Nick Holonyak
Nick Holonyak Jr. created the first light-emitting diode in 1962 while working as a consulting scientist at a General Electric Company laboratory in Syracuse, New York.In 1963 he joined John Bardeen at the University of Illinois and worked on quantum wells and quantum-well lasers.
As of 2003 he is the John Bardeen Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is investigating methods for manufacturing quantum dot lasers.
In 2003 he was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor.
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