Nick Holonyak

American physicist

Nick Holonyak Jr. (November 3, 1928 – September 18, 2022) was an American engineer and educator.[2] He is known for his 1962 invention of a light-emitting diode (LED).[3][4] He was a John Bardeen Endowed Chair Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[5]

Nick Holonyak Jr.[1]
Inventor of the visible-spectrum (red) LED
Born(1928-11-03)November 3, 1928
DiedSeptember 18, 2022(2022-09-18) (aged 93)
Urbana, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; BS 1950, MS 1951, PhD 1954
AwardsNational Academy of Engineering (1973)
National Academy of Sciences (1984),
IEEE Edison Medal (1989)
National Medal of Science (1990)
National Medal of Technology (2002)
IEEE Medal of Honor (2003)
Global Energy Prize (2003)
Lemelson-MIT Prize (2004)
National Inventors Hall of Fame (2008)
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical engineering
ThesisEffect of Surface Conditions on Characteristics of Rectifier Junctions (1954)
Doctoral advisorJohn Bardeen

Holonyak died on September 18, 2022 in Urbana, Illinois at the age of 93.[6]

References change

  1. Nick Holonyak was elected in 1973 as a member of National Academy of Engineering in Electronics, Communication & Information Systems Engineering and Materials Engineering for contributions to development of semiconductor controlled rectifiers, light emitting diodes and diode laser.
  2. "Nick Holonyak". www.aip.org. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  3. Kubetz, Rick (May 4, 2012). "Nick Holonyak, Jr., six decades in pursuit of light". University of Illinois. Archived from the original on 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  4. Wolinsky, Howard (February 5, 2005). "U. of I.'s Holonyak out to take some of Edison's luster". The Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
  5. Damery, Jonathan (August 5, 2013). "Holonyak retires after 50 years in ECE". University of Illinois.
  6. Ahlberg Touchstone, Liz (September 18, 2022). "Nick Holonyak Jr., pioneer of LED lighting, dies". University of Illinois News Bureau. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.