Scott Watkins’ work on flexible solar cells has been called one of 10 ideas that could change your life. Scott is a research leader in organic photovoltaics, looking at ways to develop wafer thin televisions, light panels and low cost printable solar cells to roll out renewable energy.

As a key member of the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC), Scott is working with Australia’s top researchers and industry leaders to produce prototypes of these organic solar cells and determine how they can be manufactured safely and efficiently.

And now, thanks to a nifty new printer, his team have developed the largest flexible solar cells in Australia. The plastic cells are ten times larger than previously possible, allowing them to be set into advertising signage, power lights or embedded into laptop cases.

Here’s a quick snippet of the new printer:

The new VICOSC printer for our solar cells. It’s big! #OPV vine.co/v/bXbrVamETdD

— Scott Watkins (@DrScottWatkins) February 28, 2013

Since completing a Bachelor of Science and a PhD in Chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Scott has published over forty peer-reviewed papers, invented ten patent applications, and received many prestigious awards including the CSIRO Julius Fellowship.

“CSIRO has given me the opportunity to grow from being a chemist who makes molecules to leading a team of people who print solar cells by the metre. Turning basic research into real products is very exciting.”

You can learn more about Scott’s work on Flexible Electronics on our website. Scott also tweets as @FlexElectronixx.

For more information on careers with us, head to our LinkedIn page.