November 16, 2015
Bennett Widyolar has been named a Dan David Solar Fellow through the University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar), headquartered at UC Merced. Three other students from the School of Natural Sciences were also named Dan David Solar Fellows. The fellowship began in 2007 through a generous gift from Sarah R. Kurtz, principal scientist in the National Center for Photovoltaics at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). 
Widyolar is a graduate student who has worked with UC Solar for several years. He earned both his undergraduate and master’s degrees from UC Merced and is continuing his graduate studies with UC Solar, as well as being part of the Environmental Systems graduate group. Widyolar has already attracted notice by installing solar-energy systems in Mongolia, including the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. The fellowship, which awards him $2,000 for the 2015-16 academic year, enables him to continue his work on high-concentration concentrating photovoltaic systems using multi-junction cells.
The Dan David Solar Fellowship, which exists in perpetuity, supports undergraduate and graduate students working in the area of solar energy and concentrating photovoltaic devices and systems.
