University of California

Students at the University of California Davis Hybrid Vehicle Research Center have been creating plug-in hybrids for national competitions for some time. "Team Fate" members Jungers and Kaufman describe how they "gut" the drive train of a standard vehicle, replacing it with an electric motor, a bank of batteries, continuously variable transmission, and some smart electronics. The resulting vehicle runs on electricity, assisted by a much smaller flex-fuel internal combustion engine only when needed.

Two research teams have independently developed methods to produce nanowires that could lead to a dramatic improvement in solar photovoltaic cell efficiency. In both cases, the basic concept is the same, to use nanowires for more efficient conduction of electrons from the collection surface of a solar cell to an electrode.