Shuji Nakamura
Shuji Nakamura
Shuji Nakamurais a Japanese-born American electronic engineer and inventor specializing in the field of semiconductor technology, professor at the Materials Department of the College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, and is regarded as the inventor of the blue LED, a major breakthrough in lighting technology. Together with Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, he is one of the three recipients of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics "for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which has enabled bright...
NationalityJapanese
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth22 May 1954
CountryJapan
There are still people in Japan who think money is something evil.
The promise of energy savings, reduced carbon emissions and affordable lighting was there from the inception. The proliferation of the technology into areas such as displays, automotive, medicine and horticulture was unexpected.
When I started on my research, I never expected I could invent the LED and laser diode.
The most important thing I learned at the University of Florida is that a Ph.D. and writing papers is very important in the United States.
A small company like Nichia should do niche products.
It is very satisfying to see that my dream of LED lighting has become a reality.
It's good to have high-quality competition. It helps drive research forward at a faster pace.
I wanted to quit Nichia. I didn't care about anything. It was OK for them to fire me. I was not afraid of anything.
If Japanese companies don't reform drastically and implement English as their daily business language, the economy will only continue to contract.
I'm not sure whether I could win a Nobel Prize or not, but the Nobel Committee called me, and, 'You got the Nobel Prize.' So, I was so, so happy, and I was so surprised.
I hope that energy-efficient LED light bulbs will help reduce energy use and lower the cost of lighting worldwide.
If I had gone to a big company, it would have been very difficult for me to do research freely. At a big company, say Sony, there are very, very good researchers. So I would have to ask them what I could do.