Nov 5 2009
A University of Ulster academic has won a prestigious research fellowship to work alongside world class scientists in Japan.
Dr Davide Mariotti, who is based at Ulster’s Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials Research Institute (NAMRI) at Jordanstown, was recently awarded the Invitation Fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
“This is a wonderful opportunity to bring my expertise from Ulster to Japan and in turn to learn from my colleagues there,” said Dr Mariotti.
“In my particular case I have been invited by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology to conduct collaborative research with the Research Center for Photovoltaics in Tsukuba after working with colleagues there in the past.
“Specifically my research will be focused on how to produce nano-particles of silicon that are used in solar cells and medical applications. Silicon at the nanoscale has shown to offer revolutionary properties such as the ability to convert solar energy many times more than current solar cells through a mechanism called multi-exciton generation.”
In order to promote international scientific co-operation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science encourages highly qualified researchers from the world over to conduct joint research activities with colleagues at Japanese universities and research institutes.
Funded by a subsidy from the Japanese government, these fellowship programmes aim to promote international co-operation and mutual understanding through scientific research.
The programmes allow researchers employed at designated Japanese research institutions and laboratories to invite fellow researchers from other countries to Japan to participate in co-operative activities.