08.08.2020. Congrats, Eric!
Dr. Eric Welch, who earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science, Engineering and Commercialization on December 14, 2019, has won The Texas State University Graduate College’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in Mathematics, Engineering and Physical Sciences. His dissertation, First Principle Modeling of Hybrid Halide Perovskites for Optoelectronic Applications, can be found here.
07.01.2020. Congrats, Nischal! Nischal Khakurel has successfully defended his Physics MS Thesis titled: “Hole Transport Layer optimization for Methylammonium Lead Iodide Photovoltaic Cell”
03.27.2020. Our polaron review paper was featured on the cover page of the Vol. 11, Issue 9 of the The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. The manuscript is available here. 
NSF STTR Phase II award, April 2020
The group is pleased to announce that the National Science Foundation has awarded us with STTR Phase II grant (#1927020, Program Manager Dr. Anna Brady-Estevez) for “Scalable fabrication of stable perovskite solar panels using slot-die coating technique.” In this project, nTact company, in partnership with the Texas State will develop a reliable, reproducible, and cost-effective upscaling of perovskite photovoltaic (PV) devices using an industry-proven slot-die coating technique, to ultimately produce flexible and rigid, highly efficient perovskite solar cells. Project’s objectives are to: 1) produce a hybrid perovskite (HP) slot-die deposition solution for large solar panels sized 600-1200 mm and beyond, 2) build slot-die coating solution for perovskite-silicon tandem photovoltaic cells, and 3) conduct modeling and reliability studies to optimize the system.
10.29.2019. Congrats, Eric! Dr. Eric Welch has successfully defended his MSEC PhD thesis titled: “First Principle Modeling of Hybrid Halide Perovskites for Optoelectronic Applications“.
08.09.2019. Congrats, Mehedhi! Dr. Mehedhi Hasan has successfully defended his MSEC PhD thesis titled: “Methylammonium Acetate Assisted Deposition of Hybrid Halide Perovskite for Efficient Devices”.
ONR HBCU/MI grant award, July 2019
The group is pleased to announce that U.S. Navy has awarded us with grant under ONR FOA Announcement #N00014-19-S-F004, Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program. The research project title is: “High-Bandgap Hybrid Perovskites for Efficient Underwater Solar Cells”. We look forward to work with Dr. Cyntrica Eaton and Mr. Anthony C. Smith Sr. on this exciting project.
NSF ECCS/EPM award, June 2019
The group is pleased to announce that the National Science Foundation has awarded us with research grant (#ECCS-1906492, Program Manager Dr. Paul Lane). The research project title is: “Collaborative Research: Leveraging a Solvent Toolkit for Doping and Characterizing Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cell”. Texas State in collaboration with the research group of Dr. Jason Slinker at UTD will develop DFT computational model and experimental toolkit for electrochemical doping of hybrid perovskite thin films for the solar cells device applications.
05.20.2019. Congrats, Kevin! Kevin Lyon has successfully defended his Physics MS Thesis titled: “Copper Iodide and Copper (I) Oxide Based Hole Transport Materials for Methylammonium Lead Iodide Photovoltaic Device Optimization“. Kevin also has received the Department Award for Excellence in Graduate Research. Well done indeed!!
Our research is featured in the TXST Newsroom: https://news.txstate.edu/research-and-innovation/2019/ar-training-technology.html
U.S. Navy SBIR Phase I award, August 2018
The group is pleased to announce that U.S. 
Navy has awarded us with SBIR Phase I grant (N181-002) for “Flexible perovskite LED with CNT electrodes” in collaboration with Solarno Inc. company. Solarno Inc., Dallas, TX and Texas State University, San Marcos, TX will develop a novel roll-to-roll compatible, cost-effective method to manufacture high-efficiency, ultra-light-weight, flexible LED lighting panels based on hybrid organohalide lead perovskite light emitters and carbon nanotube transparent electrodes.
07.22.2018. Congrats, Chris! Dr. Chris Manspeaker has successfully defended his MSEC PhD Thesis titled: “Role of the cation in hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar materials“.
04.03.2018. Congrats, Joseph! Joseph Sadler has successfully defended his Physics MS Thesis titled: “Optical Mapping of Organohalide Lead Perovskite Films“.
U.S. Army STTR Phase I, II award, August 2017
The group is pleased to announce that U.S. Army has awarded us with STTR Phase I and Phase II grant (#W81XWH-17-C-0157) for “Dynamic virtual moulage based on thin film adhesive displays” in collaboration with Archie MD Inc. company. We propose to develop a dynamic moulage technology with the ability to morph to reflect changes in medical simulation scenarios and provide lifelike situational fidelity. Specifically, a very thin, flexible electronic sticker display that adheres to skin will display a variety of dynamic information, including vital signs, disease progression, and response to treatment or treatment error, to provide the trainee with information about clinical progression and changes in the physiological state of the simulated patient scenario over time, potentially leading to improvements in critical thinking, assessment, and response time.
NSF SBIR Phase I award, July 2017
The group is pleased to announce that the National Science Foundation has awarded us an SBIR Phase I grant (#1721884, Program Manager Dr. Anna Brady-Estevez) for “Scalable fabrication of stable perovskite solar panels using slot-die coating technique.” In this project, nTact company, in partnership with the Texas State, will use nTact’s slot die coating method and air stable p-i-n devices architecture to manufacture perovskite solar panel with a target power conversion efficiency of 20%, operational lifetime of more than 10,000 hours, power-to-weight ratio of 1 kW/kg, and target manufacturing cost of less than $0.3/W. This is over a 40% reduction in costs when compared to industry leading photovoltaic technologies.
07.03.2017. Congrats, Liano! Liano Perez has successfully defended his Physics MS Thesis titled: “High Performance Perovskite Photodetectors“.
ONR HBCU/MI Instrumentation award, August 2016
The group is pleased to announce that the Office of Naval Research has awarded us HBCU/MI instrumentation grant (#W911NF-16-1-0518, Program Manager Dr. Paul Armistead) for “Scanning Probe Microscope for Materials Research and Education.” We propose acquisition of a state-of-the-art scanning probe microscope (SPM) system for advanced materials analysis and addressing strategic plans in research and education of multiple departments in the College of Science and Engineering, and the university. The new system will have a major impact on current and future research at Texas State University, including ongoing and planned U.S. Department of Defense work. The proposed SPM will result in advanced training of research students and have an immediate impact on organized courses to accelerate our education efforts.
Physics Department Colloquium, 10/07/2015
You can find the slides here phys col AZ 10.07
ACS-PRF award, January 2015
The group is pleased to announce that the American Chemical Society has awarded us Petroleum Research Fund grant (#UNI656095-UNI6, Program Manager Dr. Askar Fahr) for “Electrochemical Study of Electronic Properties of Organic Thin Films in Orthogonal Electrolytes.” In this project we propose to transform traditional electrochemistry to unleash its application for virtually all existing organic semiconductors, including weakly bonded small molecule organic films. To enable electrochemical characterization of such films we will exploit highly fluorinated segregated hydrofluoroethers (HFE) solvents as electrolytes, which are chemically orthogonal to non-fluorinated organic materials.
RFM2206 Lab Grand Opening Event, January 23rd, 2015
Organic Electronics Lab RFM2206 is now officially open. We thank administration, faculty, staff members, engineers and students who helped in this process and hope to elevate Texas State as a hub for semiconductor devices of the future.