Cañada Alum Esther Chan is Researching Sustainable Energy at UC San Diego
Fri, 10 May, 2013 at 12:47 pmThe Former Woodside High School Graduate is Researching Material for a Stretchable Solar Cell
Cañada College alum Esther Chan has received a grant from
the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2)
Summer Undergraduate Research Program and will be conducting research on
sustainable energy this summer at UC San Diego.
Chan is researching the fabrication of copper electrodes on
a rigid substrate that can be transferred to a stretchable substrate. “The goal
of the project is to make a stretchable transparent conducting electrode that
can be used in a stretchable solar cell,” she said.
The research is being conducted at the UC San Diego
Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion. The goal of the lab is to design
and develop new functional nanomaterials and nanostructures for advanced energy
storage and conversion applications. Discoveries in the lab could lead to
smaller, more powerful batteries and provide ways to harness more sustainable
energy sources.
The UCSD Calit2 Summer Undergraduate Research Program
provides students with the opportunity to perform hands-on research under the
guidance of a UCSD faculty advisor over a 10-week period. It is a non-academic
university research unit where researchers from different disciplines come
together to study and develop new technology to address issues in the economy and
society.
When she graduated from Woodside High School four years ago,
she hadn’t settled on a college major. “I came to Cañada because I didn’t feel
right going to a four-year school without a real sense of what I wanted to do.”
It’s safe to say she found her direction at Cañada. She met
Amelito Enriquez, professor of engineering and mathematics, who set her on a
course to study mechanical engineering. She also received the support of Cathy
Lipe, the director of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement
Program.
“I can’t imagine where I would be without them,” Chan said.
“I am so appreciative of everything they have done for me. They are the best
team any engineering student can have. You can tell that they really care about
the students.”
Chan is pursuing her dream at UC San Diego. “I came here
interested in the work being done in developing sustainable energy solutions
and I would love to continue this research as a career.”
At Cañada, Chan had the opportunity to present research at a
national conference. She said that prepared her for her current pursuits at UC
San Diego. “There is no better choice than Cañada,” she said. “You get a
genuine sense of community from students who are motivated and friendly and
receive a great education from professors who care about their students. It’s
true, from here, you can go anywhere."
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