Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Illinois professor to be inducted into Engineering and Science Hall of Fame

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nick Holonyak Jr., a renowned innovator of semiconductor devices, has joined the elite ranks of scientists and inventors inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame.

Holonyak is recognized for his invention of the first practical light-emitting diode (LED). He will be inducted at a ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 3, along with Nikola Tesla and James Tsui. The 2011 inductees join more than 50 great names in the history of science, including Thomas Edison, Enrico Fermi, Jonas Salk and the Wright brothers.

Holonyak, the John Bardeen professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics at the University of Illinois, is a pioneer in the field of optoelectronics – devices that convert electricity into light or vice-versa. He gained eminence through his numerous inventions and contributions to advances in semiconductor materials and devices. His work has resulted in more than 500 academic papers and 51 patents.

LEDs, semiconductor crystal devices that emit light when electrified, now are commonly used on items ranging from instrument panels to bicycle tail lights. In a different form, LEDs can function as lasers. His innovation also has contributed to technology in household dimmer switches, lasers that run CD and DVD players and fiber-optic communication.

Most recently, Holonyak has worked with U. of I. electrical and computer engineering professor Milton Feng to demonstrate the operation of a transistor laser that combines the functionality of both a transistor and a laser by converting electrical input signals into two output signals, one electrical and one optical. Transistor lasers could dramatically improve the speed and availability of electronic communications and computers.

Holonyak, Bardeen’s first student, earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at the U. of I. He then worked for Bell Labs, the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and General Electric before joining the faculty at Illinois in 1963. Among his numerous awards are the Lemelson-MIT Prize (2004), the Global Energy Prize from Russia (2003), the U.S. National Medal of Technology (2002), the Japan Prize (1995), the National Academy of Sciences’ Award for the Industrial Application of Science (1993), and the U.S. National Medal of Science (1990). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame; as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America. He is a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The Engineering and Science Hall of Fame is an international organization dedicated to honoring national and international achievements in science and engineering and to preserving the legacy of those whose contributions have shaped history and improved quality of life.

Read Next

Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

Illinois faculty member elected to National Academy of Engineering

Champaign, Ill. — Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Nishant Garg, center, is joined by fellow researchers, from left: Yujia Min, Hossein Kabir, Nishant Garg, center, Chirayu Kothari and M. Farjad Iqbal, front right. In front are examples of clay samples dissolved at different concentrations in a NaOH solution. The team invented a new test that can predict the performance of cementitious materials in mere 5 minutes. This is in contrast to the standard ASTM tests, which take up to 28 days. This new advance enables real-time quality control at production plants of emerging, sustainable materials. Photo taken at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Researchers develop a five-minute quality test for sustainable cement industry materials

A new test developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can predict the performance of a new type of cementitious construction material in five minutes — a significant improvement over the current industry standard method, which takes seven or more days to complete. This development is poised to advance the use of next-generation resources called supplementary cementitious materials — or SCMs — by speeding up the quality-check process before leaving the production floor.

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010