Thad Druffel, PhD, PE is currently a Senior Research Engineer and Theme Leader, Solar Manufacturing R&D at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at the University of Louisville. His current research is focused on developing materials and processes for roll-to-roll manufacture of devices for renewable energy. This includes synthesizing nanomaterials and formulating into inks to be deposited using traditional printing techniques. The work also involves using near atmospheric processes to consolidate the nanomaterials into functional bulk thin films. Of particular interest is the use of intense pulsed light sources which heat large areas using a broad spectrum of intense light delivered in very short pulses. His twenty year background in industry includes research, development and engineering topics in several engineering disciplines and he has been involved in projects ranging from solar and water facilities in Africa to corporate research and development of cutting edge technologies. He has PhD in Chemical Engineering, M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and is a registered Mechanical Engineer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He is experienced as a principal investigator in grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and State of Kentucky as well as industry-sponsored research. He is active within the entrepreneurial community and continues to be involved in startups. He co-founded Bert Thin Films, LLC along with a former post-doctoral researcher to commercialize a technology that was initially conceived at the Conn Center.    

Rojita Panta is currently a Chemistry PhD student at the University of Louisville. Her research focuses on interface engineering in perovskite solar cells, with an emphasis on the NiOₓ/perovskite interface using imidazolium-based ionic liquids. My work investigates how functional groups on imidazolium molecules interact with NiOₓ surface hydroxyls and undercoordinated lead defects in perovskite films, enabling effective defect passivation, improved charge extraction, and enhanced device stability. She completed her master's degree from Tribhuvan University in 2018, where my research focused on the chemical and green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their applications. 

Tayyaba Raza is currently a Chemistry PhD student at the University of Louisville. Her current perovskite research project is focused on optimizing the hole-transport layer (HTL) and understanding the interfacial chemistry that governs charge movement between adjacent layers. With an academic background in MS Chemistry and prior research experience in energy storage devices such as supercapacitors, she brings a strong understanding of electrochemical behavior, material stability, material synthesis, and surface interactions. This allows her to investigate how chemical compatibility, energy level alignment, and interfacial defects influence the overall performance and stability of perovskite solar cells. Her work aims to engineer more stable and efficient HTL layers, HTL-perovskite interfaces, and others to improve device lifetime and power conversion efficiency.

Elsa Chacko is currently a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry. Her research focuses on developing improved electron-transport materials for high-performance inverted (p-i-n) perovskite solar cells. Her current projects include polymer and ionic-liquid-modified SnO₂ to achieve efficient, low temperature scalable perovskite solar cells.

Alumni

Graduate Students

Blake Martin, PhD (2023) Dr. Martin researched and developed chemistries and processes for the roll-to-roll production of perovskite solar cells using intense pulsed light. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and founded SoFab Inks. 

Sashil Chapagain, PhD (2024) Dr. Chapagain researched and developed a SnO2 electron transport material that could be deposited directly onto a perovskite thin film. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and co-founded SoFab Inks.

Peter Armstrong, PhD (2023) Dr. Armstrong researched the utilization of NiO as a hole transport layer and immidizolium as an interfacial layer for perovskite solar cells. He graduated with a degree in chemistry  co-founded SoFab Inks. 

Amir Ghahremani, PhD (2021) Dr. Ghahremani researched the scalability of the intense pulsed light process across a range of materials deposited using scalable and automated techniques. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and joined the University of Toledo as a post-doctoral researcher.  

Lyndie Burns, MSc (2019) Ms. Burns researched reactive lamination of perovskite solar cells to reduce the cost of manufacturing and improve the durability. She graduated in 2019 with a degree in chemical engineering and joined North America Stainless.

Sunil Gupta, MSc (2019) Mr. Gupta researched the implementation of a novel desiccant to reduce the energy usage for harvesting water directly from air. He graduated in 2019 with a degree in mechanical engineering and joined ILANTUS Technologies.

Brandon W. Lavery, PhD (2017) Dr. Lavery researched the interaction of the intense pulsed light process specifically around the perovskite material. He graduated in 2017 with a degree in chemical engineering and joined Panasonic.

Gabriel Draper, PhD (2016) Dr. Draper researched the reduction mechanisms of metal oxides and graphene oxide using intense pulsed light and non-hazardous reductants. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in chemical engineering and joined Intel.

Venkat Kalyan, PhD (2015) Dr. Kalyan researched the photoanode of the dye sensitized solar cell along with manufacturing techniques for nanowires for other solar conversion devices. He graduated in 2015 in chemical engineering and joined Intel.

Post-Doctoral Researchers

Siva Pakanati, PhD Dr. Pakanati was involved in the production of perovskite solar cells using the roll-to-roll platform in the Solar Manufacturing R&D line. He joined First Solar in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Keming Ren, PhD Dr. Ren was involved in developing metal contacts for flexible perovskite solar cells. He joined ASML in San Jose, CA.

Krishnamraju Ankireddy, PhD Dr. Ankireddy was involved in developing solution phase materials for printed electronics and solar cells. He joined Bert Thin Films, LLC in Louisville, KY.

Ruvini Dharmadasa, PhD Dr. Dharmadasa was involved in the development of the intense pulsed light technique for several materials important to solar cells. She founded Bert Thin Films, LLC based on some of the research conducted at the Conn Center.

Juan He, PhD Dr. He was involved in developing novel desiccants for energy efficiency improvements for heating and drying. She joined Advance Energy Materials in Louisville, KY.