CAMBRIDGE, MA – LEDs reduced U.S. CO2 emissions by an estimated 12 million tons in 2013, produce the greatest amount of light for the energy used, and have the longest lifetime of any lighting source available. In recognition of the significant benefit to society created by the initial development and commercialization of LED technologies 20 years ago, five pioneers will receive the $500,000 Draper Prize for Engineering.

“Great engineers imagine new things – and build them,” said Draper Laboratory President and CEO Kaigham J. Gabriel. “These LED pioneers created technologies that brought new light to our lives, spawning an industry that today boasts hundreds of thousands of jobs while making energy consumption more efficient.”

Isamu Akasaki; George Craford; Russell Dupuis; Nick Holonyak, Jr.; and Shuji Nakamura each made contributions critical to taking light-emitting diodes from laboratory concept to ubiquitous reality in smartphone screens, surgical lighting, agriculture and many other applications.

Read more about the prize winning research here.