"Father of the blue LED" the source of success from the "anger"?

Dialogues:

Nakamura Shuji was born on May 22, 1954 in Ikata, Japan, the Japanese American scientist Professor of electronic engineering, Department of Materials Engineering College of University of California-Santa Barbara. Due to outstanding achievements in the Blu ray LED, in the village known as the "blue LED" father, won the PeopleSoft Memorial Prize, Britain's top science award in 2003, the U.S. National Academy of engineering. In 2014, he and Akasaki Yong, Amano Hiroshi won the Nobel prize in physics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said: "for 1 billion 500 million of the world's population has not been able to benefit from the grid, the new light source to bring a higher quality of life. "

Dialogue background

"Anger is the motivation of all of us, and if I don't hold my breath, I will not succeed. "Nakamura Shuji, like his famous words, always seems to be angry."". July 28th at 5 in the afternoon, Nakamura Shuji was invited to visit Xi'an Jiao Tong University, and lectures for teachers and students.

Was a young technician, of not being taken seriously, is called "eat plain white rice"

China Daily: do you want to be a scientist when you are young?

Nakamura Shuji: actually, I used to dream is to be a happy daddy. In college I have been married, do not abandon the career for life because, when I graduated in 1979 to give up large city jobs, choose a wife home Tokushima County named Nichia chemical enterprise. As a little technician, I study in the breakthrough of not being taken seriously, called "eat plain white rice", every time the boss see I would say, why haven't you quit? Shake me up.

In order to prove myself, I decided to choose the development of high brightness blue light-emitting diode. In 1988, I went to the United States to study the crystal growth technology required to make the blue light diode. But I didn't send a paper since the company didn't allow me to do so. I communicate with colleagues at work, research led people to ask me for a whole year, indifferent, not a good memory.

Although in the past many years, but again I recall, they had to treat me as a layman, because of this attitude to anger, I climb the heights of science.

China Daily: what is your struggle history?

Nakamura Shuji: after returning to Japan, the new president asked me to stop LED, converted to electronic components. I can only hide from the company, secretly continue to study, and in the key progress of the papers. Papers in Europe and the United States researchers caused a great response, but in Japan is not recognized. It was not until November 30, 1993, when my anger, blue light emitting diode, media interviews, users and other companies in the industry, made the company's phone ringing like an alarm clock. Last week, the president finally found: "is such a great achievement? "

Battle with the old club, won 840 million yen compensation

China Daily: I heard that you have worked with the company had 20 years of disputes?

Nakamura Shuji: then the invention has just come out, then the company's name Nichia patent, and began mass production of the sale of blue light-emitting diodes, has become the world's largest LED company. But I was the inventor of all the reward is only twenty thousand yen (about RMB 1141), overseas colleagues laugh at me in the village of slaves".

Later, Yang Zuyou, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of California-Santa Barbara, flew to Japan to invite me, and I configured a research team. Then I resigned from Nichia but refused to sign the "guarantee, research" is no longer engaged in the blue LED within 3 years of the contract, the work in this company for 20 years and I couldn't get a pension. After they rejected again, with leakage of business secrets, take me to court.

In 2004, I to the Tokyo District Court sued Nichia, asking them to pay compensation method. Then I won the lawsuit, the court should pay me compensation Nichia 20 billion yen (about 1 billion 140 million yuan). Eventually, the amount has shrunk to 840 million yen (about RMB 47 million 930 thousand).

After winning the Nobel prize, life has not changed

China Daily: after you won the Nobel prize, how do you feel? Life has not changed?

Nakamura Shuji: the dream of making LED lights can be a reality. But generally speaking, my life has not changed since I won the Nobel prize. I've won a lot of prizes, it's the highest award, but it doesn't make any difference to my work. Now, I started my own company.

China Daily: you said anger is the biggest reason for your success. As a scientist, the most should adhere to what?

Nakamura Shuji: scientists should be brave enough to try new things and create new things, while focusing on what they are interested in. Scientific research should have an attitude of problem solving, just like solving puzzles. For even though many years of effort have been able to solve a problem, new problems arise every minute. So interest is crucial for scientific research. Scientific research is not boring, I like to solve problems, and often think deeply.

China Daily: do you have any hobbies? Have you ever tasted any food in Xi'an? What are your expectations for the future?