Thorsten Trupke

Thorsten Trupke holds a PhD in Physics from the Universität Karlsruhe in Germany.  In 2001 he joined the Centre of Excellence for Third Generation Photovoltaics at UNSW as a postdoctoral researcher, since then he has held several roles in the PV group at UNSW and is now a Professor at the School for Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering. In 2007 Thorsten and his colleague Dr Robert Bardos co-founded BT Imaging Pty Ltd, a start-up company which commercialises photoluminescence imaging systems, of which he is the CTO.

Thorsten’s early work at UNSW was in Third Generation Photovoltaics, with one main outcome the proposal of two novel solar cell concepts, namely the combination of single junction solar cells with up- and down-converting phosphors, which included limiting efficiency calculations and experimental proof of concept studies. Since then his main focus shifted to the development of luminescence-based characterisation techniques, including the first successful demonstration of photoluminescence imaging for silicon wafers and solar cells in 2005. Thorsten leads a team of postdoctoral researchers and PhD students, who work on novel characterisation and analytical methods for photovoltaic devices and systems across the entire PV value chain.