The Australian PV Institute has great pleasure in supporting the Wal Read Memorial Award for Best Paper by a Student and the Wal Read Memorial Award for Best Paper by an Early Career Researcher. Exemplary Energy co-funds the ECR Award.
The Wal Read Memorial Award comprises a Certificate of Recognition from the Australian PV Institute, and cash prizes of $1,000 for Best Student Paper and $1,000 for Best ECR Paper.
The 2024 Winners were:
Best paper by a Student: Gaia Maria Javier, Efficiency loss analysis in solar cells using explainable AI on I-V data and luminescence images (UNSW Sydney)
Best paper by an Early Career Researcher: Rama Sharma, Automated Multiclass and Severity Classification of Defects in Photovoltaic Module Luminescence Images using Unsupervised Machine Learning (UNSW Sydney)
Wal Read joined the CSIRO in Melbourne in the early 1960s, under Roger Morse. He worked on the early solar projects at Muresk and Coober Pedy. The Coober Pedy project was the world’s largest solar project at that time. Wal also managed two early industrial process heat solar demonstration projects: one in Queanbeyan, the other at a South Australian brewery.
Wal became President of ANZSES in 1976 and was an integral part of the history of solar energy development in Australia, leading the solar research team at CSIRO after Roger Morse’s retirement. He also played a key role at the international level, as President of ISES from 1983-85, and Secretary-Treasurer of ISES from 1985-1995.
