College engineering student recognised by Australian Solar Energy Society
Solar researcher recognised
For her research into the storage of solar energy in superheated ammonia gas, Rebecca Dunn, an Australian National University (ANU) PhD candidate, was awarded the Wal Read Memorial Award at the Australian Solar Energy Society's annual conference in Townsville recently. The $1500 prize was sponsored by Suntech.
Dunn is currently in the second year of her PhD in concentrating solar thermal power at the Australian National University. She is studying receiver design for dish concentrators which is the part of the dish where the fluid is heated.
The receiver Dunn is studying is part of a system for storing solar energy as thermochemical energy using ammonia. This method allows solar plants to dispatch power when the sun is not shining.
Dunn graduated from a bachelor of engineering/bachelor of science degree.
"I chose engineering because I wanted to do something about the greenhouse effect and I settled for the sustainable energy major," she said. Dunn intends to complete her PhD before seeking work in the industry.
Other prizes were awarded to Shelley Bambrook, Craig Johnson and Andrew Pascale. The students, presenting their research at the 47th Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society were awarded the prizes in honour of one of Australia's solar pioneers, Wal Read.
The Wal Read Memorial Awards are made every year to students presenting their work at the Australian Solar Energy Society's annual conference, to be held next year in Canberra.
This article first appeared in the Feb 2010 edition of Electrical News and is reproduced with kind permission of Engineers Media.
