Home
AN ECONOMIC CATALYST, the Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST) connects the state's businesses with its shared network of university labs to transform green building and renewable energy research into on-the-ground products, services, and jobs that power Oregon's green economy.
- BEST Researcher Helps Develop New Solar Cell Technology
A new technology developed by an Oregon BEST researcher boosts Oregon's growing reputation as the North American leader in solar energy manufacturing. The technology has the potential to triple electrical output of solar cells and simplify manufacturing.
Greg Rorrer, a chemcial engineering professor at Oregon State University and a researcher with Oregon BEST and ONAMI, has discovered a way to use the shells of single-celled marine life forms called diatoms to create the new solar energy technology.
Using biology instead of conventional semiconductor manufacturing approaches, Rorrer and his team at OSU and Portland State University have created a new way to make “dye-sensitized” solar cells, in which photons bounce around like pinballs, striking the dyes and producing electricity. Read more...
BEST Leadership Includes Top Oregon Executives
Oregon BEST's leadership includes executives from some of Oregon's most respected green building and renewable energy companies: SolarWorld, PGE, Gerding Edlen Development, Collins Companies, CH2M HILL, SunPower Corporation, PNNL, and Perkins Coie. These people join research leaders from Oregon BEST's member universities (Oregon Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon) and a member of Oregon's Legislature to form a visionary management team committed to building Oregon's green economy. Read More...
