Cambridge Supervisor: Professors Sam Stranks and Sir Richard Friend
Jonah Messinger is a PhD candidate and Winton scholar at the Cavendish Laboratory of Physics at the University of Cambridge, co-advised by Professors Sam Stranks and Sir Richard Friend. His research interests focus on quantum cutting, two-photon emission, and ionizing radiation interaction with matter. He is also a non-resident Senior Energy Analyst at the Breakthrough Institute and a Fellow at the Roots of Progress Institute. Jonah writes the Seeking Scientific Revolutions blog on Substack. A Udall Scholar, he earned his Master’s in Energy and Bachelor’s in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Proposal description:
Jonah’s research project at Berkeley explores new frontiers in energy conversion by developing high-efficiency, ytterbium-doped perovskite scintillators capable of quantum cutting—transforming a single exciton into two near-infrared photons. These materials could underpin a new class of compact, long-lived “gammavoltaic” devices that convert ionizing radiation directly into near-infrared light that can be efficiently harvested by silicon photovoltaic cells. Crucial to scintillator development is the materials' light yield (i.e., brightness), which will be tested with radioisotope gamma irradiation. Gammavoltaics have the potential to replace existing radioisotope thermoelectric generators and nuclear batteries with a higher power density solution for remote and space-based applications.