Report: Quantum of Sol at Techfest '10

Quantum of Sol is a hands on exhibition that explains the physics of solar cells

Running from the 22nd to the 24th of January and hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, theTechfest brings new advances in science and technology to the public from Mumbai and further afield. The IIT Bombay is one out of a group of seven leading technology based universities situated across India. Techfest is an annual, non-profit student-run event held at the IIT Bombay, which over the last twelve years has evolved to become the largest technology showcase in Asia. Techfest hosts competitions, lectures, exhibitions, workshops, technology shows and more. Techfest is envisioned as a forum for the confluence of students, academia and industry whilst providing students with the opportunity to learn about cutting edge technology and breakthroughs in science from the various exhibits on display. Over the course of three days, in excess of ten thousand members of the public and students visited this year's event.

Following a successful display of our research at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2009 our team from Imperial College London was invited to bring our exhibit named ‘Quantum of Sol' to Mumbai for the Techfest. Our team consisted of Dr. Balarko Chaudhuri of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department and four PhD students from the Quantum Photovoltaics group in the Physics Department: Jessica Adams, Rahul Bose, Ben Browne and Alvin Chan.

Our team arrived in Mumbai to set up the exhibit two days in advance. Our exhibit has a lot of hands on material which had to be shipped over before us. To our great consternation the shipping was stuck in customs the day that we had intended to set it up. The following morning, the day before the start of the event we found that it still hadn't been freed. This was a little worrying but we were assured that it would arrive soon. There was no time to dwell on it though as we were off to give talks at some local schools that afternoon. Our talks were well received and we were very impressed by the students' enthusiasm and understanding of the subject. The students fielded many questions after the talk and also wanted more information about Imperial College and London. That evening we returned to the IIT to find to our relief that the shipment had finally arrived so that we could set up.

The exhibition started well with our team receiving VIP treatment from the student organisers at IIT. The visitors were impressively enthusiastic with crowds permanently surrounding each of our three demos and armed with a bottomless supply of questions to keep us on our toes. The aim of our stand was to introduce the public to photovoltaics and inform them about high efficiency multijunction solar cells with the help of hands-on demos. One stand showed how white light can be split into its component colours and showed a selection of some of the most interesting solar cells from around the world at the moment, though the most popular part may well have been the toy solar powered car. The next demo used red, green and blue glowing sheets of plastic placed in a light box to illustrate how solar cells absorb light and how we construct multijunction solar cells. The final demo was the Concentrator Challenge, which was so popular that the organisers had us close it down sporadically to thin the crowds. Visitors tried to make their own photovoltaic concentrator systems using lenses and mirrors, and their results were recorded for entry into the prize draw.

Besides members of the public there were several professors and students from our research field who had turned up to the exhibition. We learned that there was a lot of research being conducted into solar energy in Mumbai and made some useful contacts. Our exhibit also attracted attention from the industry with several companies wanting to find out more about the solar cells developed by our group. The exhibition ended on Sunday with a spectacular display of fire and dance, and though we were all exhausted we agreed that it had been a great success and privilege to come and present our work at Techfest '10.