Photo: Glenn Beltz / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Nakamura is one of those rare figures whose work literally lit up the modern world. The blue LED was the missing piece that made white light and bright screens possible, and the fact that he reached it from a regional Japanese university rather than an elite pipeline makes the achievement more remarkable, not less. What I admire most is his willingness to fight openly over the value of invention, an unusually combative stance for a scientist. The Nobel and Hall of Fame are obvious; the real story is a stubborn engineer from rural Ehime who refused to be small.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Shuji Nakamura
- Name (Japanese)
- 中村修二
- Reading
- 不明
- Born
- May 22, 1954 (age 72)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Horse
- Origin
- Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, Japan
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- physicist / engineer / inventor / professor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Tokushima
Awards & achievements
- 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics
- 2014 Order of Culture
- 2008 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
- 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal
- 2009 Harvey Prize
- 2002 IEEE Quantum Electronics Award
- 2015 National Inventors Hall of Fame
- 2015 Charles Stark Draper Prize
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | blue light-emitting diode | — |
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://www.sslec.ucsb.edu/nakamura/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E6%9D%91%E4%BF%AE%E4%BA%8C
Frequently asked questions
When was Shuji Nakamura born?
Born May 22, 1954 (age 72).
Where is Shuji Nakamura from?
Shuji Nakamura is from Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
What does Shuji Nakamura do?
Shuji Nakamura works as physicist, engineer, inventor, professor.
What is Shuji Nakamura known for?
Notable works include blue light-emitting diode.
Physicist — see all → · Engineer — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-20
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.