February 18, 2008
The inventor of the light emitting diode (LED) is set to join the inventor of the original light bulb when he is inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Nick Holonyack, who developed the first practical LED, will enter the pantheon which welcomed Thomas Edison when it first opened in 1973.
Created by the US Patent and Trademark Office and the National Council of Intellectual Property Law associations, the hall was established as the "premier not-for-profit organization in America dedicated to recognizing, honouring and encouraging inventions and creativity".
Last year Nobel Prize-winner Paul Lauterbur, who helped develop magnetic resonance imaging, was inducted into the hall of fame.
Previous winners have included scientists who developed photovoltaic silicon solar power cells, transistors and the television remote control.
Richard Herman, chancellor of the University of Illinois, where Holonyack was a professor, said in a press release: "Think for a moment, of the impact of LEDs. Today, they are ubiquitous, in games, household products, medical equipment, automobiles and countless other applications."
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