Professor Scheer captures the sun’s rays
Prof. Dr. Roland Scheer has taken on the endowed chair of the photovoltaic company Q‑Cells SE. Despite the fact that his research has already taken the 51-year-old to Japan and Israel, and that he has successfully worked as deputy director of the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, he has ultimately opted for “Solar Valley” in Saxony-Anhalt.
“First of all, I have received an incredibly warm welcome in Halle”, says the native of Berlin, who has been working at the Institute of Physics in Halle since 1 June.
“I have been closely following the history of the company Q-Cells since 1999, and not only because I knew the founders. In fact, during my doctorate in 1994 I already studied the electronic and structural properties of a semiconductor required for the production of thin film solar cells. Since then, my enthusiasm for solar cells has never waned”, admits Professor Scheer.
It is this very enthusiasm that he now wants to impart on his students. “The link between university and practice cannot be better. Research and knowledge transfer are an attractive and simultaneously promising element.”
Among professional circles, Professor Roland Scheer is recognised as an expert with theoretical and practical experience, being one of the founders of the solar module manufacturer Sulfurcell GmbH in Berlin. It is therefore not surprising that he will not only spend time at MLU in Halle, but also regularly at Q-Cells in Bitterfeld-Wolfen. “Joint projects with Q-Cells and MLU are already planned, with the aim of developing new photovoltaic technologies and advancing the training of skilled young people.”
At the moment, Professor Roland Scheer and his colleagues are busy setting up the new chair. “The priority here is the design of the curriculum and the creation of links with other educational institutions such as the mining college in Freiberg.” The interest in trained photovoltaic specialists will not diminish in the coming years – of this Professor Scheer is quite sure. In the near future, photovoltaics will be the number one source of energy.
Q-Cells SE in Bitterfeld-Wolfen will fund the endowed chair and its personnel for five years.
Author: Dagmar Perschke
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Roland Scheer
Q-Cells endowed chair for photovoltaics
Tel: 0345 55 25490