Naming of energy materials lab celebrates longtime research collaborators

The Washington State University Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture is celebrating the naming of the Olsen-Addis Energy Materials Research Laboratory in honor of the longtime collaboration of Larry Olsen and Frank "Bill" Addis.

Olsen and Addis were childhood friends, fraternity brothers, and lifelong research partners, where they made pioneering contributions in betavoltaics, photovoltaics, thermoelectric materials, and solid-state physics.

Judy Addis, Bill's widow, provided a generous donation to support the lab. At the recent dedication event, she said that the gift felt like a perfect way to honor her husband and his lifelong friend.

"My hope is that if future students and researchers can have a wonderful, successful, fulfilling career like Bill and Larry did, and if this lab plays one small part of that, then I am really happy - and I know Bill and Larry would be happy," she said.

The lab, in the basement of the Engineering Teaching Research Laboratory, is managed by WSU's Institute of Materials Research and is used for materials synthesis, especially related to semiconductor, photovoltaic, and other energy materials research.

"There really is a legacy here," said John McCloy, director of the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. McCloy briefly worked with Olsen on high-efficiency solar devices more than a decade ago. "This gift now really provides a catalyst for us to realize the vision that we've had for this space, and to grow our work in solar cell and solar materials."

Originally from St. Joseph, Missouri, Olsen attended high school in Kansas and then studied engineering physics at the University of Kansas. He later earned a PhD. After graduation, he moved to Richland, Washington where he conducted research around nuclear power and did work to develop a small nuclear battery. He went on to work at WSU Tri-Cities as a professor and then later as a staff scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He retired in 2009 and passed away in 2020.

Addis also received a PhD in physics from University of Kansas. He first worked at McDonald Douglas in California before heading to Central Washington State College in Ellensburg. In 1971, he received a Norcas Fellowship at McDonald Douglas Labs in Richland. After later moving to Minneapolis, he returned to Richland in 1979 to do research in solar cells at WSU Tri-Cities. He and Olsen set up a company called Matrix Sciences in the Port of Benton where they continued basic solar cell research until retirement. Addis passed away in 2022.

"Research is an ongoing process - [Research in energy materials] started well before Bill and Larry got their start, and they took previous insights and made new discoveries," said Partha Pande, dean of the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. "Today's student and faculty researchers stand on their shoulders to see even further, make new advances, and improve the technology of solar cells."