PVSC Awards

CHERRY AWARD WINNER

Dr. Pierre Verlinden, Chief  Scientist and Vice-President of Trina Solar, will receive the William Cherry Award in recognition of his long and distinguished career at the forefront of PV technology and commercialization, for leading technology advances including the interdigitated back contact (IBC) cell, mono- and multicrystalline PERC silicon solar cells and multijunction III-V dense array technology for CPV application, and for his overall leadership of key R&D organizations throughout his career. Dr. Verlinden is currently Vice-Chair of the State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology, Changzhou, China, as well as adjunct Professor at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.  
He has been involved with high-efficiency PV technologies for more than 35 years, first as an early developer of IBC silicon solar cells from 1979, at the University of Louvain, Belgium, and Stanford University, California. He continued his pioneer work on IBC solar cell development for CPV and one-sun applications as Director of R&D at SunPower until 2001. After a short stay at Origin Energy Solar, Australia, to build a pilot line for the Sliver cell, he founded AMROCK and helped many other companies and research centers to develop advanced PV technologies, including multijunction III-V dense arrays for reflective CPV systems at Solar Systems, Australia. In early 2012, Dr. Verlinden joined Trina Solar in Changzhou, China, where, marrying western-style and Chinese-style R&D, he transformed the State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology into one of the most advanced research centers in photovoltaics. He has been associated with several efficiency world records during his long career dedicated to photovoltaics.

Dr. Verlinden will deliver his Cherry Award acceptance talk on Monday June 6 during the Conference Opening Keynote Session.

CHERRY AWARD AWARD NOMINATION INSTRUCTIONS

Nomination Deadline: February 10, 2016

About the Award

This award is named in honor of William R. Cherry, a founder of the photovoltaic community. In the 1950's, he was instrumental in establishing solar cells as the ideal power source for space satellites and for recognizing, advocating, and nurturing the use of photovoltaic systems for terrestrial applications. The William R. Cherry award was instituted in l980, shortly after his death. The purpose of the award is to recognize an individual engineer or scientist who devoted a part of their professional life to the advancement of the science and technology of photovoltaic energy conversion. The nominee must have made significant contributions to the science and/or technology of PV energy conversion, with dissemination by substantial publications and presentations. Professional society activities, promotional and/or organizational efforts and achievements are not considerations in the election for the award.

Award Package

The award consists of a plaque, monetary award, recognition at the PVSC Opening Ceremony and a dedicated Cherry Award Talk during the Opening Ceremony. In addition, a reception is held in honor of the Cherry Award winner during the PVSC.

Rules & Eligibility

• Nominee must be a scientist or engineer who has made significant contributions to the science and/or technology of PV energy conversion, with dissemination by substantial publications and presentations.
• Nominees are not required to be members of IEEE or EDS.
• Nominees from any country and institution are eligible.
• Nominees are expected to have prior contributions to the PVSC.
• Previous recipients of the Cherry Award are not eligible.
• Self-nominations will not be accepted.
• A nomination will remain active for 3 award cycles, after which a new nomination may be submitted.

Nomination Package Requirements

• Complete Electronic Nomination Form with name of nominee, and his/her current affiliation and contact information.
• Nominator's name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
• A rationale (less than 150 words) of the nominee's contributions to the advancement of the PV field.
• A citation (less that 40 words) listing the nominee's specific contributions to make them deserving of the award.
• A list of the nominee's activities in the field.
• A current CV for the nominee.

• Submit a Cherry Award Nomination

Questions? Contact the Cherry Committee Awards Chair [email protected]

WILLIAM R. CHERRY COMMITTEE

Previous Recipients