Prof. Shuji Nakamura, Nobel Laureate in Physics for the invention of efficient, practical, blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), will talk about his engineering breakthrough as well as the future of lighting in the 21st century.
Development of an efficient blue LED enabled a new source of bright white light that is ten times as efficient as today's incandescent bulbs, and they last for 50 years. With about 25% of the world's electricity used for lighting, the impact of his work is global, and not just for highly industrialized countries. LEDs are so energy-efficient, they can be powered by cheap local solar power, which brings the possibility of light to the 1.5 billion people who live and work off the energy grid.