Mason Mahaffey

Mason Mahaffey’s passion for solar energy started at an early age — he even asked for solar panels for his 15th birthday. That interest would only continue to grow as he started his higher education journey. 

As an undergraduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mahaffey found reassurance in a solar energy-focused career after joining the Georgia Tech Solar Racing team. After completing his degree in electrical engineering, he elected to attend the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University to pursue his doctoral degree.

“The support from mentors at Georgia Tech allowed me to join ASU with confidence that I was going to be able to make a difference,” he says.

Mahaffey was drawn to the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering because of the opportunity to study under his advisor, Zachary Holman, a Fulton Schools professor who also serves as vice dean for research and innovation.

He highlights his biggest achievement in solar energy as being part of developing a novel measurement tool — called the Suns–ERE tool — to understand the performance of solar cells before and after fabrication is completed. This has aided solar cell researchers in their work and even supported professionals in academia and industry with their own copies of the tool.

“At ASU, I was able to continue following my passion for solar energy. Within Zachary Holman’s lab, I was able to make, measure and simulate novel solar cells,” he says.

Mahaffey credits his early successes to Holman, who he says greatly supported his development as a researcher and writer throughout his doctoral education. In addition, he cites in-lab mentors Arthur Onno, a former Fulton Schools assistant research professor, and Assistant Professor Nicholas Rolston as being instrumental in broadening his understanding of solar cells and providing invaluable mentorship.

Mahaffey has accepted an offer to work for The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit, federally funded research and development center, as a space photovoltaics engineer.

“In my new role, I will have the opportunity to further develop space-deployed solar power and support U.S. institutions in critical space missions,” he says. “In the future, I would also like to contribute to the development of perovskite solar cells as a viable solar technology and reduce the cost of commercial solar energy through improved manufacturing and performance modeling.”

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2025 class here.