Directors & principle investigators

Professor and Chairman of Mechanical Engineering
Ph.D. in Physics, University of Vienna - 1975
fbp(at)cdr.stanford.edu

Fritz Prinz, a solid state physicist by training, leads a group of 20 Ph.D. students with a variety of science and engineering backgrounds. His students address fundamental issues towards energy conversion at the nanoscale. Prinz serves on the faculties of Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Before arriving at Stanford in 1994, he served on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon, where he directed a NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) on engineering design.

The Prinz group creates, models, and prototypes nanoscale structures to understand the physics of electrical energy conversion and storage. The team is exploring the relation between size, composition, and the kinetics of charge transfer. In cooperation with the Grossman group, Prinz is interested in learning from nature in particular by studying the electron transport chain in plant cells.

The group employs a wide range of nano-fabrication technologies to build and evaluate prototype structures. Such technologies include atomic layer deposition, scanning probe microscopy, and impedance spectroscopy. In addition, the Prinz group uses molecular scale modeling to gain insights into the nature of charge separation and recombination processes. Prinz participates in Project 1 and Project 2 to advance the objectives of both projects by facilitating synergism for biomimetic catalyst design and fabrication and characterization of quantum confinement structures.

Professor of Chemical Engineering
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, U.C. Berkeley - 1987
Ph.D in Chemistry, Stanford University - 1992
sbent(at)stanford.edu

Dr. Stacey Bent is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. She also holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Chemistry. Bent has led an active research program in semiconductor processing, surface science, and materials chemistry for over 15 years. She supervises approximately 20 students and post-docs working toward applications in renewable energy devices and next-generation micro- and nano-electronics.

Bent’s research group has made contributions to the field of surface science, with an emphasis on developing a molecular-level understanding of surface chemistry. Her group also applies atomic layer deposition and other thin film synthesis methods to the study of electronic and energy conversion devices. Systems currently under study in her group include organic functionalization of semiconductor surfaces, mechanisms and control of atomic layer deposition, molecular layer deposition, nanoscale materials for light absorption, interface engineering in photovoltaics, and catalyst and photocatalyst deposition. She is participating in both Project 1 and Project 2 in CNEEC, providing key scientific expertise in ALD, surface modification, and solution-based methods for synthesis of quantum dots, catalysts, and light concentrating structures.