Perovskite solar cells degrade when exposed to sunlight, which results in decreasing performance over time. A new research project will examine how such solar cells could recover and self-repair at night.
– Electronic components, such as solar cells and LEDs, are made from semiconductor materials, says Ellen Moons, professor of Physics. Such materials form the basis of all electronics, computers, cell phones and screens.
Stefanija Klaric from Darwin, Australia was supposed to visit us three years ago, but then the pandemic happened. Finally, she has arrived at Karlstad University and is currently exchanging experiences with fellow engineering scholars.
– I have been here a while now and it’s very rewarding to meet both teachers and students here at Karlstad University, says Stefanija Klaric, associate professor at Charles Darwin University.
Where did you work previously?
- I worked as a postdoc at the Centre for Industrial Mathematics at the University of Bremen in Germany.
How did you come in contact with mathematics at Karlstad University?
- Adrian Muntean was one of my PhD supervisors.
Bio-based resources from well managed forests play important roles in transition to a sustainable society. In WoodPro, the research team will explore new processing chains that convert forest residues to high-value industrial chemicals and soil amendment products.
- WoodPro is an EU cooperation in form of a consortium with three sub-projects hosted in Karlstad University, the Natural Resources Institute in Finland (LUKE) and the University of Eastern Finland (UEF).
Karlstad University has been granted funds from the Knowledge Foundation, for conducting research on energy-efficient tissue manufacturing, in collaboration with the paper industry.
Björn Sjöstrand, senior lecturer in Chemical Engineering, has been awarded the Heinzel-Mondi-Sappi Award for his research on the virtual paper machine. His research makes it possible to optimise and test the manufacturing process in the industry, without expensive production stoppages.
“The award was given out at the Paper & Biorefinery conference in Graz in Austria,” says Björn Sjöstrand.
Rainey Lyons has joined Karlstad University and the mathematics department. Rainey has previously worked for University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA, where he worked in a subfield of mathematical biology looking at structured population dynamics set in a space of Radon measures.
- I was changing the setting of which we do this modelling to a more abstract object than a function, says Rainey Lyons.
Björn Sjöstrand, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Karlstad University, was awarded the Young Researcher’s Award 2022 at Forum for Bioeconomy.
Solar cell researchers from Karlstad University have once again conducted experiments in zero gravity during parabolic flights in Bordeaux, France. The aim is to study how the structure of the active layer of the polymer solar cell is formed, to thereby be able to increase its efficiency.
– This is the second time we have conducted experiments during parabolic flights, says Jan van Stam, Professor of Physical Chemistry at Karlstad University.
Mangroves can thrive in harsh environment and are used to natural perturbations like tropical cyclones. But, with several confounding pressures exacerbating each other, mangroves fail to withstand and diminish.
Mangroves, the coastal cousins of the inland forests, do not only represent a unique set of rich biodiversity but also provide important livelihoods, coastal defence, and carbon sinks.
Karlstad University conducts research and development of intelligent control systems for greenhouse lighting, using a high percentage of locally produced renewable energy.
The digitalisation of society has led to a constant pursuit of better performance. Through a new research project, Computer Science at Karlstad University wants to help speed up the process.
Waiting for changes in the major operating systems Linux and Windows is time-consuming.
Solar cell research at Karlstad University has been granted further funding from the Swedish National Space Agency, SNSA. Later this year, the research group in chemistry and materials physics will carry out experiments under microgravity conditions on parabolic flights in Bordeaux, France.
Carbon nanotubes are of great interest in both scientific research and commercial applications thanks to the unique properties of the material. A new thesis at Karlstad University looks at how the atomic structure influences the different properties of the material.
- At the moment, there are too few measuring standards and no proper classification system for carbon nanotubes, says Mattias Flygare, recently qualified doctor of physics who just published his thesis.
Over the last decade, perovskites have received much attention in solar cell research all over the world. Perovskite solar cells combine the benefits of the high performance of conventional silicon solar cells and the low cost of polymer-based solar cells.
We receive district heating and electricity from cogeneration plants (also known as combined heat and power plants). In the future they might also produce bio-oil, which can be used as biofuel or replace fossil oil in the chemicals industry.
A grant of nearly SEK 10 million from the Knowledge Foundation allows researchers at Karlstad University to launch a new research project dedicated to the contribution of modern digitisation technology to pharmaceutical quality assurance and development. The accelerated rate of development of Covid-19 vaccines has raised the demand to speed up the development process for other pharmaceuticals.
