3:17 p.m., June 28, 2010----Nominations are invited for the 2011 Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit. The formal announcement and nominating form are available online, and nominations must be received by Sept. 3.

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The bronze medal and $50,000 cash prize will be awarded to an individual who has made significant pioneering contributions to the promotion of solar energy as an alternate source of energy through research, development, or economic enterprise, or to an individual who has made extraordinarily valuable and enduring contributions to the field of solar energy in other ways.

The announcement was made by George Hadjipanayis, Richard B. Murray Professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware, who serves as the executive director of the Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit Trust, and Prof. David Renné, president of the International Solar Energy Society and vice chairman of the award selection committee.

Funded by the Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit Trust, the prestigious award is presented every two years. It is named in honor of Karl Wolfgang Böer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics and Solar Energy at UD and founder of the Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC).

A leader in solar research and development, IEC was designated a University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education by the U.S. Department of Energy in 1992.

The award selection committee includes representatives from the International Solar Energy Society, American Solar Energy Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Physical Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory; a representative of the Böer family; and the executive director of the trust.

The first Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit was presented in 1993 to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who was cited as “the one individual who, more than anyone else, spurred development and focused world attention on the relatively unknown technology for safe and environmentally sound energy production from the sun.”

The most recent awardee, in 2009, was Hermann Scheer, a member of the German Parliament, president of EUROSOLAR, and chairperson of the World Council for Renewable Energy, who was honored for his long-lasting and worldwide commitment to the dissemination of solar energy.

Previous Recipients of the Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit:

2009, Hermann Scheer

For his long-lasting and worldwide commitment to the dissemination of solar energy.

2007, Lawrence Kazmerski
For his leadership in the field of solar electricity from its infancy.

2005, Yoshihiro Hamakawa
For his significant pioneering contributions to the development of high-efficiency thin-film solar cells and the advancement of solar photovoltaic science and technology as a clean energy source.

2003, Martin A. Green

For his innovative research efforts in the development of high performance crystalline silicon solar cell technology.

2001, Allen M. Barnett

For his pioneering high-performance, thin-crystalline silicon solar cells, and outstanding continuing service to the solar electric power community.

1999, Stanford R. Ovshinsky

For pioneering the science of amorphous semiconductors resulting in the development of low-cost thin-film silicon solar cells.

1997, Adolf Goetzberger

For his leadership in the international solar energy community, his research accomplishments and for founding the eminent Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

1995, David E. Carlson

For the discovery and commercial development of thin film amorphous silicon cells for converting sunlight to electrical energy.

1993, Jimmy Carter, 39th U.S. President

“The one individual who, more than anyone else, spurred development and focused world attention on the relatively unknown technology for safe and environmentally sound energy production from the sun.”

Article by Tracey Bryant