astronomy

Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold

Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold rather than just read about it. In short: Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold (born October 1, 1982, in Lingen) is a German physicist specializing in photovoltaics and a university professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He heads departments at the Institute for Microstructure Technology and the Light Technology Institute at KIT.

Key takeaways

Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold (born October 1, 1982, in Lingen) is a German physicist specializing in photovoltaics and a university professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He heads departments at the Institute for Microstructure Technology and the Light Technology Institute at KIT.

Academic career and research After completing his secondary education at Gymnasium Nepomucenum Rietberg and completing civil service with the Brazilian NGO AVICRES, Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold began studying physics at RWTH Aachen University in 2003, graduating in 2009. Alongside his studies at RWTH Aachen and his subsequent doctoral research, Paetzold pursued an interdisciplinary Master of Science in "Industrial Ecology" at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, which he completed in 2011. From 2009 to 2013, Paetzold was a doctoral candidate at Forschungszentrum Jülich and earned his doctorate at the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Natural Sciences at RWTH Aachen University under the supervision of Uwe Rau and Gero von Plessen. His dissertation, titled "Light Trapping with Plasmonic Back Contacts in Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells", focused on nanophotonic concepts to enhance light absorption in thin-film silicon solar cells. After an additional year as a postdoctoral researcher at Forschungszentrum Jülich, where he investigated optical fundamentals and nanophotonic light management in solar cells, Paetzold joined imec in Leuven, Belgium, in 2014. Initially supported by a DAAD fellowship, he later worked as a research scientist at the institution. In 2016, Paetzold received funding for early-career scientists from the Helmholtz Association to establish an independent research group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In March 2021, he was appointed to a tenure-track professorship in "Next Generation Photovoltaics" at KIT. His research group focuses on the fabrication, scaling, characterization, and understanding of perovskite photovoltaics, particularly on perovskite-based tandem photovoltaics. As of May 2024, Paetzold is a full professor in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at KIT. Since February 2023, Paetzold has been a member of the supervisory board of BürgerEnergie Karlsruhe eG i.G.

Teaching At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold delivers the lectures "Solar Energy" and *"Fabrication and Characterization of Optoelectronic Devices". Additionally, he oversees laboratory courses on "Solar Energy" and conducts the seminar "Novel Concepts for Solar Energy Harvesting".

Awards Ulrich W. Paetzold has received numerous awards and honors throughout his academic career. In 2014, he was a DAAD fellow and, in 2013, was awarded the HITEC Communicator Award. He participated in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in 2012. He was recognized for his outstanding performance in physics at RWTH Aachen University with the Springorum Medal and the Schöneborn Prize in 2010. In early 2023, Paetzold was awarded the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) for his project "LAMI-PERO".

Publications Ulrich W. Paetzold has authored over 200 journal publications and holds multiple patents. As of December 2024, his scientific work has been cited more than 10,000 times, according to Google Scholar. In 2019, his research group achieved a world record for the highest open-circuit voltage in perovskite solar cells, with results published in Advanced Energy Materials. The paper has become one of the most-cited articles in the journal, with over 400 citations. In 2022, Paetzold's team published the development of the world's first perovskite-perovskite tandem solar module. His group also holds world records for inkjet-printed perovskite solar cells, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 21.6% for absorbers and 17.2% for fully inkjet-printed cells. Paetzold's groundbreaking research has garnered attention from national and international media outlets.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold

In research: Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1982 births, Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold in simple terms?

Why does Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold.