FIU’s Daniela Radu is part of a team developing SOLED, a thin, dual-use solar device that can harvest sunlight to generate electricity and produce light. The device could be stitched onto a soldier's uniform or gear and generate power without the noise, heat, or bulk of a generator. It could also enable new kinds of displays, sensors, and other optoelectronic devices.

“When you can turn sunlight into power and then use that same panel to produce light, you’re potentially reducing a dependency on batteries, on generators and on resupply,” says Radu. “This is how we can increase energy resilience at the level of individual soldiers.” The device is built with a semiconductor material called perovskite that converts sunlight to electricity at up to 22% efficiency. Run in reverse, it can emit light at nearly 11% efficiency.

• Daniela Radu