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Australian Energy Research Laboratories (AERL) was founded by Stuart Watkinson (BE Elec. Eng., Grad. M.I.E.A) in 1985, after the development of the “Power Optimizer”, a revolutionary solution to a complex problem. Unlike many inventors, Stuart possessed not only a great idea, but also the entrepreneurial skill to turn it in to a commercially viable product. The “Power Optimizer” would eventually come to be known as the AERL MAXIMIZER™, the world’s first truly Universal Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT). After the completion of his thesis, titled “The Generation of Electricity from Solar Energy”, Stuart devised an electronic unit that would efficiently extract the maximum electrical power from a small photo-voltaic array, and deliver it to a DC electric motor to assist in propelling a 4-rider solar tandem pushbike. The pushbike, “Solar Tandem”, was a unique vehicle designed to combine human effort – in the form of pedal power – with electrical energy from solar cells to create an energy-efficient method to transport 4 riders at unusually high speeds. The experiment intended to prove that a hybrid system of human and photovoltaic [PV] energy can eliminate the need for conventional batteries, while minimizing the size of the PV array required for a given application.