Shuji Nakamura

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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 [link]

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