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Millennium Technology Prize Awarded to LED Creator
mapkinase writes "This year's Millennium Technology Prize was awarded to Prof. Nakamura of Japan, for invention of white, blue and green light emitting diodes." From the article: "His other inventions such as blue LEDs are used in flat-screen displays, while blue lasers are already being exploited in the next generation of DVD player. 'Professor Nakamura's technological innovations in the field of semiconductor materials and devices are groundbreaking,' said Jaakko Ihamuotila, chairman of the Millennium Prize Foundation. The Millennium Technology Prize is the world's largest technology award, equivalent to the Nobel Prizes for science. It recognizes technological developments that have a positive impact on quality of life and sustainable development."
so where can one buy these online?
To The Millennium Technology Prize.
How come Conan OBrien is giving the prize?!
He should be giving that to an US citizen!!
Why is it that every large prize (Fields medal, Millenium Prize etc.) is described as being equivalent to the Nobel Prize? When in fact it isn't?
The Nobel Prize is occasionally awarded to technologists, or inventions by scientists that were not new science but rather applications. Jack Kilby's Nobel is a perfect example. The Millenium Technology Prize does not carry anything like the history or even the sensibility of the Nobel. For example how is the invention of HTML such a big deal? Compared to the work of a technologist like Norman Borlaug it is laughable.
There isn't a Nobel for mathematics - one could make a pretty good case there should have been. But there is no 'equivalent' to the Nobel.
It is not a surprise that he had to come to a country founded on enabling individual achievement for his invention to be recognized and utilized for the benefit of all humanity.
You're right but why would you even say "Japanese"? Who cares where he is from?
I wish I was that clever - I'm a bit envious. If only we had more people like this in the world. Good on you and well done! :-D
Sorry .. but the Fields is Nobel equivalent. You have to make a real significant and standout contribution to mathematics before you can be awarded it. Do you know anything about mathematics??
.. the resulting math often drives technology. Would the world have any semblence of engineering or computational capability were it not for mathematics? No way in hell.
And yes and though not immediately
the buffer layer technique was first published by Theodore Moustakas and remains his intellectual property.
Linky
I wish more people knew this. He's one of the best professors I've ever had and a hell of a nice guy.
As this is the second time I've read the false claim that Professor Nakamura invented green leds -- green leds having existed since the 70s -- I looked into it and discovered it's another case of sloppy (read inaccurate) reporting. He invented the GaN-based green led, not green leds in general. Technical reporters need to stop omitting words because they're too ignorant to know they're important. I can only guess how many people are now misinformed as a result of said sloppy reporting. Grumble.
I'm not really a nerd or geek (I'm not technical enough), but blue LEDs are awesome to me for some reason. And I've shown the story of their discovery/creation/invention/whatever to many people, some of whom are absolutely not nerds or geeks, and nearly all of them have enjoyed it.
Good show.
If you're so sure that we need less people, how come you're still around?
Oh wait, you mean you want less OTHER people...
When I first read the title I though it was this computer dictionary :-D
I bet he would rather they said he was "from Japan". I know here in my country, in my city, the best sports players, and movie stars are taken by bigger provinces, or countries, and on the news, they say things such as "born in x" and "former x" as if to say we still have a claim to owning their talent.
By adding that little bit extra, all his family and all Japanese people full stop can feel proud.
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Hats off to him - He did what people said couldn't be done, and he did it through perseverence and dogged determination and years of hard work. Also, the company he worked for was just a little manufacturer - all the big companies out there wouldn't bother to pursue this, but this little company gambled on him and now they are reaping the benefits.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
He gets one million euros, eh? So why is it that sports players get many times that, some for just sitting on the bench?
I did a PhD at Strathclyde Uni in Glasgow, Scotland[1]
Shuji gave a coloquia lecture there once, must have been 1998 or 1999. It was just amazing. Given that I was in the photonics department, everyone knew what a bright LED was supposed to look like. Shuji came in, told us about the science in a 'doh, it was so obvious now you tell me' kind of way, then he showed us the toys.
The LEDs he connected up to his little pen sized battery unit and shone into the audience. Blues, Greens, Violets[2], Whites etc. They were really bright.
Then he connected up the laser diodes. He shone those onto a piece of white card he held[3] and F**k me but they were bright.
[1] The bit to the north of England.
[2] The kind of colour you can't really focus on, really weird, hard to describe.
[3] We only have mortal retinas after all.
Blue LeD's, Oooooooooooooooooooooohhhhh they're sooooo pretty!!!
Why do I want my indicator lights to illuminate the whole damn room? They are extremely uncomfortable to look at, and too bright for purpose they are used for. I want an indicator light to discreetly notify me of the status of my equipment. Not blind me. Is there anything wrong with a subdued red/yellow/green LED for this purpose?
My god, I've even seen high-end speakers for the entertainment industry with these things on the FRONT of them. Newsflash: I want to listen to a speaker, not look at it. Especially when you are using it in a theater - you have to cover the LEDs with tape so they aren't distracting during a black-out or scene with low-level lighting. You fucking idiot manufacturers - why do you think your speakers are BLACK? It's so they're as invisible as possible when on stage. Way to go and wreck that by installing an LED which may as well be an aircraft landing beacon.
Work just provided me with an external HD enclosure that not only has a blue LED, but uses a plastic lens system to simulate the look of a bar LED-array. Of course, this does not function as a meter of the level of activity. ALL of the "lights" are either on or off. So why the hell did they put a whole row of the motherfuckers there? You do not gain any more information over just having a single point of light flashing on and off. Being bright enough to cause eye cancer does not give me any advantage over a low-intensity green LED.
Please, won't somebody think of the LEDs? THIS INSANITY MUST STOP!
... and then they built the supercollider.
Okay blue LEDs aren't so bad, it's all the designers sticking them in their products. One thing I really don't like is the tendancy to stick bright blue LEDs in car audio equipment. Hindering a driver's night vision is not a good idea at all. You'll notice that even the old dashboards, controls, and radios that were backlit by incandescent bulbs normally used subdued green, yellow, or orange, and this applied for digital dashboards as well. I do wonder how many people have blue speedometers now.
Heh, I'm reminded of my materials science professor in college. He was talking about someone who invented or improved some semiconductor application. I believe it was night-vision goggles. He said "his invention earned the company millions and millions of dollars, and all he got a plaque", and then he said something like "so that's what you have to look forward to as an engineer". Everyone chuckled, and it was at precisely that moment that I decided that I would never work for anyone else but myself (and I don't regret that one bit).
Anyway I heard someone say something similar about this gentlemen (if I remember correctly, he's never even taken a vacation)... it's good to see that his hard work finally payed off, for HIM. Congrats!
LEDs are the most important part of all electronics, especially blue ones :)
For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
Still, this is a forum that gives the industry a way of acknowledging key contributions. What's wrong with that?
Engineering is the art of compromise.