Scott P. Ahrenkiel, a professor at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, is one of 12 nationally to win a grant as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's investment of up to $5.2 million in basic research projects at universities.

Research projects, ranging from advanced solar cells to hydrogen energy systems, are a part of the Department of Energy's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, a federal-state partnership program designed to lead the world in meeting the nation's growing energy needs.

Ahrenkiel's research project, "Lattice-Mismatched III-V Epilayers for High-Efficiency Photovoltaics," will address the management of defects in lattice-mismatched materials. Ahrenkiel pointed out that advanced solar cells based on thin-film stacks of semiconductor materials have shown efficient solar energy conversion, but efficient conversion of the solar spectrum into electrical energy is greatly limited by small differences that exist in lattice spacing.