Author Description

Symposia H, "Organic Photovoltaic Devices and Processing" and I "Fundamental Processes of Solar Harvesting in Excitonic Solar Cells" were coordinated to create an organic photovoltaic super symposium at the 2011 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston from November 28-December 2. Exciting advances were reported in the conference, including achieving 10% energy conversion efficiency, both a psychological barrier and a milestone in organic photovoltaics. The relevance of organic photovoltaics has steadily increased in consumer applications with aesthetics, mechanical flexibility, and buzz value. Broader commercial adaptation, however, remains elusive in the face of increased competition from inorganic counterparts. The enduring challenges of stability and efficiency will ultimately determine the future application of organic photovoltaics and its broader societal impact. This volume presents a glimpse of the wide variety of topics presented and discussed, ranging from fundamental processes behind photosynthesis to materials processing and characterization, and engineering state-of-theart solar cells.