cells from a 2% to 29%, already exceeding the best solar cells that exist. This demonstrates the tremendous potential of these compounds. Our goal for this project is to grow thin films of these lead perovskites in our lab using a Spin Coater which can be used to grow successive layers of lead perovskite crystals on substrates of glass that has been pre-coated with electrically conductive Indium Tin Oxide. We will make electrical contacts on these multilayered thin films and measure their electrical characteristics. We will also measure the optical absorption efficiency of these thin films in the visible and infrared part of the optical spectrum