New Nobel Laureates Light The Way for Smart Cities
The selection process for Nobel laureates is perhaps the most rigorous decision made on a global level. Not only does it require knowledge of a world's worth of science and cultural advancements, but it also requires a sensitivity towards where humanity is moving as a collective people. And while energy technology companies are looking towards the philosophical "smart cities" that lie ahead, this year's Nobel Prize awarded in Physics is reflecting the way lighting has revolutionized the world.
Announced Tuesday morning, Oct. 7, the three Nobel laureates that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, Japanese physicists Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano alongside American physicist Shuji Nakamura from UC Santa Barbara, were selected for their contributions to the lighting industry and the impact they're having on energy efficiency of the future.
In the early 1990's, the three scientists made a revolutionary discovery that created a new lighting form. By developing blue diodes from semiconductors, they were able to give rise to white light in the invention of the first LED lightbulb.
"[The Nobel laureates were awarded the prize in Physics] for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources" the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who selects the winners of the Nobel Prizes, announced early Tuesday morning in its prize citation. "They succeeded where everyone else failed."
Though their individual and collaborative work was simply the stepping point on the way towards a brighter future, the development of blue diodes spawned the creation of an entirely new industry driven by the possibility of reinventing and reutilizing the existing lighting infrastructure around the world. The committee who made the final decision said that the light-emitting diodes, otherwise known as LEDs, will be the new lighting source of the 21st century, replacing the incandescent bulbs that illuminated the 20th.
In its announcement made this morning, the academy paid homage to the original intent of Alfred Nobel's dream for his prize be awarded for something that benefited mankind as a whole, noting that a quarter of the world's energy consumption goes to the simple task of producing light and this invention will tame that number significantly. While the formal award ceremony will not be held until Dec. 10, the three scientists described the award as being quite unbelievable and an honor in a news conference held this morning.
The three scientists will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Stockholm at the Dec. 10 awards ceremony and will split the prize of $1.1 million three ways.The selection process for Nobel laureates is perhaps the most rigorous decision made on a global level. Not only does it require knowledge of a world's worth of science and cultural advancements, but it also requires a sensitivity towards where humanity is moving as a collective people. And while energy technology companies are looking towards the philosophical "smart cities" that lie ahead, this year's Nobel Prize awarded in Physics is reflecting the way lighting has revolutionized the world.
Announced Tuesday morning, Oct. 7, the three Nobel laureates that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, Japanese physicists Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano alongside American physicist Shuji Nakamura from UC Santa Barbara, were selected for their contributions to the lighting industry and the impact they're having on energy efficiency of the future.
In the early 1990's, the three scientists made a revolutionary discovery that created a new lighting form. By developing blue diodes from semiconductors, they were able to give rise to white light in the invention of the first LED lightbulb.
"[The Nobel laureates were awarded the prize in Physics] for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources" the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who selects the winners of the Nobel Prizes, announced early Tuesday morning in its prize citation. "They succeeded where everyone else failed."
Though their individual and collaborative work was simply the stepping point on the way towards a brighter future, the development of blue diodes spawned the creation of an entirely new industry driven by the possibility of reinventing and reutilizing the existing lighting infrastructure around the world. The committee who made the final decision said that the light-emitting diodes, otherwise known as LEDs, will be the new lighting source of the 21st century, replacing the incandescent bulbs that illuminated the 20th.
In its announcement made this morning, the academy paid homage to the original intent of Alfred Nobel's dream for his prize be awarded for something that benefited mankind as a whole, noting that a quarter of the world's energy consumption goes to the simple task of producing light and this invention will tame that number significantly. While the formal award ceremony will not be held until Dec. 10, the three scientists described the award as being quite unbelievable and an honor in a news conference held this morning.
The three scientists will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Stockholm at the Dec. 10 awards ceremony and will split the prize of $1.1 million three ways.