Engineering news
Developers of the ‘ground-breaking’ technology have now received the 2021 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize).
“Isamu Akasaki, Shuji Nakamura, Nick Holonyak Jr., M George Craford and Russell Dupuis are recognised not only for the global impact of LED and solid-state lighting, but also for the tremendous contribution the technology has made, and will continue to make, to reducing energy consumption and addressing climate change,” said the announcement today (2 February).
“Solid-state lighting technology has changed how we illuminate our world. It can be found everywhere from digital displays and computer screens to handheld laser pointers, automobile headlights and traffic lights. Today’s high-performance LEDs are used in efficient solid-state lighting products across the world, and are contributing to the sustainable development of world economies by reducing energy consumption.”
Visible LEDs are a global industry predicted to be worth over $108bn by 2025. LED lighting is 75% more energy efficient than traditional incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs, and LED bulbs last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Their large-scale use reduces the energy demand required to cool buildings.
LEDs emit light thanks to electrons flowing through semiconductors – the amount of energy required to cross the semiconductor band gap determines the colour of the light.
Holonyak Jr demonstrated the first visible-spectrum LED in 1962. Craford later developed the first yellow LED, and improved the brightness of red LEDs by a factor of 10. Professor Nakamura later developed high-brightness blue LEDs.
“I was able to do what I did in the 1980s because of what had come before,” he said. “When I was modifying reactors every morning and every afternoon continuously for a year and a half, I never thought it would be so successful.”
First awarded in 2013, the QEPrize celebrates ‘ground-breaking innovation in engineering.’ The 2021 winners were announced by Lord Browne of Madingley, chairman of the QEPrize Foundation. Princess Anne shared a message of congratulation for the winners.
“The QEPrize is so prestigious and it is spectacular to receive recognition from the royal family,” said Dr Craford. “It is a career highlight that is impossible to beat. Engineering is incredible, and I am proud to be part of something that has made such a big impact on the world.”
Lord Browne said: “This year’s prize winners have not only helped humanity to achieve a greater degree of mastery over the environment, they have enabled us to do so in a sustainable way. They have created a product which we now take for granted, but which will play a major role in ensuring that humanity can live in harmony with nature for many more centuries to come.”
Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, chairman of the judging panel, said: “The impact of this innovation is not to be understated. It makes lighting a lot cheaper and more accessible for emerging economies. For example, LEDs are being used on fishing boats where previously the only option would have been paraffin lamps. They are much cheaper and safer. It is not only an extreme engineering achievement, but a societal impact that has a significant impact on the environment.”
The winners will be formally honoured at a ceremony later this year, where they will receive the £1m prize.
The prize will now be awarded every year, the organisers added, after previously being awarded every two years.
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