Dunbar Birnie is a professor and the Corning/Saint-Gobain/Malcolm G. McLaren Chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rutgers University. Birnie earned his BS and PhD from MIT. Much of Birnie’s research is aimed at fabricating coatings for solar power collection and building devices that can increase our sunlight conversion efficiency. Other work in Birnie’s group has aimed at expanding the utilization of solar power, both in buildings (better array design logistics) and for the charging of batteries used for electric transportation (for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). More broadly, Birnie is an avid inventor and eager supporter of other inventors, including students, faculty, and staff.