The main goal of our joint NSF PREM program between the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities, mainly students of Hispanic origin, in materials research. The students are involved in collaborative intercampus research projects that lie at the frontier of materials research for novel Photovoltaic (PV) applications.

The projects range from the design, preparation and characterization of interfacial layers to theoretical calculations that guide the syntheses of new compounds for incorporation in the photoactive layers of PV devices for maximum photoconversion efficiencies.