Daniel Macdonald

Professor Daniel Macdonald is affiliated with the School of Engineering within the ANU College of Systems & Society at the Australian National University. He holds a professorial position and has extensive experience in silicon photovoltaics research, having completed his PhD at ANU in 2001 and served as a Research Scientist at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). His work focuses on optimizing silicon solar cell performance through defect characterization, impurity mitigation, and advanced passivation techniques.

Education: PhD in Physics/Engineering from ANU (2001). Previous roles include Research Scientist at ECN (Netherlands) and three Australian Research Council fellowships (Postdoctoral, QEII, and Future Fellowships) between 2003–2015. These fellowships underscore his expertise and sustained contributions to silicon-based photovoltaic research.

• Course Convener/Lecturer for ENGN2706 (Engineering Research Project Methods)
• ENGN3516 (Energy Resources and Renewables)
• ENGN3712 (Engineering Research and Development Project)

Research Interests: Crystalline silicon photovoltaics, recombination dynamics in semiconductors, and impurity effects on solar cell efficiency. His studies emphasize n-type silicon optimization, low-cost silicon processing, and luminescent coupling in tandem solar cells. Techniques like time-resolved photoluminescence and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are central to his defect analysis and material engineering work.

Scientific Awards: Awarded prestigious fellowships including Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship (2003–2006), QEII Fellowship (2007–2011), and ARC Future Fellowship (2012–2015).

Advising & Grants: His research is funded through ARC grants and fellowships. While no specific advisees are listed, his teaching roles in energy-related courses reflect his mentorship of engineering students. He collaborates on projects addressing silicon wafer quality, gettering mechanisms, and passivation layer stability.

Labs/Teams: His work is conducted within ANU's engineering research facilities, though specific lab names are not mentioned in the provided text. Collaborations involve experimental and computational studies on silicon-based photovoltaic materials and systems.