IMAGES: DANI MACHLIS; GETTY


BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV


Turning to the sun


Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has been making strides in solar energy research for years. Now, it’s taking its commitment to the field one step further with a brand-new master’s degree in environmental physics and solar energy


Get inspired Since its inception, the process of converting sunlight into electricity to create renewable solar energy has proved to be a game-changer in the growing battle against climate change. In its current form, solar energy is low-carbon and doesn’t generate any of the harmful emissions that have raged through our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. So far, so positive. But there remains a lot of work to be done,


and that’s where the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, on the university’s Sde Boker Campus, comes into the picture. Dedicated to the field of renewable solar energy, the country’s national solar energy research institute focuses on finding ways to turn solar power into something practical, in a cheaper and more effective manner. Overlooking the beautiful Wadi Zin, the center is ideally located in the Negev desert in southern Israel to harness the high levels of sunshine the area receives. At her lab in the center, Professor Iris


Visoly-Fisher — chair of the Alexandre Yersin Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics and faculty member of the university’s School for Sustainability and Climate Change — is studying ways to develop materials and devices for sustainable solar energy conversion and storage using low-cost processors. Unlike in many other labs, her scientific experiments make use of natural sunlight, which is multiplied and concentrated through a unique optic, giving a real-world authenticity to her research. Her ultimate aim? Creating technology to


produce clean electricity from sunlight that’s as cheap as electricity today — if not cheaper — and that can be available in every electrical outlet, in all homes, even at night or on a cloudy day.


Take action For students keen to grasp the complexities and technological advances of the solar energy field, Ben-Gurion University’s Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, also located on the Sde Boker Campus, has curated a two-year MSc program in environmental physics and solar energy. With scholarships available for outstanding applicants, the new degree — launched for the 2021/22 academic year — is unique in Israel in its scientific framework. The program aims to train students in the


physical aspects of environmental and natural resource studies — something that’s not always emphasized in courses that take a more multidisciplinary approach. It takes research tools from physical sciences (including physics, applied mathematics, chemistry, material science and engineering) and incorporates them into an environmental syllabus covering subjects such as climate science, global thermodynamics, solar energy and renewable energy. The program includes thesis research as an


essential part of its training, too, and aims to develop the students’ mental flexibility, enabling them to employ concepts from different fields. Graduates will be equipped to carry out


interdisciplinary environmental research. What’s more, they’ll have the tools to foster partnerships between physical and environmental sciences, building on a wider culture of collaboration that sees researchers cooperate with groups across Israel and beyond to improve efficiency and lower the price of new technologies. The solution to climate issues has many faces;


applying methodologies from the physical sciences to environmental research will be a powerful tool in addressing such challenges.


ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Former doctoral student Dr Yulia Furmansky in the solar energy lab; solar panels


2022 | Israeli Academia 23


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