Dr. Benjamin Gross
Chemical Heritage Foundation

April 7, 2015
12:30 – 1:30 pm
SCP-117

“How RCA Led the Way to a Physics Nobel”

Abstract: Last October, the Nobel Committee announced that it had awarded the 2014 prize in physics to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura for inventing the blue light-emitting diode (LED). The long term significance of this technology is undeniable. The blue LED provides a bright, efficient source of lighting to a world increasingly concerned with sustainability. Yet in singling out these three researchers the committee framed it as a purely Japanese invention. In fact, the blue LED traces its origins to the Princeton laboratories of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). In this talk, I will discuss how RCA’s interest in creating a flat-panel television led to the production of the world’s first blue LED–currently on display at The College of New Jersey–and how this year’s Nobel laureates built upon research conducted by RCA scientists and engineers.