A solar cell with one of the highest power-conversion efficiencies yet achieved is the work of two Fulton Schools faculty members and research collaborators at the University of Colorado, Boulder. With those colleagues, Fulton Schools Associate Professor Zachary Holman and Assistant Professor Zhengshan (Jason) Yu, both of whom teach in the electrical, computer and energy engineering program, coauthored a paper about the accomplishment recently published in Science magazine. The paper describes the team’s breakthrough with a new technique for layering a cell made of perovskite — a crystal structure designed to harvest high energy photons — with a silicon solar cell. The result is a cell that boosts conversion of the sun’s energy into electricity by about a third more than previous cells. The advance could also make the cost of solar energy more affordable.