Overview
Personal Profile
Sarah Kurtz is a research fellow with the National Center for Photovoltaics and a professor at the University of California Merced. As a research fellow, she contributes to select NLR projects. Kurtz is a world-renowned expert in the fields of multijunction photovoltaics (PV), concentrator PV, and PV reliability. Kurtz and NLR colleague Jerry Olson championed the early use of multijunction solar cells by showing that a top cell of gallium indium phosphide (GaInP) and a bottom cell of gallium arsenide (GaAs) can capture and convert photons more efficiently into electricity than previous attempts at using other materials. This breakthrough was embraced by NASA, which uses multi-junction solar cells based on this invention to power many space satellites, as well as the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.
Education/Academic Qualification
PhD, Chemical Physics, Harvard University
Bachelor, Chemistry and Physics, The Manchester College
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and Top Research Areas From the Past 5 Years
-
Global Progress Toward Renewable Electricity: Tracking the Role of Solar (Version 3)
Haegel, N. & Kurtz, S., 2023, In: IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics. 13, 6, p. 768-776 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
49 Scopus Citations -
Photovoltaics at Multi-Terawatt Scale: Waiting is Not an Option
Haegel, N., Verlinden, P., Victoria, M., Altermatt, P., Atwater, H., Barnes, T., Breyer, C., Case, C., De Wolf, S., Deline, C., Dharmrin, M., Dimmler, B., Erfurt, G., Gloeckler, M., Goldschmidt, J., Hallam, B., Haussener, S., Holder, B., Jaeger, U. & Jaeger-Waldau, A. & 32 others, , 2023, In: Science. 380, 6640, p. 39-42 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
217 Scopus Citations -
The 2022 Applied Physics by Pioneering Women: A Roadmap: Article No. 073001
Abad, B., Alberi, K., Ayers, K., Badhulika, S., Ban, C., Bea, H., Beron, F., Cairney, J., Chang, J., Charles, C., Creatore, M., Dong, H., Du, J., Egan, R., Everschor-Sitte, K., Foley, C., Fontcuberta i Morale, A., Jung, M.-H., Kim, H. & Kurtz, S. & 23 others, , 2023, In: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 56, 7, 53 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2 Scopus Citations -
A New Era for Solar and Storage: Partnering for Continued Success
Kurtz, S. & Haegel, N., 2022, In: Chemical Engineering Progress.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Global Progress Toward Renewable Electricity: Tracking the Role of Solar (Version 2)
Haegel, N. M. & Kurtz, S. R., 1 Nov 2022, In: IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics. 12, 6, p. 1265-1272 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access32 Scopus Citations
Activities
-
American Chemical Society (External organization)
Ginley, D. (Member), Ware, L. (Member), Allen, B. (Fellow), Rumbles, G. (Member), Perkins, C. (Member), Johnson, D. (Member), Ferrell, J. (Member), Arellano Trevino, M. (Member), Neale, N. (Member), Bell, R. (Member), Klein, R. (Member), Aubry, T. (Member), Bharadwaj, V. (Member), Wieliczka, B. (Member), Hermosilla Palacios, A. (Member), Puente-Urbina, A. (Member), Maughan, A. (Member), Wiley, S. (Member), Kluherz, T. (Member), Kurtz, S. (Member), Schichtl, Z. (Member), Dong, Y. (Member), Thodika, M. (Member), Carvalho, Q. (Member), Truong, T. (Member), Clarke, R. (Member), Kiani, D. (Member), Lee, M. (Member), McGeehan, J. (Member), Brady, N. (Member), Yang, B. (Member), Nozik, A. (Member), Pennell, S. (Member), Wu, I. (Member), Lany, S. (Member) & Myers, A. (Member)
0001Activity: Membership › Membership of network
-
American National Standards Institute (External organization)
Miller, D. (Member), Kurtz, S. (Member) & Emery, K. (Member)
0001Activity: Membership › Membership of network
-
American Solar Energy Society (External organization)
Doris, E. (Member), Porro, G. (Member), Zhu, G. (Member), Blair, N. (Member), Seibert, M. (Member), Margolis, R. (Member) & Kurtz, S. (Member)
0001Activity: Membership › Membership of network
-
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (External organization)
Ginley, D. (Member), Nagarajan, A. (Member), Markel, A. (Member), Bernstein, A. (Member), Solanki, B. (Member), Hodge, B.-M. (Member), Uriarte, C. (Member), Barrows, C. (Member), Perkins, C. (Member), Palmintier, B. (Member), Thomas, D.-M. (Member), Saleem, D. (Member), DeVoto, D. (Member), Khan, F. (Member), Seo, G.-S. (Member), Moreno, G. (Member), Johnson, G. (Member), Cavraro, G. (Member), Dunham, H. (Member), Jorgenson, J. (Member), Zhang, J. (Member), Sanyal, J. (Member), Kisacikoglu, J. (Member), Rivera, J. (Member), Duwadi, K. (Member), Doubleday, K. (Member), Panda, K. (Member), Sedzro, K. S. (Member), Panossian, N. (Member), Guba, N. (Member), Martin, M. (Member), Guerra Fernandez, O. J. (Member), Baggu, M. (Member), Emami, P. (Member), Paret, P. (Member), Koralewicz, P. (Member), Awara, S. (Member), McFly, S. (Member), Dhulipala, S. C. (Member), Ovaitt, S. (Member), Paul, S. (Member), Abraham, S. A. (Member), De Silva M, T. (Member), Singh, V. K. (Member), Zhang, X. (Member), Zhou, X. (Member), Agalgaonkar, Y. (Member), Wright, J. (Member), Pao, L. (Member), Kekelia, B. (Member), Chang, C.-Y. (Member), Kiboma, L. (Member), Ramirez Arbelaez, L. (Member), Chaudhary, R. (Member), Wijekoon, R. (Member), Ahrenkiel, R. (Fellow), Kurtz, S. (Member), Truong, T. (Member), Poudyal, A. (Member), Sekulic, W. (Member), Pawaskar, V. (Member) & Emery, K. (Member)
0001Activity: Membership › Membership of network