“Along with everyone who has ever worked with Seda, I am well aware of her keen insight and research abilities.
#Wrise conference full
This is, however, far from the only honor Sarp has received over the course of her academic career: she was the recipient, for example, of a full merit scholarship to Turkey’s Koç University, where she was named Vehbi Koc Scholar from 2014 to 2018 (the designation given to the year’s top-ranked student), as well as a full merit scholarship to Columbia. The fellowship provides mentoring and networking opportunities, as well as a chance to attend the group’s eagerly awaited annual RE+ conference, being held this year in California. Sarp’s work impressed judges from the nonprofit group Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE), which is dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable and equitable energy future by igniting the collective power of community, and this month, in partnership with GRID Alternatives, they chose her as one of just seven candidates across the country as a “Rising Solar” fellow. Aydil, Sarp, and their fellow researchers are working on developing films that can be used in the solar cells to shift the light spectrum, for example, turning ultraviolet and blue light (from the less efficient band of the spectrum) into near-infrared light (the more efficient source for solar cells). Solar cells are a key feature of creating a sustainable energy ecosystem for the future, but they’ve been plagued by one major problem - the nature of light itself - since only certain wavelengths can be efficiently utilized with existing cells, and much of the potential energy that could be captured is wasted. She is now a vital member of his Tandon lab, where researchers are working to increase the efficiency of solar cells while lowering their cost.
“Not only was the topic of his research relevant to me,” says Sarp, who had earned a master's degree in Earth and Environmental Engineering from Columbia University in 2019, “but I could tell from his name that he was from Turkey, the same as me.”Īs a master’s student, Sarp was conducting an internship at a tech startup, but when the pandemic hit, the company eliminated her position, and she became intrigued by the thought of studying with Aydil. It was, specifically, a tweet by Professor Eray Aydil, who chairs the department, that caught her eye. Sure, there’s plenty to complain about when it comes to Twitter, but the social-media platform helped set Seda Sarp, now a doctoral candidate in Tandon’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, on her current academic path.
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