The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) in Abu Dhabi, which is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has purchased a Fujifilm Dimatix DMP283 inkjet printer – the learning institute’s first step towards printing its very own solar cells!
For the longest time, the United Arab Emirates had no chance to keep pace with the western world’s clean tech advancements mostly because of a dearth of skills and a non-existent supply chain of necessary materials.
But that is changing now as government and civil society leaders recognize the importance of keeping pace with western developments – particularly to secure the region’s energy hegemony for the future.
As such, Beirut recently opened the first 3-D printing shop and now MIST, a branch of Masdar, has announced that it has purchased a Fujifilm Dimatix DMP283 inkjet printer in order to prepare its graduate students to learn how to print their own organic optoelectronics.
“Dr. Samuele Lilliu, a post-doctoral fellow working at the Nano-Optics and Optoelectronics Research (NOOR) Laboratory under Dr. Marcus Dahlem, Assistant Professor,Microsystems Engineering, is leading a major project on organic photodetectors, including solar cells and photodiodes,” writes Arab Brains.
“Novel research strategies and innovative concepts are also being developed to make Masdar Institute a strong player in the printed electronics arena.”
MIST President Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh added that his faculty, post doc and graduate students have worked with such a high standard that the UAE is becoming known as a leader in technology invention.
“The development and the optimization of semiconductor and nanoparticles inks is an essential step for the commercialization of low cost organic photodetectors,” according to Arab Brains.
Self-powered electronic newspapers and building-integrated photovoltaics are among the products that Masdar may be capable of printing if all goes well.
And if we have learned anything over the years of writing about the organization, and being there several times to visit, it is that Masdar always follows through.
:: Arab Brains
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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