LED Lighting | Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
About
About the QEPrize
2025 Impact Report
Trustees
Donors
Staff
Winners
QEPrize Winners
Event Gallery
Nominate
Make a Nomination
Judges
Prize rules and conditions
Create the Trophy Competition
Enter the Competition
Winning trophies
News
News and Features
Create the Future Podcast
A Month of Making
Engineering Leadership Series
Ambassadors
QEPrize Ambassador Network
QEPrize Ambassador News
QEPrize Ambassador Network Council
Mobile navigation menu
About
Open sub-menu
About the QEPrize
2025 Impact Report
Trustees
Donors
Staff
Winners
Open sub-menu
QEPrize Winners
Event Gallery
Nominate
Open sub-menu
Make a Nomination
Judges
Prize rules and conditions
Create the Trophy Competition
Open sub-menu
Enter the Competition
Winning trophies
News
Open sub-menu
News and Features
Create the Future Podcast
A Month of Making
Engineering Leadership Series
Ambassadors
Open sub-menu
QEPrize Ambassador Network
QEPrize Ambassador News
QEPrize Ambassador Network Council
2021 QEPrize Winners
LED Lighting
The 2021 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering was awarded to Isamu Akasaki, Shuji Nakamura, Nick Holonyak Jr, M. George Craford and Russell Dupuis for the creation and development of LED lighting, which forms the basis of all solid state lighting technology.
Solid state lighting technology has changed how we illuminate our world. It can be found everywhere from digital displays and computer screens to handheld laser pointers, automobile headlights and traffic lights. Today’s high-performance LEDs are used in efficient solid state lighting products across the world and are contributing to the sustainable development of world economies by reducing energy consumption.
Visible LEDs are now a global industry predicted to be worth over $108 billion by 2025 through low cost, high efficiency lighting. LED lighting is much more energy efficient than both traditional incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs, and is playing a crucial role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. LED bulbs last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs and their large-scale use reduces the energy demand required to cool buildings. For this, they are often referred to as the ‘green revolution’ within lighting.
2021 QEPrize Winning Innovation: LED Lighting
Professor Isamu Akasaki
Professor Shuji Nakamura
Professor Nick Holonyak Jr
Dr M George Craford
Professor Russell Dupuis
More about LED lighting
Watch announcement video
The journey to LED lighting
Find out more about LED lighting
Search Modal
Search Modal