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Professor Nicholas Ekins-Daukes has been appointed as the new Head of School for Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering.

Prof. Ekins-Daukes joined ���������¼� in 2017 as part of the SHaRP scheme and has since served as Associate Professor, Professor and Postgraduate Research Coordinator within SPREE.

This follows earlier roles including Reader, Royal Society Industry Fellow and Director of the Energy Futures Centre for Doctoral Training at Imperial College London; Lecturer in Physics at the University of Sydney; and JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at the Toyota Technological Institute.

Prof. Ekins-Daukes is known for his team’s Solar Power at Night project, which made the first-ever direct measurement of thermoradiative electrical power from a semiconductor diode, and was shortlisted twice for a Eureka Prize.

Earlier he pioneered the use of nanostructured ‘quantum well’ materials in highly efficient solar cells, a technique now used in the highest efficiency solar cell ever made (39.5% AM1.5G) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

He is currently leading a flagship that brings SPREE together with ���������¼� Chemistry and Physics and 8 out of the top 10 solar PV manufacturers to develop next-generation >30% silicon PV solar cells.

In addition to numerous best paper awards, he received two Faculty of Engineering Staff Excellence Awards, in Research Excellence (2018) and in Research Supervision (2022). He has attracted total research funding in excess of $35M since commencing at ���������¼� and was also a co-founder of ���������¼� spinout company EnerJIN.

Prof Ekins-Daukes has served as Head of Teaching Laboratories at both Sydney University and Imperial College, has developed new courses and has contributed strongly to curriculum reviews.

Most recently in SPREE, he established the Silicon PV Fabrication Workshop where students make solar cells on campus in a fast-paced 4-day program.

In terms of outreach, he has authored multiple briefing papers, made several media appearances and led an acclaimed exhibition. Through all of his activities, he has also mentored many early career colleagues.

Dean of ���������¼� Engineering, Professor Julien Epps said: “Following a highly competitive recruitment process, it is with great pleasure that I announce this appointment.

“And I would like to thank Professor Gavin Conibeer very much for his excellent leadership since the beginning of this year as Acting Head of School.”