Please update the info for partner University of Cyprus as follows:
1. Short text on UCY and the Photovoltaic Technologies Group:
The University in Cyprus (UCY) is the leading research University in Cyprus that aspires to promote scholarship and education standards of excellence through teaching and research. UCY is currently managing competitive research funds that exceed the 50 million Euro mark. Recently, it has revised its research policy in order to increase the efficiency of the University to utilize research funding and opportunities, and to better promote research initiatives in Cyprus.The new policy adopts the EC declarations for balancing basic and applied research, and provides the necessary administrative support to the academic and research staff.The Electrical and Computer Engineering department is the largest department in the School of Engineering and it strives to provide high quality degree programs at undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Photovoltaic Technologies Group is part of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UCY and its main priority is to develop a research portfolio in the area of renewable energy with an emphasis on solar and PV systems. The group has developed state-of-the-art outdoor and indoor facilities for characterization, evaluation, and monitoring of different existing PV technologies, concentrators, and novel technologies. Our work focuses on the understanding of the loss processes under real and standardized conditions, the development of models for the characterization of these technologies based on real outdoor data and the study of PV degradation, reliability and durability. The outdoor facilities consist of diagnostics for measurement and monitoring (high resolution) of the important environmental and operational parameters for PV technologies. We aim to set up the infrastructure for continuous monitoring of PV systems and to assess their performance under the same field conditions through exhaustive data analysis. We also aim to develop physical /electrical models in order to enhance our understanding of underlying processes, especially for new technologies, and to optimize the systems for improved performance. Our indoor facilities consist of climatic chambers, solar simulators, UV chambers, cell and lens characterization systems and spectral response equipment. We work closely with the relevant bodies responsible for Energy Policy in Cyprus, i.e. Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority, the Cyprus Organization for Standardization, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, etc., in an attempt to disseminate best practices and to encourage the PV technology uptake. Members of our group represent Cyprus in EU Energy Committees such as the Energy Committee for FP7, the SET Plan, etc., and also act as expert evaluators for Energy Proposals within the FP7 and other National initiatives.
2. Name and email of our team and their short bios:
Name: Dr. George Georghiou, Email:
geg@ucy.ac.cy Bio: Dr George Georghiou received his BA, MEng, MA in 1996 and his PhD in 1999 from University of Cambridge. He is currently the leader of PV Technology at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was a university lecturer and the undergraduate course leader in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southampton, and a Research Advisor for the Electricity Utilization, University of Cambridge. Dr Georghiou is currently a member of the CENELEC and IEC TC82 committees on PV and is acting as an expert evaluator for FP7 energy proposals as well as being a member of CIGRE and the European Solar Energy Industrial Initiative. He also represents Cyprus on the FP7 Energy Committee, SET plan committee and the European Mirror Group.
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Name: Dr. Maria Hadjipanayi, Email:
m.hadjipanayi@gmail.com Bio: Dr. Maria Hadjipanayi received her BSc in Physics (2001) from the University of Cyprus and her DPhil (PhD) in Condensed Matter Physics (2006) from the University of Oxford. Her research interests lie within the area of fundamental and applied physics of novel materials which are promising for future energy-efficient technological applications, especially in the field of solar energy. She is currently a researcher at the Photovoltaic Technology group in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Cyprus working on the investigation of the optoelectronic characteristics and photovoltaic performance of novel solar cell devices and her latest work focuses on nanostructured silicon.
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Name: Dr. George Makrides, Email:
makrides.georgios@ucy.ac.cy Bio: George Makrides, a Cambridge University graduate, has recently completed his PhD at the University of Cyprus, where he studied the performance of various different commercial static as well as tracked flat-panel and concentrator photovoltaic systems. He is currently a researcher at the Photovoltaic Technology Laboratory of the UCY. The work he is undertaking forms part of a comparative study conducted as a joint project between the University of Cyprus and IPE Stuttgart.
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Name: Alexander Phinikarides, Email:
phinikarides.alexander@ucy.ac.cy Bio: Alexander Phinikarides earned his BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cyprus in 2007 and went on to gain his MSc in Microelectronic Systems Design from the University of Southampton in 2008. During his last year at the University of Cyprus, he earned the award for the best undergraduate senior design project, titled “The design and implementation of a stand-alone photovoltaic system with data logging and remote monitoring via the internet”. He has worked closely with the PV Technology of the UCY in the past and knows the test site and the technology.
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Name: Minas Patsalides, Email:
mpatsalides@gmail.com Bio: Minas Patsalides is a PhD student and a research associate at the University of Cyprus and his research interests include measurements and analysis of power quality events, modelling power systems and RES.
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Name: Vasiliki Paraskeva, Email:
paraskeva.vasiliki@ucy.ac.cy Bio: Vasiliki Paraskeva is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Cyprus, PV Technology lab under the supervision of Dr M. Norton. She is studying the characterization protocols of various different photovoltaic cells for CPV applications. Work so far includes the characterization of cells with the methods of ellipsomentry, UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy, electroluminescence and pump-probe techniques. George Makrides, a Cambridge University graduate, is currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Cyprus, where he is studying the performance of various different commercial static as well as tracked flat-panel and concentrator photovoltaic systems.
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Please also add a new member to the team Mr. Michalis Papastavrou.
Name: Mr. Michalis Papastavrou, Email:
papastavrou.michalis@ucy.ac.cy Bio: Michalis Papastavrou is currently a freelance Technician at the Photovoltaic Research Laboratory of the University of Cyprus mainly involved in the installation, monitoring, data analyzing and maintenance of PV solar systems. Since 1997, he has been the Technical Director and co-founder of Telelysis Communications Limited, a telecommunications company in Cyprus dealing with PBX telecom systems (analogue, digital and IP), audio and video conferencing, networking and telephony integrations with home automations. For the period from 2003 to 2010, Michalis has acted as a freelance associate technician for the Cyprus Army on ESM Radar Systems. He is a holder of Higher Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Frederick Institute Of Technology in Cyprus.
Many thanks.
Maria Hadjipanayi
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Dr. Maria Hadjipanayi
Photovoltaic Technology Laboratory
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Cyprus
P.O. Box 20537, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus
E-mail:
hadjipanayi.maria@ucy.ac.cy,
m.hadjipanayi@gmail.com