Akasaki won the 2014 prize with two other scientists, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura. Together they developed the blue light-emitting diode, described as a "revolutionary" invention by the Nobel jury.
Red and green diodes had been around for a long time, but devising a blue LED was the holy grail, as all three colours need to be mixed to recreate the white light of the Sun. As well as providing the missing piece of the puzzle for bright white lamps, their breakthrough also helped develop the colour LED screens used in smartphones and a plethora of modern tech.
Born in 1929 in Kagoshima in southern Japan, Akasaki graduated from the prestigious Kyoto University in 1952.
We lost a brilliant light to the night.
赤崎勇. Canada has only one less laureate compared to Japan. But here is the real difference: Japan had quite a few laureates in most recent decades, but Canada stopped a while back. We went from a powerhouse to just average on world stage, especially when it comes to science.
He invented a bulb so what