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CORVALLIS, Ore. - New, more powerful solar energy technologies could help reduce carbon emissions, but it will take a revolution in advanced materials to achieve that goal. Fortunately, scientists are well on the way. Doug Keszler, Oregon State University chemist, will describe their progress at the Corvallis Science Pub on Monday, Jan. 14.

The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. at the Old World Deli, 341 S.W. Second St., in Corvallis. It is free and open to the public.

"We all know that water is essential to life," said Keszler. "With energy from the sun, water is converted to the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe by the chemical factories that we call plants."

Keszler and his colleagues are now developing water-based chemistries that can provide industrial factories with new ways to make solar cells, simultaneously curbing energy use, reducing waste and increasing power output.

Such developments are transforming environmentally-responsible manufacturing, he adds.

Sponsors of Science Pub include Terra magazine at OSU, the Downtown Corvallis Association and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.