In this webinar hosted by the OSA Optics for Energy Technical Group, Aaswath Raman will introduce the fundamentals of radiative cooling, including understanding the atmospheric phenomena that enable it and the spectral requirements it imposes on thermal emitters. He will highlight nanophotonics and metamaterials-based strategies that have advanced important breakthroughs, including demonstrations of daytime radiative cooling (under sunlight), as well as new records in achieving deep-sub-ambient temperatures passively using selective thermal emitters. He also will introduce exciting applications enabled by radiative cooling including improving the thermodynamic efficiency of air conditioning systems and solar cells, night-time power generation and dew condensation. The webinar will conclude by looking to the future of this emerging field and how optical advancements might enable new capabilities to better harness the cold of space for energy applications here on Earth.

Subject Matter Level:

• Introductory - Assumes little previous knowledge of the topic

What You Will Learn:

• Fundamental concepts of radiative cooling: how it works, and what the spectral requirements are for various applications
• Optical strategies, including nanophotonics and metamaterials-based, to optimize performance
• Applications of radiative cooling to improving thermodynamic efficiency and water generation

Who Should Attend:

• Anyone interested in optical material control of electromagnetic waves for energy applications
• Researchers interested in new directions in applied nanophotonics and metamaterials
• Anyone interested in thermal emission control and long-wave infrared optics

About the Presenter: Aaswath P. Raman, University of California, Los Angeles

Aaswath Raman is Assistant Professor with the Materials Science and Engineering Department at UCLA. He is also Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of SkyCool Systems, a startup commercializing radiative cooling technology that he originally developed as a Research Associate at Stanford University. He is known for multiple research contributions in nanophotonics and radiative cooling, including the first demonstrations of daytime radiative cooling. Aaswath received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 2013, and his A.B. in Physics and Astronomy, and M.S. in Computer Science from Harvard University in 2006. He is the recipient of the SPIE Green Photonics Award, the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (TR35) Award, the Materials Research Society Award for Renewable Energy, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the Hellman Fellowship and spoke at TED 2018.