Prof. Ballif is full professor at the Institute of Microtechnology (IMT), University of Neuchatel. He is the director of the photovoltaics laboratory of IMT, one of the key players in the field of thin film silicon solar cells and high efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells. The research activities of the laboratory range from basic research in solar cell material to technology transfer with a strong impact on photovoltaic technology.

In addition, Prof. Ballif is coordinator of the EU Flexcellence project. He is currently member of several review committees for photovoltaic science and technology. As a member of the WG3 of the EU PV technology platform, he contributed actively to the elaboration of the EU strategic research agenda for photovoltaics.

During his 14 years of research in solar technology, Prof. Ballif has been in charge of many projects within other renowned research institutes:

• At the Swiss Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing (EMPA) in Thun (2003-2004), as head of the "nanofactory lab", he conducted activities in mechanics and fracture mechanisms of semiconductors, including wafer sawing. He also commercialised a system for the characterisation of solar cells.
• At the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Industry Laboratory, Gelsenkirchen, Germany (2000-2003), he was responsible for the characterisation of semi-conductor materials and solar cells. He coordinated the start of a pilot production line for cristalline silicon solar cells.
• At the National Renewable Energy laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO, USA (1999-2000), in the frame of a postdoctoral research, he worked on fundamental analyses of CdTe, CIGS and III-V based solar cells.
• Finally, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) (1994-1998), he worked as a research assistant, in the thin film physics laboratory, working on a new type of solar cells based on WS2 and MoS2.

Prof. Ballif is Swiss and received his Dr. es science grade from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) in 1998. In 1994, he obtained from EPFL a diploma in theoretical physics for working on the "Adiabatic theorem in quantum mechanics".

Prof. Ballif is author or co-author of more than 110 scientific and technical papers, most of them in the field of solar technology (partly accessible at www.unine.ch/pv ).