Dr. Akash Dasgupta is a CEI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow advised by chemistry professor and CEI Chief Scientist David Ginger. Dr. Dasgupta earned his Ph.D. at the University of Oxford working under Professor Henry Snaith, and his undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol. Originally from India, he moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was young.
At the UW, Dr. Dasgupta is working on metrology and diagnostics (measurement systems) to characterize and better understand the performance of perovskite solar cells. His overarching goal is to develop methods for pulling out more information about perovskite solar cells from the measurements taken, which involves designing new measurements as well as new analysis techniques. His specific interest is in understanding how perovskite solar cells degrade.
During his time at Oxford in the Snaith Group, Dr. Dasgupta notably developed the “charge collection quality” metric and applied machine learning techniques (such as Bayesian inference) to the group’s data analysis. Snaith is often credited as the founder of the field of perovskites, which are an incredibly promising material for new solar cell technology, particularly when implemented in tandem configurations to provide higher power conversion efficiencies. The major barrier that stands in the way of this new perovskite technology is stability issues. New characterization techniques will help researchers understand exactly why perovskite solar materials degrade, and figure out how to prevent their degradation.