Brilliant!: Shuji Nakamura And the Revolution in Lighting Technology

by Bob Johnstone

A revolution in the way we use artificial lighting is underway, one that is every bit as sweeping and significant as Edison’s invention of the light bulb. The technology of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is ready for widespread implementation. Its impacts will include a reduction in energy consumption for electric lighting by up to 80 percent.Brilliant! tells the story of Shuji Nakamura, a gifted Japanese engineer who came out of nowhere to stun the world with his announcement that he had created the last piece in the puzzle needed for manufacturing solid-state white lights. The invention of this holy-grail product, which promises to make Edison’s light bulb obsolete, had eluded the best minds at the top electronic firms for twenty-five years. Until his startling announcement, Nakamura had not even been on the radar screen of most industry observers. Veteran technology writer Bob Johnstone traces the career of Nakamura, which included many years of obstinate individual effort as well as a dramatic legal battle pitting him against his former Japanese employer. Over a five-year span, Nakamura distinguished himself with an unprecedented series of inventions—bright blue, green, ultraviolet, and then white LEDs, plus a blue laser that will play an essential role in the next-generation DVD players. Then he was forced to leave Nichia Chemical, the company where he had worked for twenty years, and his former employer sued him. The result was a multimillion-dollar settlement in a landmark decision that acknowledged, for the first time, the rights of individual inventors working in a corporate context. Today, Nakamura holds a professor’s chair at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he continues to develop the technology of LEDs. Johnstone, the first Western journalist to meet and interview Nakamura, has received the brilliant engineer’s full cooperation through a series of exclusive interviews given for the book. Johnstone has also interviewed other key players in the imminent lighting revolution, providing an exciting preview of the technological, entrepreneurial, and artistic creativity that will soon be unleashed by Nakamura’s inventions.

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Edo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very amazing story about an inpiring person. Shuji Nakamura is a rare kind of figure that ever appeared in modern scientific world. People thought that the era of lone inventor like Tesla is long gone, and scientific work is mostly done by a pack of scientist and technician. Nakamura appeared in the field as individual inventor, an unknown inventor, from a small obscure company that based on an obscure rural Japan. Working by himself in almost total isolation, he showed the world the most sought after stuff in solid state lighting, the Bright Blue LED. In the field where it's impossible to keep a technique as secret, and every discovery can be replicated quickly by other researcher, Nakamura managed to be years ahead from his competitors.
Bob Johnstone write a comprehensive story with captivating narrative about Nakamura's struggle to achieve his dream. Not only about the life of Nakamura, this book also show the big picture of the solid state lighting industry by telling the impeccably researched history of solid state lighting.

[Steven Vollmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

First the good. I love the story of Shuji Nakamura. I first learned about his impact through a Veritasium video on YouTube and was in awe of his grit and determination. His originality to pursue gallium nitride when every other expert said it was a lost cause is an inspiration. Very rarely is an inventor a sole inventor, but Shuji seems to stand with the likes of the Wright Brothers in earning this title.

If this book had kept its scope to Shuji’s story, I would have rated it higher. However, the somewhat juvenile writing style and the clunky pacing knocked it down for me. The book careens from Shuji’s story to startup companies and nonprofits from the early 2000s that used solid state lighting. While Shuji’s impact on the world is only really felt after understanding how his bright LEDs made it into almost every home and car, I think this book could have told that part more efficiently.

In summary, Shuji’s story of grit and ingenuity is inspiring, but so ending half of the book away from Shuji felt unnecessary.

[Beth Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography combined with enough science, information about related people, and societal information to really understand why what Nakamura did was so fantastic and so impactful. I hadn't realized how much LED lighting had changed before the bulbs started coming into our homes and not how much of having these full features were dependent on one man's breakthroughs. I really enjoyed this book and am keeping it to look at again later.

[Yuvaraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

As named in title the book was written brilliantly covering the technical and historical facts correctly. The life of Nakamura was inspiring. This is a must read book for Budding scientists and engineers.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring story about the amazing impact that new technologies can have on developed and developing countries. Also, a nice peek into the Japanese perspective of innovation and the employee-employer relationship. Shuji Nakamura is a truly inspiring character!

[Lee Belbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome story. Top science read. A true must read. History of the development of the bright white LED