On Thursday, June 10, 30 engineers and photovoltaic manufacturing professionals met at Flextronics Inc.'s campus in Milpitas, California to discuss the formation of a new professional association to advance the photovoltaic engineering and related manufacturing professions. Such an association would address research, education, industry standards, and training.

The meeting began with a welcome by Dr. Dongkai Shangguan, Vice President of Flextronics, who discussed the solar industry in general and the need to lower the cost per watt as an industry imperative.

Matt Holzmann, President of Christopher Associates, then presented an overview of why an association would be beneficial to the industry and the participants. He placed strong emphasis on a member driven model dedicated to engineering, management, and other related professional activities.

There was widespread agreement that such an association would have significant benefits both to participants and the industry at large. Afterwards, Holzmann stated, "This was a great first step. We must now focus on defining the scope and activities of the organization. Member involvement is critical to achieving success."

Committees are now being formed to execute the necessary key activities to establish a legal entity and its functions. Please contact Matthew Holzmann (mailto:matthew.holzmann@christopherweb.com), Jasbir Bath (Jasbir@christopherweb.com) or Dennis Willie (dennis.willie@flextronics.com) for additional information or to get involved.

All photovoltaic industry professionals are invited to participate.