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The spotlight of achievement once again shines on light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Last year, Shuji Nakamura, with the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), received the 2020 National Academy of Science (NAS) Award for his world-changing developments in the field of LEDs.
This year, Nakamura was named with other innovators for the 2021 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for fundamental advancements in solid-state lighting. Honored for their achievements were Isamu Akasaki (Meijo/Nagoya), Shuji Nakamura (UCSB), Nick Holonyak Jr (University of Illinois), M. George Craford, and Russell Dupuis (GA Tech).
LED technology has become a crucial part of our world. The global industry for visible LEDs predicted to be worth over $108 billion by 2025. LED lighting is 75 percent more energy-efficient and 25 times longer lasting than traditional incandescent lightbulbs, thus helping to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Various types of LED-based technologi
February 25, 2021 at 12:00 am by Devanshi Tomar
Today, blue light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, quite literally surround us nearly everywhere we go. They are in our homes, our TVs and our phones.
Nakamura was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of blue LED. Courtesy of Shuji Nakamura
The origin of blue LED technology traces back to Japan in the late â80s, at a small chemical and electronics company called Nichia Corporation. Shuji Nakamura â a UC Santa Barbara faculty member since 2000 â developed this technology when he was a member of the research and development team at Nichia. His work has laid the foundation for much of the lighting technology we use today.Â
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“I am so honored to receive the Queen Elizabeth Prize for my contributions to solid-state lighting, which provides tremendous benefits for humanity by providing energy-efficient lighting and displays,” Nakamura said.
Short for “light-emitting diode,” LEDs have become ubiquitous in our modern lives, replacing energy-guzzling incandescent and florescent lightbulbs in homes, public spaces, commercial businesses and vehicles.
“Their innovations have resulted in a 10-fold increase in energy efficiency of lighting and displays over conventional technologies,” said Steven DenBaars, fellow materials and electrical and computer engineering professor at UCSB and, with Nakamura, co-director of the campus’s Solid State Lighting and Energy Electronics Center.