As part of the international project Renewable Energy and Water for the USA and Serbia, in which the research group from the Vinča Institute participates, a visit was conducted by two PhD students from the University of Toledo.
Tyler Brau is a PhD student at the Department of Physics at the University of Toledo, while Sanduni Premathilaka successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at the Department of Chemistry of the same university shortly after her visit to Serbia.
During the visit, the students, along with Dr. Nikola Ilić, Senior Research Associate, and under the guidance of Dr. Ivana Validžić, Principal Research Fellow, held lectures at the Vinča Institute and the Faculty of Physical Chemistry.
Tyler Brau discussed about photoluminescent and time-resolved photoluminescent spectroscopy in characterizing semiconductor materials for solar cells. At the same time, Dr. Nikola Ilić presented the results of the synthesis and characterization of antimony sulfide materials for the fabrication of the absorber layer in photovoltaic devices. The lectures were concluded with a presentation by Sanduni Premathilaka on techniques for determining microcystin toxins released due to the excessive growth of cyanobacteria in the water of Lake Iri.
The second part of the visit was focused on lectures at two elementary schools and one high school in Blaževo and Brus, located on the slopes of Kopaonik mountain. The lectures in the schools were focused on raising awareness about climate change, the role of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide in atmospheric climate change, and the opportunities provided by renewable energy sources. The discussions also included a more detailed overview of the advantages of using solar energy, a simplified explanation of the principles of solar cell operation, water pollution and the importance of keeping rivers, groundwater, and lakes clean.
The project "Renewable Energy and Water for the USA and Serbia" is coming to an end in late March of this year. Those interested in a detailed insight into the project's activities and results can find more information at the following link: https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/02_24_2025/utoledo-researchers-advance-renewable-energy-water-sustainability-through-international-collaboration.