is a Japanese

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and inventor specializing in the field of

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

technology. For his work he was awarded the 2014

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

together with

Isamu Akasaki was a Japanese engineer and physicist, specializing in the field of semiconductor technology and Nobel Prize laureate, best known for inventing the bright gallium nitride ( GaN) p-n junction blue LED in 1989 and subsequently the high-brightness ...

and

Shuji Nakamura is a Japanese-born American electronic engineer and inventor specializing in the field of semiconductor technology, professor at the Materials Department of the College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and is rega ...

for "the invention of efficient blue

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (co ...

s which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources". Amano was elected as a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2016 for the development of p-type gallium nitride (GaN) doping, enabling blue semiconductor LEDs.

Early life and education

Amano was born in Hamamatsu, Japan, on September 11, 1960. He received his BE, ME and DE degree in 1983, 1985 and 1989, respectively, from Nagoya University. During elementary school days, he played soccer as a goalkeeper and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

as a catcher. He was also passionate about amateur radio and despite hating studying, he was good at mathematics. Upon entering high school, he began taking his studies seriously and became a top student by studying every day late into the night.

Career

Blue light emitting diodes over a proto-board

From 1988 to 1992, he was a research associate at Nagoya University. In 1992, he moved to

Meijo University is a private university in Japan. Its main campus is in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, and it has two other campuses in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. It had two faculty members who were Nobel laureates as of 2021. History The name Meijō ...

, where he was an assistant professor. From 1998 to 2002, He was an associate professor. In 2002, he became a professor. In 2010, he moved to the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, where he is currently a professor. He joined Professor

's group in 1982 as an undergraduate student. Since then, he has been doing research on the growth, characterization and device applications of group III

nitride In chemistry, a nitride is an inorganic compound of nitrogen. The "nitride" anion, N3- ion, is very elusive but compounds of nitride are numerous, although rarely naturally occuring. Some nitrides have a find applications, such as wear-resistant ...

semiconductors, which are well known as materials used in blue light-emitting diodes today. In 1985, he developed low-temperature deposited buffer layers for the growth of group III nitride semiconductor films on a sapphire substrate, which led to the realization of group-III-nitride semiconductor based light-emitting diodes and laser diodes. In 1989, he succeeded in growing p-type GaN and fabricating a p-n-junction-type GaN-based UV/blue light-emitting diode for the first time in the world. Known to be keen on research, Amano's laboratory was always lit late at night, such as weekdays, holidays, New Year's Day, and was called "no night castle". According to his students in the laboratory, Amano has an optimistic and temperate personality, and is never angry.

Awards

Shuji Nakamura Hiroshi Amano and Isamu Akasaki 20141208

* 1994 – Fifth Optoelectronics Conference A Special Award * 1996 – IEEE/LEOS Engineering Achievement Award * 1998 – Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Award for the best review paper * 1998 – British Rank Prize * 2001 – Marubun Academic Award * 2002 –

Takeda Award The Takeda Foundation, is an organisation based in Japan. In 2001 it launched an annual awards program, which presented awards accompanied by 100 million yen under the categories social/economic well-being, individual/humanity well-being, and ...

* 2003 – SSDM Award * 2004 –

TITech is a national research university located in Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Tokyo Tech is the largest institution for higher education in Japan dedicated to science and technology, one of first five Designated National University and selected as ...

精密工学研究所第1回P＆Iパテント・オブ・ザ・イヤー * 2008 – 日本結晶成長学会論文賞 * 2014 – APEX/JJAP Editorial Contribution Award der Japan Society of Applied Physics * 2014 –

* 2015 – Chu-Nichi Culture Prize * 2015 – Special Achievement Award,

Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers The is a Japanese institute specializing in the areas of electronic, information and communication engineering and associated fields. Its headquarters are located in Tokyo, Japan. It is a membership organization with the purpose of advancing ...

* 2015 – Prizes for Science and Technology (Research Category) by the

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan. ...

* 2015 – 産学官連携功労者表彰日本学術会議会長賞 * 2015 –

Asia Game Changer Award The Asia Game Changer Awards is an annual award ceremony held in recognition of individuals and organizations within and connected to the Asian community that have made positive contributions to the development and improvement of Asia and societ ...

Honors

* 2009 – Fellow,

Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) is a Japanese group of researchers in the field of applied physics. JSAP originated in 1932 from a voluntary forum of researchers belonging to the University of Tokyo and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research. During World War ...

* 2009 – Nistep (National Institute of Science and Technology Policy) Researcher from the Ministry of Education of Japan * 2011 – Fellow,

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

* 2014 – Person of Cultural Merit, the Japanese Government * 2014 –

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

, the Japanese Emperor * 2015 – Honorary citizenship of Shizuoka prefecture * 2015 – Honorary citizenship of Hamamatsu City * 2015 – Aichi Prefecture Academic Honors * 2015 – Nagoya City Academic Honors * 2015 – Honorary Fellow, Japan Sweden Society * 2015 – Honorary citizenship of Aichi prefecture * 2015 – 丸八会顕彰 * 2016 – Foreign Member of the

* 2019 - Foreign members of the

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

* 2022 - Members of the

Japan Academy The Japan Academy ( Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is ...

日本学士院会員の選定について , 日本学士院
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Family

Amano's wife is a Japanese lecturer at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Selected publications

* * * * * * I. Akasaki, H. Amano, K. Itoh, N. Koide & K. Manabe, Int. Phys. Conf. Ser. 129, 851 (1992). *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amano, Hiroshi Living people Nagoya University faculty 1960 births Japanese Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Physics 21st-century Japanese physicists People from Hamamatsu Recipients of the Order of Culture Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Members of the Japan Academy Amateur radio people Asia Game Changer Award winners Fellows of the American Physical Society Nagoya University alumni