Lethy Krishnan Jagadamma

Physicist

  • BORN 1980, Kerala, India
  • WORKED University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • HONOURS PhD in Physics – My PhD thesis was awarded with BFWG award (British Federation of Woman Graduate award -Johnstone and Florence Studentship) 2011:
    Marie Curie Research Fellow (from 2017 to 2020 February)

Artistic Connections

I don’t have any previous connections with music, sorry, but was looking forward to hearing what my physics would sound like!

MUSIC


Title:  Plastic could save the World
Composed by: Nala from BERTHA PARK HIGH SCHOOL
Written in: Nov 2019
For:  pre-recorded voices, clarinet and a gong, manipulated on Soundtrap
Sampled from: a solar cell printer, and Nala and Lethy’s voices
First Performed: Soutar Theatre, AK Bell Library, Perth, Scotland November 11th 2019 as part of ECHOES FROM PERTHSHIRE by ELECTRIC VOICE THEATRE

The music includes:-

  • Lethy’s voice saying the main words about solar cells
  • Nala’s voice echoing power
  • a beat to enhance the noise of the printer printing out the sheets of solar cells.

The image shows the process of solar cells absorbing energy.

Nala and Lethy

Education

During my undergraduate studies, I got convinced that I have a passion for scientific research. I did my studies well to secure admission to a research-oriented University. I was the University topper for both my undergraduate and Master’s degree courses.

After getting a few years of research experience from India, I got UK Overseas Research Studentship to carry out research (Ph.D.) at the University of Strathclyde, UK.

During my Ph.D., I was experimenting on ‘light emission’ properties of materials. After Ph.D., I got interested in ‘light-absorbing material’ to generate electricity and that is how I reached working with SOLAR CELLS.

Occupations

Tutoring School and High School Children
When I needed money

Part time Lecturer at Colleges

Research Assistant at University of Strathclyde

Scientific Achievements

  • I developed a novel charge-transporting layer for plastic solar cells which have very low defect density at the interface. This research led to the development of organic solar cells with record efficiency (in 2015). This method has been then taken by other researchers in the thin-film solar cells of quantum dot and hybrid perovskites, which worked successfully to their systems as well. Also, this research result was fundamental to the development of ‘flexible solar cells.
  • I am now working on indoor solar cells, i.e solar cells that can harvest indoor light (light inside the buildings) to generate useful electrical energy to power some sensors. Recently I showed that by tuning the absorption properties of the materials, we can maximise the light harvesting potential of these solar cells, inside the buildings too. This research is important because this will advance the Internet of Things technology where we can connect any physical object with an ON and OFF switch to the internet using sensors.
Did You Know?

I am an experimental physicist which means that I have to do experiments that sometimes involved explosions!

AN INSPIRING WOMAN

Marie Skłodowska Curie

Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin

Links