While known by most for his groundbreaking work on Special, and then General, Relativity, it was his 1905 work on the Photoelectric Effect, which Einstein himself thought was his most significant early work, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1921. For that matter, even though he is often portrayed as a competitor to Max Planck and the other early proponents of Quantum Mechanics, it was Einsteins own work in this field which helped to define it. Now we have some creative students at Rice University developing a breakthrough method to produce “quantum dots” for the construction of more efficient solar cells.

Rice University scientists today revealed a breakthrough method for producing molecular specks of semiconductors called quantum dots, a discovery that could clear the way for better, cheaper solar energy panels.
ScienceDaily: Quantum Dot Recipe May Lead To Cheaper Solar Panels

Pawn thinks the old man would be proud!