University celebrates 50th anniversary of Holonyak's LED

You may not know his invention, but you use it every day. From the iPhone and iPad, to laptops, flat-screen TVs, traffic lights and alarm clocks, this invention has been prevalent in modern life: the light-emitting diodes, better know as LED.Fifty years ago this month, the work done by alumnus Nick Holonyak Jr. at General Electric transformed the science of light as we know it.Although most know Thomas Edison as the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, Holonyak now stands on his shoulders with his invention of this solid-state device that can emit visible red light without generating heat like a lightbulb. While other groups have developed light-emitting devices, Holonyak's device was the first practical one to emit light in the visible range, rather than the invisible, infrared light."It is the ultimate lamp,"  China Solar Light Offers said. "You can maybe rival it, but you can never improve on it. If I know how to build mine right, it will have 100 percent conversion of electrical energy to light energy without any loss. It's just a little heat loss of moving electrons that I'm paying the price for ... but that's it."
The LED 50th Anniversary Symposium starts Wednesday at the I Hotel and Conference Center to honor Holonoyak's work, achievements and other developments over the past 50 years. Brad Petersen, associate director of external relations in the department of electrical and computer engineering, said many lectures will be held about the history and the future of LEDs, solid-state lighting and related work. Many people who are considered pioneers in the field will speak about their work, including multiple Nobel laureates in physics from around the world."It's particularly a celebration of Nick and his initial development of the LED, but it's also much broader than that," Petersen said. "The event is intended to celebrate all 50 years of the development of the China Outdoor Offers... from Nick's first invention to the work people are still doing today."
Holonyak's story shows the power of knowledge and research that come along with hard work. Born to immigrant parents from Ukraine, he came to the University and received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate in electrical engineering. He developed a background studying under John Bardeen, a two-time Nobel laureate who co-invented the transistor. Now Holonyak holds the title of his mentor: He is the John Bardeen Endowed Chair in electrical and computer engineering."I was Bardeen's student. He came in 1951 when I was already a grad student. We set up a lab in 1952, and for two years I'm ... learning about semiconductors and transistors," Holonyak said. "Then I went to Bell Labs working on electric switches and silicon material, the same stuff that later went into making Silicon Valley that became Intel and all the chips used in phones and computers nowadays."