The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), together with the International Commission for Optics (ICO) and the Mesoamerican Centre for Theoretical Physics (MCTP), is organizing a College on Optics and Energy, to be held in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico, from 28 April – 9 May 2014. 
 

The 21st century is the century of photonics and of the revolution triggered by renewable energy resources. Sustainable technologies and devices for energy production involve fundamental aspects of physics such as interaction of matter 

with radiation, optics and optical devices for diagnostics, physical properties of materials in the optical band, the physics of semiconductors and new photo materials. The search for improvement of the efficiency of solar systems 

involves also research in new areas like silicon photonics, new structures for the harvesting of light, and the design and fabrication of optical elements with high optical performances, such as photovoltaic concentrators.

The College is intended to provide researchers from developing nations, and in particular Latin America and the Caribbean, with a scientific understanding of photovoltaic systems, recent scientific achievements in nanotechnology and plasmonics for the enhancement of the efficiency of solar cells and global tendencies towards efficient energy consumption and the implementation of smart grids. 
 

TOPICS AND FACULTY

• Photonics for solar energy: Fundamentals of photovoltaics (Maria Luisa Calvo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain) 

• Novel photovoltaic materials and light harvesting structures (Rajesh Menon, Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Utah, USA)

• Optical design and novel technologies for high performance solar concentrators (Juán Carlos Miñano, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Cedint, Campus de Montegancedo, Madrid, Spain)

• Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs) (Oracio Barbosa García, CIO, México)

• Solar energy storage. (Arturo Fernández Madrigal, Instituto de energías renovables, UNAM, Mexico.)

• Smart grid applications: optical fiber communication and sensors. Angela Guzmán, College of Optics and Photonics, UCF, Florida, USA)

• Lighting: new energy saving sources (Iván Moreno, University of Zacatecas, Mexico)

• Power generation diagnostic with optical spectroscopy techniques (Elena Golinelli, T&D Technologies Department, RSE – Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico, Milano, Italy)

• Workshop: Measuring the local solar spectrum for efficient solar energy harvesting with low cost equipment (Omar Ormachea. CIO, UPB, Bolivia)

• Workshop: Characterization of solar cell systems (Miguel Torres-Cisneros. University of Guanajuato, Salamanca, Mexico)

• Workshop: Energy saving sources for lighting (Iván Moreno, University of Zacatecas, Mexico)