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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Nick Holonyak Jr., Ph.D., who passed
4away on September 18, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak was born in Zeigler on November 3,
61928; he worked on the Illinois Central Railroad before
7attending college; he studied electrical engineering,
8obtaining his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from
9the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; while earning
10his degrees, he studied under two-time Nobel Laureate John
11Bardeen, who selected him for a Texas Instruments fellowship
12with Gordon Teal in 1953; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak went to work for Bell Labs with
14John Moll on a number of silicon devices, including
15transistors; he continued to work in solid state science and
16was employed by the U.S. Army Signal Corps and General
17Electric; on October 9, 1962, he demonstrated the first
18visible-light-emitting diode at General Electric through
19creating crystals of gallium arsenide phosphide to make an LED
20emit visible red light; his work led to the development of the
21first practical visible-spectrum LED, which is now commonly
22used worldwide in light bulbs, device displays, and lasers;
23and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak returned to the University of
2Illinois (U of I) as a professor in 1963; he and his students
3demonstrated the first quantum-well laser in 1977, which is
4now used in fiber optics, CD and DVD players, and medical
5diagnostic devices; more recently, he developed a technique to
6bend light within gallium arsenide chips, a development which
7allows computer chips to transmit information by light rather
8than electricity; with fellow U of I professor Milton Feng, he
9also developed the transistor laser, a transistor with both
10light and electric outputs that could enable next-generation,
11high-speed communications technologies; he was named the John
12Bardeen Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering
13and Physics at the U of I in 1993; he later retired from his
14position as a faculty member in 2013; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak was the author of two scientific
16books, Semiconductor Controlled Rectifiers in 1964 and
17Physical Properties of Semiconductors in 1989; he also held 41
18patents; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak was a member of the National
20Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and
21the National Academy of Inventors; he was a fellow of the
22American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International
23Electrical and Electronic Engineering Society, the American

 

 

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1Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America (OSA),
2which became Optica; he was also a foreign member of the
3Russian Academy of Sciences; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak received numerous awards for his
5contributions to science, including OSA's Charles Hard Townes
6Award in 1992, the National Academy of Sciences' Award for the
7Industrial Application of Science in 1993, the Japan Prize in
81995, the Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize in 2001,
9the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Medal
10of Honor in 2003, Russia's Global Energy Prize in 2003, the
11Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2004, the National Academy of
12Engineering's Draper Prize in 2015, and the Queen Elizabeth
13Prize for Engineering in 2021; he was honored by President
14George H. W. Bush with the National Medal of Science in 1990
15and by President George W. Bush with the National Medal of
16Technology and Innovation in 2002; he became the namesake of
17the Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award by Optica in 1997, which is
18presented to an individual who has made significant
19contributions to optics based on semiconductor-based optical
20devices and materials, including basic science and
21technological applications; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak was a humble innovator who was
23known for his research, his excellence in mentorship, and his
24dedication to his students; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak is survived by his wife of 60
2years, Katherine; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
5Nick Holonyak Jr., Ph.D., and extend our sincere condolences
6to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be
7it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9presented to the family of Nick Holonyak as an expression of
10our deepest sympathy.