News Writer:
Jessica Stoller-Conrad
Harry Atwater, Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science
Credit: Lance Hayashida/Caltech Marketing and Communications
As a high school student during the oil crisis of the 1970s, Harry Atwater recognized firsthand the impact of energy supply issues. Inspired to contribute to renewable energies, his research at Caltech today works to develop better thin-film photovoltaics—cheaper, lighter, more efficient alternatives to the bulky cells now used in solar panels.