Dr. Andreas Bentzen received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Oslo in 2006. Conducting his research work at the solar energy laboratory at Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), his Ph.D. thesis was entitled "Phosphorus diffusion and gettering in silicon solar cells". For this work Dr. Bentzen received His Majesty the King's Gold Medal in 2007, awarded to "an outstanding young researcher for scientific work assessed at the University of Oslo". A copy of the thesis can be downloaded from the resources page.

Prior to finalizing his Ph.D. work, Dr. Bentzen was employed by Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) in 2005 to build an internal R&D activity on silicon solar cells. Staying with REC for more than 7 years he took on several new positions as the activities and scope of the company grew during the "golden years" of PV, including his latest assignment as Vice President (VP) Technology at REC Technology US, Inc. in Silicon Valley since June 2011. In Silicon Valley Dr. Bentzen headed a 12-strong team on development of future solar cell and module technologies using ultra-thin wafers, while acting as the international head of thin silicon PV activities both in-house and through external collaborations.