“It’s a great honour to receive this award. And I feel very grateful to work with such talented people in my group and excellent collaborators at different places that make the research possible. A true privilege,” says Feng Gao, professor of optoelectronics at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology at Linköping University.
He is awarded the Göran Gustafson Prize in Physics “for contributions to the basic understanding and development of new optoelectronic devices based on organic semiconductors and metal halide perovskites”.
Shaped the research field
Feng Gao’s research group has been involved in shaping the research field for perovskites as well as organic semiconductors for the past ten years. The advantage of the materials is that they are inexpensive, easy to manufacture, transparent and flexible. This makes it possible to place, for example, solar cells on many more surfaces such as windows.
“With a deeper understanding of how these new materials work, we can also improve the performance of LEDs and solar cells based on organic semiconductors and perovskites. Our hope is that they will become part of everyday life and contribute to the energy transition.”
Sustainability focus
In addition to increasing performance, Feng Gao’s research group has increasingly focused on sustainability. Issues such as what to do with end-of-life solar cells and diodes are increasingly shaping the direction of their research.
“Even at the development stage of new technologies, we need to keep recycling in mind. If we don’t know how to recycle the technology before we put it on the market, we shouldn’t put it on the market at all.”
As electricity use is predicted to increase drastically in the coming years with the development of AI and the transition to electrified transport, many different sustainable energy sources need to work together. This is something Feng Gao wants to contribute to.
“Society is facing many challenges. We can't do everything. As a researcher, it’s really important to think about where our own expertise can help in the best way.”
KVA makes the assessment
The Göran Gustafsson Prize is awarded each year to researchers under the age of 45 in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, molecular biology and medicine. Each award winner receives SEK 7.2 million in research grants over three years, and a personal award of SEK 300,000.
The universities nominate researchers for the prize and the contributions are assessed by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA). In order to receive the prize, a researcher must be at the absolute forefront of their field.
As well as from LiU, this year’s award winners come from Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University and Chalmers University of Technology.
Previous Göran Gustafsson Prize winners from LiU
• Physics: Olle Inganäs, Igor Abrikosov, Mats Fahlman, Johanna Rosén
• Chemistry: Magnus Berggren, Per Hammarström, Reverant Crispin
• Molecular biology: Stefan Thor
