Screen-Printed Piezoelectric Films for Energy Harvesting

Steve Beeby obtained a PhD from the University of Southampton in 1998 on the subject of micromechanical resonators. He was awarded a prestigious EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship in 2001 to investigate the combination of screen printed piezoelectric materials with micromachined structures. He is currently a Reader in the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. His research interests include energy harvesting, MEMS, active printed materials development and biometrics. He is the co-ordinator of an EU Framework 7 Integrated Project 'MICROFLEX' and is principal or co-investigator on a further 3 projects. He is a co-founder of Perpetuum Ltd, a University spin-out based upon vibration energy harvesting formed in 2004. He has co-authored one book, 'MEMS Mechanical Sensors' and published over 135 publications in the field and 5 patents.

The School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton is the UK's leading academic department integrating computer science, electronics, and electrical engineering. With over 500 researchers in the School, ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise in world-leading research, new developments and their applications. ECS is the UK's largest research grouping in the area, with around 250 academic and research staff, and 250 research students. It has around 800 undergraduate students and over 170 MSc students. It receives the highest ratings for its research and is funded by UK government agencies, the European Union, and companies and agencies worldwide. Its research is carried out in 11 world-leading research groups, it hosts national research centres and unique facilities, and has a well-deserved reputation for enterprise and the establishment of spin-off companies.