Prof. Dr. Michael Powalla earned his Ph.D. degree in 1998 at the Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from the University of Stuttgart. Since 2010, Prof. Powalla holds a professorship for thin-film photovoltaics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Michael Powalla is a board member and head of the Photovoltaics Division at Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). Prof. Powalla is a renowned expert in thin-film photovoltaics and a member of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA). He contributed to the Strategic Research Agenda for Photovoltaic Solar Energy Technology of the European Photovoltaic Technology Platform. His publications exceed 200 in journals and conference proceedings. He did international consulting and evaluation of various projects. He is a member of the German Physical Society (DPG), the Materials Research Society, USA and the European Materials Research Society.