Prem Jyoti Singh Rana, PhD

Dr. Prem Jyoti Singh Rana is a distinguished materials scientist and engineer specializing in perovskite solar cell technology, with a strong foundation in chemistry and advanced photovoltaic materials. Currently serving as Development Engineer III at First Solar in Santa Clara, California, he leads innovations in scalable manufacturing of high-efficiency tandem perovskite solar modules. His work has contributed to achieving certified efficiencies exceeding 20% on large-area modules, backed by advanced ink formulation, additive engineering, and thin-film deposition techniques.

Dr. Rana holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, where he focused on the synthesis and characterization of organic/inorganic dyes and their applications. His academic journey also includes an M.Sc. in Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University.

With extensive postdoctoral experience across leading global institutions—including the University of North Carolina, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Pusan National University (South Korea), and CSIR-IICT (India)—Dr. Rana has developed deep expertise in slot-die and blade coating, defect passivation, encapsulation strategies, and scalable module integration. His research has consistently pushed the boundaries of perovskite solar cell performance and stability.

He is a named inventor on multiple patents related to perovskite precursor formulations and passivation technologies, and has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals such as Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, and ACS Energy Letters. His work has garnered 997 citations, with an h-index of 20 and i10-index of 23.

Dr. Rana’s technical proficiency spans a wide array of fabrication and characterization techniques, including ALD, screen printing, spin coating, spectroscopy, microscopy, and electrical measurements. He is also proficient in scientific software such as OriginPro, Chemdraw, CasaXPS, and Chem3D.

His contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Super Nova Award and Radiance Award from First Solar in 2025, and the Best Poster Award at MRS ICMAT-2019. He is an active reviewer for journals like New Journal of Chemistry, Electrochimica Acta, and Journal of Energy Storage, and a member of the Materials Research Society.

Dr. Rana is known for his leadership, collaborative spirit, and ability to mentor graduate and undergraduate students. His long-term vision is to advance environmentally benign, scalable, and commercially viable perovskite solar technologies.