Biography

Sarah Kurtz obtained her PhD in 1985 from Harvard University and now works at the University of California Merced after working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado for more than 30 years. She is known for her contributions to developing multijunction, GaInP/GaAs solar cells, supporting the Concentrator Photovoltaic (PV) industry, and leading efforts on PV performance and reliability.

Sarah’s work has been recognized with a jointly received Dan David Prize in 2007, the Cherry Award in 2012, C3E Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, and induction into the National Academy of Engineering in 2020.