Honorary Member

Shuji Nakamura

Dr. Shuji Nakamura obtained an M.E. degree from the University of Tokushima Graduate School of Engineering in 1979, and joined Nichia Chemical Industries Ltd. that same year. He held a number of positions while working at Nichia including group leader and principal researcher, while earning his Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokushima in 1994. He took a position as professor of engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999, where he remains on the faculty today.   He began actively investigating group-III nitrides in 1989, and this work led to a remarkable string of innovative new technologies and inventions that culminated in the rapid proliferation of LED lighting that we see today. He developed a metal organic vapor phase epitaxial (MOVPE) growth system in 1990, then exploited the system to grow a low-temperature gallium nitride (GaN) buffer layer in 1991. Dr. Nakamura discovered that p-type GaN films could be obtained by thermal annealing, and developed indium gallium nitride (InGaN) films of the highest crystal quality, room-temperature band gap photoluminescence, and other critical elements that enabled the realization of bright blue light emitting devices. The development of high-quality InGaN crystalline films was the key breakthrough that quickly led to the explosive development of group-III nitride devices.   In 1995, Dr. Nakamura led a Nichia research team in developing bright blue, green, and white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that featured an InGaN/GaN quantum-well structure. This was followed by the realization of a blue laser diode in 1996, and a white LED that combined a green LED and phosphor that same year. These developments opened the way to a host of applications that have completely transformed contemporary society, encompassing everything from LED traffic signals and LED full color display to Blu-Ray optical discs and LED lighting. Dr. Nakamura's achievement of energy-efficient lighting for the 21st century that replaces fluorescent lighting with LED lighting represents a revolutionary world transforming technology.   After moving to the University of California, Santa Barbara, he continued to make significant discoveries pertaining to the physical properties and crystal growth of group-III nitrides, and worked tirelessly toward realization of semiconductor laser lighting.   Dr. Nakamura has received numerous awards for his work including the Best Paper Award from the Japan Society of Applied Physics (1994), the Nishina Memorial Prize (1996), the IEEE/LEOS Engineering Achievement Award (1996), the Okochi Memorial Award (1997), the IEEE Jack A. Morton Award (1998), the C&C Award (1998), the Honda Award (2000), the Asahi Award (2001), the OSA Nick Holonyak Award (2001), the IEEE Quantum Electronics Award (2001), the Takeda Award (2002), and the Benjamin Franklin Medal (2002). In 2008 he was named a Fellow of the Japan Society of Applied Physics, and in 2014 Shuji Nakamura received the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano.   He has also served members of the IEICE and other academic and industrial communities through articles about blue light-emitting devices in the IEICE transactions and through invited papers in other Japanese and English technical journals, and made substantive contributions in his field.   In light of Dr. Nakamura's active involvement in the IEICE and other related academic societies in Japan and other countries, and considering his outstanding achievements, summarized above, that have had such an enormous impact on electronic, information and communication technologies, including the electronic and optical components industry, we give Shuji Nakamura our highest endorsement for Honorary Member of the IEICE.