Adj. Prof. Chen on White House Solar Panels

A broad sampling of the nation's press have published stories recently quoting C. Julian Chen about the White House's former and planned solar panels.

The New York Times, Scientific American and The Chronicle of Higher Education have all quoted Chen, an adjunct professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. The stories include his comments either finding a home for some of the solar panels dismantled during the Reagan Administration (such as in Scientific American and the Chronicle) or on President Barak Obama's plans to install modern panels (such as in the Times story).

Chen, who's book The Physics of Solar Energy was published in July 2011, told Scientific American, "More than 80 percent of Chinese people do not have hot water; they need it. If you start from scratch, the solar water heater is cheaper."

The panels dismantled in 1986 at the White House were installed in 1979 during the Carter Administration.