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{{MOST}}
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The '''Pearce Research Group at Michigan Tech in Open Sustainability Technology''' focuses on [[Applied_sustainability| open and applied sustainability]], which is the application of science and innovation to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems.

Specifically we are interested in exploring the way solar [[photovoltaic]] technology can sustainably power our society and how [[open-source hardware]] like [[open source appropriate technologies]] (or OSAT) and [[RepRap]] 3-D printing can drive decentralized local production and manufacturing (and maybe even social change)<ref>Rumpala, Y., 2016. A New Printing Revolution? 3D Printing as an Agent of Socio-Political Change. International Journal of Technoethics (IJT), 7(2), pp.105-123. </ref>. See [https://www.lulzbot.com/materials/case_studies/michigan-tech/michigan-tech_3d-printing_case-study_web-ready.pdf Advancing Open, Sustainable Technology with 3D Printing]

We have a [[MOST open access policy|strong open access policy]]. 
* [[:Category:MOST methods]] - Exactly how we do what we do - including detailed instructions for our open-source 3D printers and scientific equipment •''' [[MOST RepRap Primer| Want to build a MOST RepRap? - Start here!]]  • [[Delta Build Overview:MOST]] •  [[Athena Build Overview]] • [[Open-source metal 3-D printer|MOST metal 3-D printer]]
* [[:Category: MOST literature reviews]] - For background reading
* [https://www.mtu.edu/admissions/most/ Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology Sharing Award] 
{{Pearce-pubs}}

== Current Research Projects ==
{| class="wikitable"
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!  
! Photovoltaic Materials, Electronic Device Physics, and Solar Photovoltaic Systems Projects
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! Open Source Distributed Manufacturing
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| [[Image:Pvcash.jpg|200px]]
| Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology provides the lowest cost electricity available in most markets. As installed costs continue to decline, antiquated polluting fossil-fued-based grid electricity prices continue to escalate, PV growth will continue to grow to dominate the energy industry of the future because it simply has a lower levelized cost.<ref> K. Branker, M.J.M. Pathak, J.M. Pearce, '''A Review of Solar Photovoltaic Levelized Cost of Electricity''', ''Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews'', '''15''', pp.4470-4482 (2011). [https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.104 DOI] and [https://mtu.academia.edu/JoshuaPearce/Papers/1540664/A_Review_of_Solar_Photovoltaic_Levelized_Cost_of_Electricity Open access]</ref>
| [[Image:Laserw.JPG|200px]]
| [[Open source hardware]] (OSH) consists of physical objects designed and offered in the same manner as [[free and open-source software]] (FOSS). MOST is working on [[open-source scientific hardware]] for [[Open source labs]] using [[Arduino]] microcontrollers and [[RepRaps]] in addition to our standard work in [[OSAT]].
|-
| [[Image:Nanocolumns_ingan.jpg|200px]][[Image:MTU_MBE_Front.JPG|200px]]
| 
We intend to further reduce the costs by developing an ultra-high efficiency indium gallium nitride (InGaN) [[solar cell]]. <ref>  D.V.P. McLaughlin & J.M. Pearce, "[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11661-013-1622-1 Progress in Indium Gallium Nitride Materials for Solar Photovoltaic Energy Conversion]", Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A  44(4)  pp. 1947-1954 (2013). </ref> The band gap of InGaN can be tuned from 0.7eV-3.4eV by adjusting the ratio of indium and gallium in the film so a multi-layered cell covers the entire range of the solar spectrum. Thus, a well-designed InGaN solar cell can absorb and convert a much higher fraction of the sun’s light energy into electricity. In addition to band gap engineering, PV device performance can be improved by engineering the microstructure of the material to increase the optical path length and provide light trapping. For this purpose, nano-columns are candidates for the ideal microstructure as it has been shown that when their diameters  are optimized, resonant behavior is observed.
|| We are on the front lines of a [https://www.mtu.edu/research/archives/magazine/2014/stories/3d-revolution/ 3D Revolution] and made Open Source.com's list of "5 favorite 3D printing projects"<br>  [[Image:MOST delta2.JPG|200px]] [https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-1034-joshua-pearce-explains-the-3d-printing-revolution/ Joshua Pearce Explains the 3D Printing Revolution on Japan's Corbett Report]
| Open source 3-D printers ([[RepRap]]s), enable [[open source 3-D printing of OSAT| 3D printing of open source appropriate technologies]], which are easily and economically made from readily available resources by local communities to meet their needs. This project is developing solar powered self-replicating open-source 3-D printers - capable of making primary components of solar photovoltaic systems from recycled waste. The project investigates the technical and economic viability and environmental impact. Here is [https://www.academia.edu/1507915/3-D_Printing_of_Open_Source_Appropriate_Technologies_for_Self-Directed_Sustainable_Development the plan]. How would global society change if everyone had access to abundant low-cost renewable energy via solar electricity, [[Open_source_3-D_printing_of_OSAT| open source 3D designs]] and an affordable open source 3-D printer like the [http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page RepRap]?
|-
| [[Image:plasmonics_cell.png|200px]]
| This project aims to improve efficiencies of commercial solar cells using resonant plasmonic nanostructures. We are using wide-angle, polarization–independent, broadband [[Plasmonic Perfect Meta-Absobers for a-Si PV Devices|plasmonic perfect meta-absorbers]] capable of achieving absorption throughout the entire solar spectrum while reducing semiconductor absorber layer thicknesses, which reduces deposition time, material used, embodied energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately economic costs.
| [[image:Sparks1.jpg|200px]]
| We are further developing our <$2000 [[open-source metal 3-D printer]]. The metal 3-D printer is controlled with an open-source micro-controller and is a combination of a low-cost commercial gas-metal MIG welder and a derivative of the Rostock, a deltabot [[RepRap]]. We provided everything you need to make your own as we are climbing the ladder of sophistication together to give everyone the ability to print useful objects in steel and aluminum.
|-
| [[Image: SEARC OTF.jpg|200px]]
|An important factor in decreasing the costs of PV systems is implementing a proper system design which effectively utilizes the modules to their greatest efficiency. Here we are properly accounting for meteorological factors which affect the performance of PV modules, and to suggest best practices for reducing losses and increasing yields for PV systems. See: the [[OSOTF]] or some of our [[Effects of spectral albedo on photovoltaic devices|projects on snow and solar cells]]
| [[Image:Recyclebot-process.png|200px]]
| A [[RecycleBot]] is a waste plastic extruder - that can take household polymer waste and turn it into valuable 3-D printer feedstock. This project focuses on designing, building and testing an extruder for the RepRap that uses polymer waste as a feedstock.

|}

== [[:Category:MOST_completed_projects_and_publications|Completed Projects]]==

* [[:Category:MOST_completed_projects_and_publications|Completed Projects for all Years]]

{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2021 Completed Projects & Publications}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2021 Popular Audience Articles}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2020 Completed Projects & Publications}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2020 Popular Audience Articles}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2019 Completed Projects & Publications}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2019 Popular Audience Articles}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2018 Completed Projects & Publications}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2018 Popular Audience Articles}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2017 Completed Projects & Publications}}
{{Excerpt|Category:MOST completed projects and publications|2017 Popular Audience Articles}}


===Videos===
{|style="border:1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; margin-left:.1em; margin-top:2px; -moz-border-radius:15px;" align="right" width="120px"
!<big>OS Lulzbot at MOST </big>
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|<center>{{Video|dWU5vvlaq80}} </center>
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{|style="border:1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; margin-left:.1em; margin-top:2px; -moz-border-radius:15px;" align="right" width="120px"
!<big>OSE tour of MOST lab </big>
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|<center>{{Video|R1CVXm2oNzs}} </center>
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|<center>{{Video|ampNVImbCUE}} </center>
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{|style="border:1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; margin-left:.1em; margin-top:2px; -moz-border-radius:15px;" align="right" width="120px"
!<big>The Wild West of Distributed Recycling</big>
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|<center>{{Video|JxF5gunuM1A}} </center>
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{|style="border:1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; margin-left:.1em; margin-top:2px; -moz-border-radius:15px;" align="right" width="120px"
!<big>Michigan Tech Owning Open Hardware</big>
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|<center>{{Video|oyEo2VHZYY4}} </center>
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{|style="border:1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; margin-left:.1em; margin-top:2px; -moz-border-radius:15px;" align="right" width="120px"
!<big>Why do we make such a big deal about open source hardware? Watch this movie</big>
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|<center>{{Video|SGJ5cZnoodY}} </center>
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| Shenzhen - The Silicon Valley of Hardware (Full Documentary) - Future Cities - WIRED
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{|style="border:1px solid black; background-color: lightgreen; margin-left:.1em; margin-top:2px; -moz-border-radius:15px;" align="right" width="120px"
!<big>طابعات ثلاثية الابعاد لطباعة الفولاذ - 4Tech </big>
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|<center>{{Video|eVvCNr3mGrY}} </center>
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| BBC Arabic visits MOST
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==Group Links==
* [[MOST student useful links]]
* [[MOST tasks]]

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:MTU]][[category:Research groups]]