Person
Wenham, Stuart Ross (1957 - 2017)
FTSE
- Born
- 15 July 1957
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 23 December 2017
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Electrical engineer
Summary
Stuart Wenham was a pioneer in solar engineering and at the forefront of commercialisation of solar power technology for nearly 40 years. He invented or co-invented suites of solar cell technologies. One of these was advanced hydrogen passivation, which uses lasers to control the charge of hydrogen atoms in the silicon wafers of solar panels, and significantly increases the efficiency of solar cells. With Martin Green and Shi Zhengrong, Wenham developed the thin-film cells CSG (crystalline silicon on glass), the large-scale manufacture of which significantly reduced production costs of silicon wafers. These technologies were adopted by energy companies world-wide had a major impact on renewable energy generation.
Details
Chronology
- ? - 2017
- Career position - Director, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Photovoltaics and Photonics, University of New South Wales
- ? - 2017
- Career position - Director of Academic Studies, University of New South Wales
- 1990 -
- Career position - Associate Director, Photovoltaic Special Research Centre, University of New South Wales
- 1992
- Career position - Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, United Kingdom
- 1992
- Award - CSIRO External Medal (with Martin Green)
- 1992 - 1998
- Career position - Member, Editorial Board, Progress in Photovoltaics
- 1996
- Award - Special Investigators Award, Australian Research Council
- 1997
- Career position - International Co-Chair, 26th Institution of Engineering and Technology Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Anaheim, California, U.S.A.
- 1999
- Award - Australia Prize in the field of energy science and technology (with Martin Green), Commonwealth of Australia
- 1999 - 2017
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society in electrical engineering
- 2005 - 2017
- Career position - Chief Technology Officer, Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd
- 2008
- Award - Clunies Ross National Science and Technology Award, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
- 2009
- Award - Cherry Award, 34th Institution of Engineering and Technology Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
- 2011
- Award - J. J. Ebers Award, International Electron Devices, Group, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
- 2011
- Award - Award for Climate Change and Environment, New South Wales Science and Engineering Awards
- 2013
- Award - A. F. Harvey Engineering Prize, Institution of Engineering and Technology, United Kingdom
- 2017
- Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Stuart Wenham remembered as a pioneer of energy research', ATSE focus, 205 (2018), 43, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-603686632. Details
Newspaper Articles
- Singhal, Pallavi, 'Leading solar engineer Stuart Wenham dies at 60', Sydney morning herald (2017), https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/leading-solar-engineer-stuart-wenham-dies-at-60-20171225-h09zxr.html. Details
Resources
- 'Wenham, Stuart Ross (1957 - 2017)', Recipients [of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science, 2000 - 2017], Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, 2017, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20171113020012/http://www.science.gov.au/community/PrimeMinistersPrizesforScience/Recipients/1990-1999/Pages/MartinGreen-StuartWenham.aspx. Details
- da Silva, Wilson, Pioneering solar engineer Stuart Wenham dies, aged 60, University of New South Wales Newsroom, 2017. https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/pioneering-solar-engineer-stuart-wenham-dies-aged-60. Details
See also
- Who's who in Australia 2012 (Melbourne: Crown Content Pty Ltd, 2012), 2430 pp. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 29 May 2018, Last modified: 17 January 2023