Powering toward a clean energy future

Editor's note: The Communist Party of China will hold its 19th National Congress on Oct 18. In the runup to the meeting, China Daily asked two prominent experts to provide their views on developments in China and the country's global leadership.

In the field of photovoltaics - the study of converting sunlight into electricity, Pierre J. Verlinden's name shines like the sun.

Born in 1957, the Belgian-Australian engineer has published about 200 scientific papers, generated more than a dozen patents and held senior R&D positions in labs and PV companies across Europe, the United States and Australia.