The creator of the first blue, green, and white light-emitting diodes and the first blue laser diode—each of which has represented an important milestone in the development of new energy-saving light sources—has won the 2006 Millennium Technology Prize.
Shuji Nakamura will receive the award from Finland’s Millennium Prize Foundation at a September ceremony in Helsinki. The honor, which carries a cash prize of €1 million ($1.3 million), recognizes outstanding technological achievement aimed at promoting quality of life and sustainable development. Nakamura is a professor of materials and of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is also codirector of the solid-state lighting and display center.
In a recent interview with Physics Today, Nakamura said he started working with LEDs and laser diodes some 26 years ago in hopes of developing more efficient light sources.
“The conventional incandescent bulb lamp and fluorescent lamp are...
