New faculty strengthen, broaden MIT’s energy expertise
From mimicking the natural characteristics of photosynthesis in human-made solar energy systems, to modeling plasma behavior in fusion reactor designs, some of MIT's newest faculty bring a wide array of energy expertise to the Institute. The latest issue of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) magazine, Energy Futures, gives an in-depth look at what drives four of them. Gabriela Schlau-Cohen: What photovoltaics can learn from photosynthesis Unlike human-made electric grids, the natural world’s energy-harvesting systems never experience blackouts. Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, assistant professor of chemistry at MIT, is trying to learn from this natural talent for energy-making so she can change our energy systems for the better. For Schlau-Cohen, this means starting with plants. Plants are the ultimate energy-users: The average global rate of photosynthesis is 130 terawatts — a level of energy-capture more than six times worldwide energy consumption. “Leaves absorb light throughout the visible spectrum, and they basically funnel all of that energy to a...