USF professor at the forefront of solar power innovations and helps teach the next generation of engineers - ABC Action News Tampa Bay
USF professor at the forefront of solar power and leads future innovation
TAMPA, Fla. — A USF professor has spent decades working on ways to use solar energy.
Yogi Goswami's inventions are placed around the world. He developed a new combined Power and Cooling Cycle now known as the Goswami Cycle.
His fascination with solar energy began as a PhD student in the 70s during the oil embargo that resulted in long lines of cars waiting for gas.
“So I started thinking, is this our future? And then the only answer I could come up with is something that is not limited by this Earth,” said Goswami.
So he turned to the sun. He worked to harness its energy and develop ways to store it.
Goswami says solar power has come a long way, but it still only accounts for less than 4% of electricity in the United States.
“There is so much more that will be invented in the future that will make our lives much better and the global climate better to live in.”
Goswami has an office full of accolades, but he still spends plenty of time in the classroom, teaching the next generation of engineers at USF.
“We just have to keep encouraging our innovative youngsters because they will come up with the best ideas,” Goswami said
He says the students who take his courses have no problem getting jobs in the field.
“You can go to example Florida Power and Light, or go to TECO, or go to Duke Power. All of these have my students there.”
Florida ranks 3rd in the nation behind California and Texas in solar power generation.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”