The Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science congratulates Center Director, Professor Eli Yablonovitch, for receiving the William R. Cherry Award for Solar Cell Research from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In its announcement the award committee recognized the many contributions of Professor Yablonovitch to solar cell device physics and technology; in particular, “contributions in research, engineering and entrepreneurship to realize photovoltaic technologies capturing the “ins and outs” of photons and application of these technologies in silicon and III-V solar cells.”

The Cherry Award for Solar Cell Research is awarded annually in honor of William R. Cherry. In the 1950’s, Cherry was a founder of the photovoltaic community and was instrumental in establishing solar cells as the ideal power source for space satellites. In addition, he advocated the use of photovoltaic systems for terrestrial applications.