Shuji Nakamura
Shuji Nakamura (中村 修二
Nakamura Shūji, born in
May 22 1954,
Seto, Ehime,
Japan) is a professor at the
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Nakamura graduated from the
University of Tokushima in
1977 with a degree in
electronic engineering, and obtained a master's degree in the same subject two years later, after which he joined the
Nichia Corporation, also based in
Tokushima. It was while working for Nichia that Nakamura invented the first high brightness
GaN LED which has the distinctive advantage of producing
blue light, and which went into production in
1993. He was awarded a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Tokushima in
1994.
In
2001, Nakamura sued his former employer,
Nichia Corporation of Japan, over his bonus for the discovery, which was originally 20,000
Yen (~$180). Although Nakamura originally won an appeal for 20 billion Yen (~$180 million), Nichia appealed the award and the parties settled in
2005 for 840 million Yen (~$7 million), at the time the largest bonus ever paid by a Japanese company.
Nakamura has also worked on green and white LEDs, and blue laser diodes, which will be used in
Blu-ray Discs and
HD DVDs.
["Work in Colored Lights Nets Millennium Prize" by Richard Harris. All Things Considered, June 15, 2006. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5488821]In
2006, Nakamura was awarded the second
Finland's
Millennium Technology Prize for his continuing efforts to make cheaper and more efficient light sources.
[huji Nakamura wins the 2006 Millennium Technology Prize [1]]* Shuji Nakamura, Gerhard Fasol, Stephen J. Pearton,
The Blue Laser Diode : The Complete Story, Springer; 2nd edition, October 2, 2000, (ISBN 3540665056)
*
Professor Nakamura's home page at UCSB*
The Solid State Lighting and Display Center at UCSB*
Shuji Nakamura Wins $188.7 Million Settlement from Former Employer Nichia for Blue Spectrum Breakthrough Technology*
NY Times article on Nakamura's settlement with Nichia*
US Patent for a Nitride semiconductor light-emitting device *
Shuji Nakamura wins the 2006 Millennium Technology Prize
