SIGMA XI - NJIT CHAPTER

Solar energy has been growing at an accelerated pace in last few years. Its growth has been driven by global environmental issues, fossil energy cost, governmental policies and regulations, national security concerns as well as political and social impact. Among all renewable energy sources, solar energy presents a most resourceful, clean and convenient source of the energy. As the advancement of solar cell technology and solar product manufacturing methodologies, solar energy is marching toward grid parity at an unexpected speed. It will be a strategic industry in next decades.

There are a number of solar technology platforms available and under development today. They all have their merits and the areas to be improved. They all have their unique application spaces and limitations. An understanding of the potentials and limitations of these technologies as well as their impact on solar economics will help us to focus on critical issues and facilitate the process toward to grid parity and make solar energy a viable and reliable energy source.

BIOGRAPHY

Since 2005, Dr. Sun has been active in renewable energy area. He was one of the founding members of Applied Materials photovoltaic and solid state lighting businesses, where he led Applied Materials’ new business initiatives and managed the company’s renewable energy ventures. Dr. Sun was also an architect of business growth at JA Solar, a NASDAQ list Chinese solar cell manufacturer. At his helm, the company was the fastest growing solar company in world from 2006 to 2008.

Dr. Sun has over 20 years successful career in business creation and management in various industries. He has led businesses at Fortune 500 corporations as well as technology startup ventures. He was president & chief operating officer of JA Solar (NASDAQ:JASO), managing director of new business development and chief strategy officer of New Business and New Products Division at Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), vice president of new venture business and general manager of Optical Device Business at Honeywell (NYSE:HON) and vice president of new business and technology at Oce (AMS:OCE). Among his venture activities, Dr. Sun is currently president and chief executive officer of RayTracker Inc., venture partner of WI Harper Group, the founder and partner of Index Capital Group, and board director of Apollo Solar Energy. He also was the founder and president of Index Technologies Inc., and vice president of FlexICs and Microfabrica. Dr. Kang Sun received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science from Brown University, an M.S. degree in Physical Chemistry from the University of Georgia, and a B.S. degree in Polymer Science from Nanjing University, China.