Two UCSB professors, Shuji Nakamura and Steven DenBaars, have been selected for this year’s Spirit of Engineering Award, an award that celebrates innovators and their accomplishments.
Both Dr. Nakamura and Dr. DenBaars are professors of materials and electrical and computer engineering at UCSB. Dr. Nakamura, best known for his Nobel Prize achievement for the creation of the blue LED light, joined the UCSB staff in 2000 at the suggestion of Dr. DenBaars.
While on staff at UCSB together, the pair combined their expertise in science and engineering to launch multiple startups and generate new technologies that revolutionized consumer products, such as the Blu-ray DVD players and vintage-look LED filament bulbs. They also co-direct UCSB’s Solid State Lighting and Energy Electronics Center.
“We are both so honored to receive this award, which is the result of the many innovative efforts of the faculty, students and staff of the UC Santa Barbara’s Solid State Lighting & Energy Electronics Center,” Dr. DenBaars said in a statement.
Both professors will be honored in a virtual event by the Central Coast Innovation Awards March 25.
— Madison Hirneisen
