Ali Hajimiri

Recognized under Tier 5 — Energy Systems & Power Generation, Ali Hajimiri conducts innovative research in wireless power transfer and space solar power at Caltech. As a leader of the Space Solar Power Project at Caltech — which achieved the first-ever in-orbit demonstration of wireless power transmission from a satellite — Hajimiri has helped move space-based solar power from a long-discussed concept to demonstrated hardware. The ability to beam power wirelessly to a Mars colony from space, bypassing dust storms and the limitations of surface-based generation, represents a potentially transformative approach to energy supply for a permanent human settlement, and this work is making it technically credible.