PhD student Krishanu Dey has been announced as the winner of 2022 IET Hudswell International Research Scholarship, which will allow him to explore exciting light emission applications of emerging halide perovskite materials beyond his PhD.
Krish is a member of StranksLab, based at the Cavendish Laboratory and Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology. In his PhD, Krish is using a host of optical spectroscopy and electrical methods to unravel various fundamental optoelectronic properties of mixed lead-tin halide perovskite materials which are key components of the next generation all-perovskite tandem solar cells. He also uses many of the insights obtained from such fundamental studies to fabricate lab-scale high efficiency mixed lead-tin perovskite solar cells with minimised loss channels. For his curiosity and the quality of work, he has already received numerous awards and travel grants from diverse organizations during his PhD.
Belonging to a remote border town in the state of Assam in India, Krish was always fascinated by light-electricity or photon-electron interactions that have revolutionised many modern-day electronic inventions. In particular, solar photovoltaic research really appealed to him and accordingly, he pursued research on solar-driven water splitting and a variety of photovoltaic material technologies (e.g. III-V tandem solar cells, CIGS solar cells etc.) even before starting his PhD.
Awarded by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), as part of its Postgraduate Research Awards, the prize of £5000 will allow Krish to develop several internal and external collaborations on the light emission applications of emerging halide perovskite materials. The scholarship will also support him in disseminating his work at major international scientific conferences in the coming year.
“I am extremely delighted that my PhD research has been recognized with this prestigious award from the IET,” he said. “Supported by the Cambridge India Ramanujan Scholarship, my time at Cambridge over the last few years has really enriched me as an independent thinker and provided me with great opportunities to broaden and sharpen my research skills. Halide perovskites remain one of the most exciting semiconductors of the current decade and I am eagerly waiting to explore some of the less-chartered territories involving these materials in the next few months. I sincerely thank my supervisor Dr. Sam Stranks for his expert guidance, advice and unwavering support which have made this possible.”
Sir Julian Young, IET President, said: “Supporting personal and professional development for today’s and tomorrow’s engineers and research into new technology are things we are really passionate about. Our global IET Postgraduate Research Awards are given on a competitive basis for excellence, and the related financial support forms part of the Institution’s annual investment in the next generation of engineers.”
“All of our recipients are carrying out leading research at some of the world’s most recognised universities, and their research is supporting the advancement of knowledge throughout the global engineering and technology community. I wish all of our award winners the very best in their ongoing careers - they are all future difference makers.”
Certificates will be presented at the annual IET Achievement Awards ceremony due to take place in Autumn 2022, London.
For more information please visit: www.theiet.org/postgradawards.