Brian Norton is a solar energy applications researcher and technologist. As president of

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

(DIT) from 2003 to 2018, he was an advocate for diversity of higher education in Ireland. He has also been associated with the relocation of DIT from a multiplicity of scattered buildings to a single city centre campus in the

Grangegorman Grangegorman () is an inner suburb on the northside of Dublin city, Ireland. The area is administered by Dublin City Council. It was best known for decades as the location of St Brendan's Hospital, which was the main psychiatric hospital se ...

neighbourhood of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and the creation of the

Technological University Dublin Technological University Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, and with a history stretching back to 1887 through the amalgamated Dub ...

, Ireland's first Technological University. In 2020 he became head of energy research at Tyndall National Institute, research professor at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

as well as professor of solar energy applications at Technological University Dublin.

Biography

In 1989 Norton was appointed by Sir

Derek Birley Sir Derek Birley (31 May 1926 – 14 May 2002) was a distinguished English educationalist and a prize-winning writer on the social history of sport, particularly cricket. Life and career Born in a mining community in West Yorkshire, Birley attend ...

as the first professor in the field of the

Built Environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

at the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

, prior to which he taught at

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

. He is a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and a fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering. Norton studied physics at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

and engineering at

and holds doctorates from both universities. He has been conferred with an honorary doctorate by the

University of Technology of Troyes The University of Technology of Troyes (''Université de Technologie de Troyes''; ''UTT'') is a French university, in the Academy of Reims. The UTT is part of the network of the three universities of technology, found by the University of Techno ...

. His most-cited research papers are on improving

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

module efficiency via use of various types of

heat sink A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, th ...

that enable operation closer to ambient temperatures. He co-chaired, with

Wim van Saarloos Wim van Saarloos is a Dutch physicist, academic and researcher. He is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Leiden University (emeritus since July 2021) Van Saarloos has written over 280 papers and has been cited over 12000 times. His research i ...

, the

European Academies' Science Advisory Council The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is a regional association of National Academies of science. Its members are 25 National Science Academies of the Member States of the European Union (EU), and the National Science Academies o ...

(EASAC) activity that led to a 2021 report on “Decarbonisation of Buildings

Selected bibliography

*''Harnessing Solar Heat'', Springer, 2013 *''Solar Energy Thermal Technology''. Springer, 1992 *"Industrial and Agricultural Applications of Solar Energy". In ''Comprehensive Renewable Energy'', Elsevier, 2012 (winner of a 2012

PROSE Awards The PROSE Awards (Professional and Scholarly Excellence) are presented by the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division. Presented since 1976, the awards annually recognize distinguished prof ...

of the

Association of American Publishers The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal, and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercia ...

for best multi-volume reference work) *"Solar Energy Collectors and their applications". In ''Solar Energy Science and Engineering Applications''. CRC Press, 2013 *"The Shadows Cast by Inadequate Energy Governance: Why more Sun does not necessarily mean more photovoltaic electricity". Norton contributed with Sarah McCormack of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, to ''Renewable Energy Governance: Challenges and Insecurities''. Springer, 2013 *"Solar Power and the Enabling Role of Nanotechnology", Norton contributed with Ali Shakouri and Helen McNally, both of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

to ''Understanding the Global Energy Crisis'', Purdue University Press, 2014. *"Low temperature solar thermal applications". Norton contributed with Hans Martin Henning of

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (or Fraunhofer ISE) is an institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Located in Freiburg, Germany, The Institute performs applied scientific and engineering research and development for all ...

and Daniel Mugnier of Tecsol, Vice-Chair of the

IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme The International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA SHC TCP) is one of over 40 multilateral Technology Collaboration Programmes (also known as TCPs) of the International Energy Agency. It was one of t ...

to ''Solar Energy''. World Scientific Press, 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Brian (engineer) Academics of Dublin Institute of Technology People associated with renewable energy People associated with solar power Presidents of Dublin Institute of Technology Alumni of Cranfield University Academics of Cranfield University Alumni of the University of Nottingham Academics of Ulster University Irish engineers English mechanical engineers 1955 births Living people Members of the Royal Irish Academy English emigrants to Ireland People from Great Yarmouth