<p>I'm a graduating chem e applying for PhD programs. Initially, I thought I had my list of schools all set. But then, I took a look at some schools' materials department, and I saw a mirror of, if not better, research faculty as the chem e department. I'm interested in photovoltaics and OSC's in solar cells. I've gotten some feedback from professors about the difference between a chem e phd and a mat e PhD, but I'm wondering whether anyone on here has any insight</p>
<p>Just found out that these mat e programs either have passed deadlines, very soon deadlines, or policies prohibiting applications to multiple departments. Well that went out the window pretty fast… but I’m still curious about what anyone has to say about the matter</p>
<p>If possible, get into a MatE program for photovoltaics and solar cells, but it probably won’t make much difference. I did MatE as an undergrad, and half of our curriculum was semiconductors. We had lots of classes and labs making solar cells/other semiconducting devices. I don’t think Chem E’s do that, and at least at my undergrad university these two subjects lie more in MatE territory than Chem E territory.</p>
<p>However, this was in undergrad, and I think with a graduate degree you can study what you want as long as you find the right adviser. Go in as Chem E, get some good research done, and join a MatE lab/find a MatE adviser. That would be a good way to throw a new spin on whatever they’re working on in the lab.</p>
<p>they let you transfer from chem e department over to mat e? If I could choose to work with a professor in mat e after being admitted to chem e, then that would be wonderful. But I don’t think most programs would let you do that.</p>
<p>It is true that MatSci has a lot more research in semiconductors and organic solar cells than ChemEs. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find any ChemEs that work in this field, you just have to look harder. Off the top of my head there is great work being done at Minnesotta, Stanford, and Princeton.</p>
<p>There is always the option of being co-advised between a MatSci faculty and ChemE faculty, many people do that.</p>
<p>In my personal opinion and experience I would warn people to stay away from solar cells. The field is EXTREMELY saturated and there are about 10 researchers per hour that hop on the bandwagon so to speak. It is very hard to do good work and be very innovative in the field.</p>
<p>When choosing a field I would definitely recommend thinking about how the next 15-20 years would look.</p>
<p>that’s the first I’ve heard such a thing, that solar cells are in such high demand. That would imply that those who propose to do solar cell research are at a disadvantage because there will be an overwhelming amount of applicants wanting to work with the same professors. My school doesn’t have research in that area whatsoever, so I wouldn’t know about that. To be fair though, organic semiconductors branch not only into solar cells, but also fuel cells and micro circuits and whatnot, which I suppose falls into the same bandwagon for sustainable energy. A lot of these research are funded by companies like Intel, so there is definitely jobs for PhD’s doing this type of research. What do you think is going to happen in 15-20 years?</p>
<p>Well I worked at a government lab in a reseach group that focused on solar cells and that’s pretty much what i heard from everyone. Solar cells were really hot about 10 years ago, but more and more people started getting on and the field got saturated so fast. We have organic solar cells with over 10% efficiency. It’s hard to compete with that.</p>
<p>But if you are planning on going on focusing on organic electronics in general that might be a better idea than going in focused on solar cells.</p>
<p>The way I see it the two biggest challenges for the next 15-20 years will be energy and clean water, because the two are really intertwined.</p>
<p>was this berkeley where you worked, or a different national lab? As far as I know, they’re trying to make the manufacturing process for PV’s cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Even though future research won’t likely be groundbreaking, it will certainly be relevant and practical in addressing the energy issue. But I appreciate you telling me how this area is being milked dry. Since I’ve never worked with semiconductors before, I’ll keep my options open and say that I’m interested in ‘polymeric materials’</p>