LED lamp light source of the 21st Century

Espoo Finland, December 2008

By Ater Yuot R. Amogpai

The Foundation for electronic building technology and engineering at the Helsinki University of Technology was established by the Ensto Schneider Electric Finland Company in 2004. The main objective of the foundation is to support electronic building technology students at technical universities in Finland. Therefore, the foundation is to encouraging research on new technologies such as renewable energy and light emitting diode (LED).

At the first year of my doctoral degree, my Professor Liisa Halonen nominated my thesis titled: lighting and energy usage in Sudan for the foundation award in 2008. The thesis was divided in to two main sections: energy and lighting. In energy section renewable energies such as wind, solar and hydro were proposed to produce electricity and LED to light up the homes in Sudan. 

A huge research on LED attracted scientists over the world as the best lighting technology. Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20^th Century and LED lamp proved to be the best lighting technology of the 21^st century.

In November 2008, my thesis was declared as the winner of the award in 2008 by the foundation. It was the third award since the foundation was established in 2004. The first and the second awards were announced by 2006 and 2007 respectively.

The ceremony of handing the award was fixed in December 2^nd 2018 at the premises of the Ensto Schneider Electric Finland in Espoo. From Helsinki University of Technology, my Professor Liisa Halonen, Professor Jouko Pakka and I attended the event.  Mr. Kari Laine, CEO of Schneider Electric Finland handed over the award to me. It was one of the excited moment in my life when I first own an award. The next day December 3^rd 2008 I was leaving for Khartoum since I left Sudan in April 2002. I am going home and in my hands two things: Masters’ Degree of Electrical Engineering and in other hand the award valued €2000 thousand euros.

My thesis was chosen because it addresses the typical issues such as renewable energy combined with LED lighting said Mr. Kari Laine. Though the thesis discusses these issues in different angle and that it focusses only on the Sudan but the proposal of LED as the latest lighting technology is interesting and unique. The thesis is as well contributing in knowledge of introducing LED as the best lighting application in developed and in developing countries.

Interestingly, in September 2006, the Millennium Technology Prize by Technology Academy Finland was awarded to LED research Professor Shuji Nakamura. The award which valued one (1) million euros was for his work in developing new blue bright light source, green, and blue lasers. Professor Nakamura’s work has completely revolutionized lighting industry by discovering new blue and white LED light source. The efficient and energy-saving white LED light applications will improve the quality of human life in developed and developing countries.

Professor Nakamura visited the Lighting Unit, Department of Electrical & Communications Engineering at the Helsinki University of Technology in 2006 Finland. This is the same year I joined the unit and started my LED research. I have used some of his LED research and discoveries in my thesis document. My Master’s thesis titled lighting and energy usage in Sudan was completed by 2007. I continue my LED research and I have successfully completed the doctoral dissertation titled LED lighting combined with solar panels in developing countries by 2011. During my research I have proposed LED light combined with solar energy to light up houses of those who have no access to electricity.

Amazingly, in October 2014, Professor Shuji Nakamura from University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physic “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled energy-saving white light sources”. He shared the prize which valued to SEK 8 million equivalent to US$1.1 million or €1.16 million with Isamu Akasaki, and Hiroshi Amano, from Nagoya University Japan jointly. LED lighting could increase the quality of life for over 1.5 billion people around the world who have no access to electricity services. These population have one of the lowest power requirements in the world that can be powered by cheap local solar power.

Today, LED lights are found everywhere in our daily activities: from electronic displays, cars, ships, to trains, TVs screens, smart phones screens, and from households lighting, offices lighting, to traffic lights, airports, torch lights, planes etc. In South Sudan, LED products are available in markets and are accessible whenever you want. Since 99% of the South Sudanese people has no access to electricity, my house is completely lit up with LED lights and solar panels.

In December 2011, I returned to South Sudan but did not continue LED research, instead, since 2012 I keep teaching electrical engineering courses at the department of Electrical Engineering University of Juba. Utilization of Electrical Energy is the only course where I can share and discuss with students different types of light sources including LED light and applications.

My award valued €0.002 million euros Millennium Technology Prize and €0.0006 million euros Nobel Physics Prize. Both these prestigious prizes won by Professor Shuji Nakamura on his works and invention of white LED. This is the weight of my contribution to science of LED light compared to these giant scientists who spent decades researching on LED in the field of electrical and electronics engineering. In spite of the limited time I spent on LED research five (5) years from 2006 to 2011, I can proudly say I have immersive contributed to the science of LED as one of the greatest discoveries of the 21^st Century.