Subhendu Guha


Subhendu Guha is an Indian American photovoltaic scientist who invented flexible Solar shingles. He is known for his pioneering work in Amorphous silicon and Nanocrystalline silicon. In 1998 Dr Guha invented flexible solar cells that can be directly applied to residential roof tops.

Early life & career

Subhendu Guha was born in 1942 in Dacca, India. He graduated from Presidency College, Kolkata and obtained Ph.D. from University of Calcutta in 1968. He joined Tata Institute of Fundamental Research where he carried out research on physics of semi-conductors. He developed a novel method for depositing Amorphous silicon that has been used by researchers and manufacturers all over the world. He was a senior research fellow at University of Sheffield, England during 1974–1975.
He joined a US-based company Energy Conversion Devices as a senior research scientist in 1982 and later became vice-president, Photovoltaic and Information and worked on different aspects of solar cells. Subsequently, he joined United Solar Ovonic Corporation as executive vice-president and later became president and chairman.
Guha led a team of scientists and engineers to manufacture using a roll-to-roll process photovoltaic laminates eighteen feet long and one foot wide, The laminates were lightweight, flexible and easy to install on conventional roofs.
He served as a member of the advisory committee to the Physics Department of Colorado School of Mines and Center for Photonic Nanomaterials of University of Michigan. He was on the board of directors of Solar Energy Industries Association and Engineering Society of Detroit, and on the advisory committee of National Center for Photovoltaic, Golden, Colorado.
After retirement, he founded ESGEE International offering advice and consulting to industries and other organizations; he also serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor, IIEST, Shibpur. India

Awards & recognition

Dr Guha has more than 250 publications and over 30 US patents.

Notable research