Daniel G. Nocera

Daniel G. Nocera is Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University. In 2011, he conquered global media attention when he presented a cheap coated-silicon sheet which when placed in a glass of tap water and exposed to sunlight is able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Both gases can be collected, stored as fuel in private households and later be fed to fuel cells to generate electricity. While the dream of artificial photosynthesis has been chased by generations of scientists, it was Nocera who included a bottom-up approach in his research, which aims at providing energy for the world's poorest people.