The discussion revolves around the decision-making process for selecting a university course related to solar panels and renewable energy. Participants explore various academic paths, including physics and engineering, and consider the implications of their choices on future research and career opportunities.
Participants generally agree on the relevance of physics and engineering in the context of renewable energy studies, but there are varying opinions on the best path to take, with no consensus on a single course of action.
Participants discuss the importance of university prospectuses and the need to align academic choices with career aspirations, but specific details about program requirements or personal preferences remain unresolved.
Great thanksSimon Bridge said:Welcome to PF;
You will need to start by finding a University that has a post-grad program in the areas you are interested in and then study the prospectus they publish.
Typically renewable energy comes under geophysics while solar energy would be in electrical or materials engineering or solid state physics. You can also study engineering and specialize in energy later. A lot will depend on whether you want to build things or study them - it sounds like you are more interested in research (finding new stuff as opposed to improving existing stuff) so I'd say concentrate on science over engineering. So it looks like you should go for physics and maths as an undergrad.
Now yu know where to look - check out the courses in more detail.
To build on this point specifically, the UK has a centre for doctoral training in new and sutainable photovoltaics, which is ran by a collaboration of reasearchers from Liverpool, Bath, Sheffield, Loughborough, Southampton, Oxford and Cambridge.Simon Bridge said:Welcome to PF;
You will need to start by finding a University that has a post-grad program in the areas you are interested in and then study the prospectus they publish.
Typically renewable energy comes under geophysics while solar energy would be in electrical or materials engineering or solid state physics. You can also study engineering and specialize in energy later. A lot will depend on whether you want to build things or study them - it sounds like you are more interested in research (finding new stuff as opposed to improving existing stuff) so I'd say concentrate on science over engineering. So it looks like you should go for physics and maths as an undergrad.
Now yu know where to look - check out the courses in more detail.