This presentation covers a range of optical applications in the solar energy projects currently conducted at the solar Energy Technology Lab (SETL). The first half of the presentation revolves around two applied photovoltaic (PV) projects. Firstly, the New agrivoltaic design is a sustainable farming technique that integrates semi-transparent plastic photovoltaics and agricultural field to achieve better crop yields, low water consumption, and electricity production creating a ‘Nexus’ between energy, water, and food. The second project deals with a novel hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) system design for an integrated membrane desalination application for the joint production of electricity, heat, and freshwater through the effective use of solar spectrum. The Last part of the presentation discusses concentrating solar power (CSP) projects conducted at SETL – high-temperature particle curtain flows and imaging techniques to calculate particle and energy losses due to natural wind flows.

Biography:

Dr. Gowtham Mohan currently working as Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, Houston. Dr. Mohan received his doctorate at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra in developing next-generation low-cost high-temperature thermal storage systems in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado. He was awarded International Postgraduate Scholarship, top-up scholarship, Vice-chancellor travel award, and Dean’s travel awards during his PhD. He got selected as one of the five researchers to represent ANU at the prestigious Global Young Scientist Summit (GYSS) 2018, Singapore based on his research expertise. He holds a master's degree in Sustainable energy engineering with solar energy specialization from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. He was awarded a full scholarship for his master's studies at KTH for academic excellence and spent a semester abroad at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne with an Erasmus scholarship. He has over 10 years of experience in solar energy research and published 30 peer-reviewed journal and conference proceedings. He received multiple sustainable energy awards and scholarships during his bachelors, masters, and doctorate programs.