Key points
- Dr Rowena Yew’s STEM journey around the world led her to tackle clean energy challenges.
- At CSIRO, she is developing advanced solar technologies to improve photovoltaic performance and durability.
- Her research combines industry collaboration and science to deliver practical solar energy solutions.
Dr Rowena Yew didn't set out to become a physicist.
Growing up in Singapore, she was drawn to mathematics but found physics challenging. Her early ambitions lay elsewhere, with her fascination with the sea beginning in childhood. Fishing trips with her father on weekends and school holidays at Kelongs in Malaysia were experiences that inspired her dreams of becoming a marine biologist or oceanographer.
Instead, her career began in a different direction at the docks in Singapore's offshore and marine industry, where she worked as an engineer before deciding to pursue further study overseas.
Moving to the United States opened new possibilities. While completing a physics degree and later a master's degree, Rowena was also exposed to the Unites States system of general education which included courses in the arts and humanities. This encouraged critical thinking and curiosity.
"I started reading more broadly and realised there were so many interesting questions to answer," Rowena said.
"The more I understood, the more questions I had."
That curiosity eventually led her to Australia, where she completed a PhD at the Australian National University. Her research focused on solid-state physics and photophysics, using semiconductor materials for direct-solar driven hydrogen production through water splitting.
Building a career through collaboration
While completing her PhD, Rowena applied for a postdoctoral position at CSIRO that closely aligned with her hydrogen research.
Starting in Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, was far from straightforward.
Laboratory work was repeatedly interrupted by lockdowns, colleagues were dispersed across locations, and opportunities for face-to-face collaboration were limited.
Yet the experience reinforced something that had already become central to Rowena's approach to research: the importance of people.
Throughout her career, she has worked and studied across Singapore, the United States and Australia, with a diverse range of people. This experience taught her the value of understanding different perspectives and finding common ground, which has remained true at CSIRO.
"What excites me most about working at CSIRO is the people," she said.
She speaks of experienced researchers who remain hands-on in the laboratory, motivated by curiosity and eager to share knowledge with others.
For Rowena, that collaborative culture is one of CSIRO's greatest strengths.
“I really value getting to know the people I work with; strong connections often lead to more effective teamwork.
That philosophy has shaped the way she collaborates with colleagues, engages with industry and approaches complex research challenges that require expertise from many different disciplines.
Improving solar performance at scale
Rowena works in CSIRO's Solar Technologies group as part of the Ultra Low Cost Solar (ULCS) initiative. As a project leader, she leads work developing technologies aimed at improving the performance, reliability and affordability of solar energy.
Among the technologies being explored are anti-soiling coatings, designed to reduce the impact of dust and other contaminants that accumulate on photovoltaic (PV) panels. Rowena is also working on coatings that help manage heat and keep operating temperatures under control, and advanced protective materials that reduce degradation and improve PV durability and lifespan.
"We're looking at how functional coatings and materials can make PV perform better, last longer and ultimately cost less," Rowena said.
While solar energy is already one of the world's most affordable forms of electricity, maintaining strong performance across large-scale solar farms remains a significant challenge.
When panels become soiled, less sunlight reaches the cells, reducing energy generation and increasing costs for operators.
The challenge extends beyond developing a coating in the laboratory. It requires understanding where losses occur, how solar assets are managed, and what solutions the solar industry needs.
For Rowena, that connection between science and real-world application is where her research can have its greatest impact.
Understanding the problem before creating the solution
One of the most significant lessons from Rowena's work has come through listening to industry.
Early in the project, her team explored whether coatings could be integrated directly into solar panel manufacturing. However, the team found that different stakeholders experience the problem differently and thus have different solution priorities.
Manufacturers are primarily focused on producing solar panels efficiently. Operators are focused on maintaining generation. Cleaning companies combat soiling with PV panel maintenance.
Those conversations revealed another important finding. Conditions vary dramatically between coastal regions, mining areas, agricultural zones and inland environments. Even nearby solar farms can experience different conditions because of local microclimates.
As a result, understanding Australian PV soiling patterns has become a critical part of the research effort.
Rowena and her colleagues are drawing expertise from across CSIRO, combining materials science, environmental modelling and industry knowledge to better understand how and why solar panels lose performance in different locations.
"It's always a circle that starts with the problem," she says.
By understanding the problem first, the team can develop solutions designed specifically for Australian conditions and the needs of industry and its various stakeholders.
Real people, real impact
For Rowena, research success is measured not only by scientific outcomes, but whether technologies ultimately benefit the people and organisations that need them.
That includes supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often face significant challenges adopting new technologies.
"Companies that need help solving problems they can’t fund are often SMEs," she said.
She hopes future research partnerships with both industry and academia can help bridge that gap by making innovation more accessible to businesses that are trying to navigate rising energy costs and a rapidly changing energy landscape.
Looking ahead, Rowena sees opportunities for coatings, advanced materials and ULCS technologies to improve solar performance, lower costs and support Australia’s clean energy future and manufacturing. She wants to ensure research leads to something impactful beyond the laboratory, because the questions may start there, but the answers should matter in the real world.