Who was Nick Holonyak Jr.?

1962 Cordiner Award, GE (first visible spectrum semiconductor laser)

1973 Morris N. Liebmann Award (IEEE) - "for outstanding contributions to the field of visible light emitting diodes and diode lasers"

1973 Member US National Academy of Engineering

1967 and 1974 invited guest of the Soviet Academy of Sciences

1975 John Scott Award (City of Philadelphia) - "for his inventions leading to the first practical light emitting diode"

1976 GaAs Symposium Award with Welker Medal

1977 University of Illinois Center for Advanced Study

1981 Jack A. Morton Award (IEEE)

1983 Electrochemical Society's Solid State Science and Technology Award

1984 Member US National Academy of Sciences

1984 Fellow American Academy of Arts and Sciences

1988 Monie Ferst Award of Sigma Xi (the Research Society)

1989 Edison Medal (IEEE)

1990 National Medal of Science (U.S.)

1992 Charles Hard Townes Award (Optical Society of America)

1992 Doctor of Science (Honorary Degree, Northwestern University)

1992 Honorary Member of the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute (St. Petersburg)

1993 John Bardeen Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics

1993 National Academy of Sciences Award for the Industrial Application of Science

1993 ASEE Centennial Medal

1993 American Electronics Association 50th Anniversary Award ("Inventing America's Future")

1994 Life Member (Fellow) of IEEE

1994 Vladimir Karapetoff Eminent Members' Award of Eta Kappa Nu

1994 Doctor of Engineering (Honorary Degree, Notre Dame University)

1995 John Bardeen Award (The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, TMS)

1995 Fellow International Engineering Consortium (IEC)

1995 Japan Prize - "for outstanding contributions to research and practical applications of light emitting diodes and lasers through pioneering achievements in the understanding of physical principles and in the process technology of intermetallic compound semiconductors"

1997 Optical Society of America Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award established

1998 Eminent Member of Eta Kappa Nu

1999 Distinguished Alumnus of Tau Beta Pi

1999 Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences

2000 IEEE Third Millennium Medal

2001 Frederic Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America - "for pioneering work in the field of semiconductor lasers and LEDs"

2003 Fellow of American Association Advancement Science

2003 Global Energy International Prize (Russia, 15 June 2003)

2003 IEEE Medal of Honor (21 June 2003) - "for a career of pioneering contributions to semiconductors, including the growth of semiconductor alloys and heterojunctions, and to visible-light-emitting diodes and injection lasers"

2003 National Medal of Technology (2002 Medal, awarded 6 Nov 2003)

2004 Washington Award (Western Society of Engineers, 27 Feb 2004)

2004 Lemelson-MIT Prize (23 April 2004)

2004 MRS Von Hippel Award

2004 Izaak Walton League of America Illinois Division Energy Conservation Award

2005 Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois

2006 Member of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Hall of Fame

2008 National Inventors Hall of Fame (Announced 14 February 2008)

2010 The Engineering at Illinois Hall of Fame (23 April 2010)

2011 Engineering and Science Hall of Fame (Dayton, OH, 3 November 2011)

2012 Chancellor’s Medallion (Champaign-Urbana, IL, October 24, 2012)

2012 Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) (February 2013)

2013 LED Pioneer Awards of Strategies Unlimited (12-14 February 2013)

2013 Outstanding Achievement for Global SSL Development (Beijing, China, 11 November 2013)

2014 The Sarnoff Citation from the Radio Club of America (The 105th Annual Awards Banquet November 22, 2014).

2015 The National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE’s) 2015 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering “for the invention, development, and commercialization of materials and processes for light-emitting diodes (LEDs)” (Announced 6 January 2015. Prize receptions 24 February 2015).

2015 University of Illinois Alumni Association (UIAA) Achievement Award (16 March 2015).

2016 Honorary Member of Optical Society (OSA) (17-21 October 2016).

2017 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering (The Franklin Institute) “for the development of the first visible (red) laser and LED used in displays and lighting, and the use of various alloys in colored light sources, which led to reduced energy consumption worldwide and contributed to the realization of optical data communications as the backbone of the Internet.” (1-5 May 2017).

2017 Progress Award of Photographic Society of America “the Inventor and creator of the first viable (LED) Light Emitting Diode” (14 October 2017).

2018 AAAS lifetime member for the longstanding and loyal support of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (21 February 2018)

2019 Creator of the Year Committee of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC) (7 May 2019).

2019 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign rename Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MNTL) in his honor, Nick Holonyak, Jr. Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (11 June 2019).

2019 Honorary Grand Marshal for Parade of Lights, Champaign Center (26 November 2019).

2021 The 2021 Queen Elizabeth Prize (QEPrize) for Engineering “for the creation and development of LED lighting, which forms the basis of all solid-state lighting technology.” Along with Professor Holonyak, M. George Craford, Russell Dupuis, Isamu Akasaki and Shuji Nakamura are also recognized not only for the global impact of LED and solid state lighting but also for the tremendous contribution the technology has made, and will continue to make, to reducing energy consumption and addressing climate change (London, UK). (Announced Tuesday 2 February 2021).

WHEREAS, you, sir, have made a signal contribution to the progress of science and technology and to the prosperity and peace of mankind through science and technology, in recognition of your distinguished contributions, the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan has the privilege and honor to bestow upon you the Japan Prize.
Tokyo, April 27, 1995
The S & T F of Japan,
Prof. Jiro Kondo, Chairman

The Building

Few alumni of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have gone on to change the world in the way Holonyak has with his invention of the LED. In 2019, the Board of Trustees voted to rename the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MNTL) in order to celebrate his legacy as an alumnus, a professor, and a revolutionary in the field of electrical engineering.