The more something changes the more it stays the same. It seems to be true of many things. One example is solar energy.

As you’ll read in Don Cullen’s cover feature, “The Great Illumination,” solar energy and photovoltaics (PV) are not a new concept. But in the 1970s, the gas crisis and the resulting political tension fueled the call for alternative energies and inspired President Carter to call for a solar panel on every rooftop. Sound familiar?

Read more about today’s PV landscape—its potential for growth as well as its technical challenges—and what it means for the printed circuit board industry in Don’s article.

This month’s CircuiTree also lends voice to a potential solution to one of these technical challenges—PV cell efficiency—with Jon Toon’s article, “Superhydrophobic,” on the Georgia Institute of Technology’s research on self-cleaning, low-reflective 3-D surface treatment.

Also, learn more about the changes taking place in the printed circuit board industry with Dan Beaulieu’s thoughts on today’s sales and marketing environment in this month’s installment of “The Strategist” and how industry consultants continue to add value to companies and the industry as a whole in Dan Feinberg’s “Fein-Lines” column.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!