Alan G. MacDiarmid

A native of New Zealand, MacDiarmid was a chemist at the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked with Alan Heeger and Hideki Shirakawa on developing new plastic compounds. Normally, plastic is an insulator, but in 1977 the three scientists figured out a way to make plastic conduct electricity, which enabled a variety of new materials such as the electroluminescent displays on cell phones, solar panels, and optical amplifiers. The material was so revolutionary the three men were awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. "Prior to 1977, the only uses for plastics were structural," said Ohio State University physicist Arthur Epstein -- "Styrofoam cups, nylons, polyester for clothes." In his honor, Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, where MacDiarmid studied, created the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. Weakened by myelodysplastic syndrome (a blood disorder formerly known as "pre-leukemia", which was completely unrelated to his work), MacDiarmid fell down a flight of stairs at his home on February 7, killing him. He was 79. From This is True for 4 February 2007 Suggestions for further reading: The Solar Electricity Handbook 2009: A Simple, Practical Guide to Using Elect... by Michael Boxwell Amazon Price: $13.49 Customer Review: The book was real good explaining the basics of the solar systems - however I was looking for something more in depth. If you are just starting out looking for the basics on solar systems this book would be great.   Solar Electricity Handbook 2010 Edition: A Simple, Practical Guide to Solar E... by Michael Boxwell Amazon Price: $13.49 Customer Review: Great book! If you're looking to get into the solar powered world, this book is an excellent place to start. In fact, I read it twice to make sure I didn't miss any details. Yes, the author is based out of UK, but it isn't a big deal. It helps if yo...   Energy Trading and Investing: Trading, Risk Management and Structuring Deals ... by Davis Edwards Amazon Price: $47.21 Customer Review: Excellent book which describes how physical constraints significantly impact the trading of electricity and natural gas. It explains the physics behind pipelines and power systems in a fairly accessible way however I imagine it would be quite difficu...   Power from the Sun: A Practical Guide to Solar Electricity by Dan Chiras Amazon Price: $17.79 Customer Review: Great book and breaks down the concepts and math of solar power into digestable bites.   The Physics of Solar Cells (Properties of Semiconductor Materials) by Jenny Nelson Amazon Price: $47.53 Customer Review: This is a great book for senior undergrads and graduate students. It focuses on other solar cell materials besides Silicon. It was a great reference for teaching material and I referenced it in my PhD thesis. I recommend this book in addition to M...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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