Enchanted journey in blues

4/21/2010 10:32 AM EDT

Nagoya University professor Isamu Akasaki, winner of the 2009 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology, will speak on his "Enchanted Journeys in Blue Light" at the the Kyoto Prize Symposium in San Diego April 22.

Akasaki's pioneering work on gallium nitride nucleation on sapphire substrates, along with his demonstration of p-type doping, resulted in the blue LEDs and blue lasers used today in everything from DVD players to solid-state lighting.

Its sponsor is the Inamori Foundation, established by Kazuo Inamori, who founded both Kyocera and KDDI Corp.

We salute Akasaki-san.

Meanwhile Chuck Swoboda, Cree's chairman and CEO, said that his firm achieved record revenue for its fiscal third quarter due to strong LED demand.

"The LED lighting revolution continues to gain momentum and we remain focused on extending our leadership position while we build the scale, cost structure and channels to win in the market," Swoboda said.

That's the white LED side.

So, how significant are blue LEDs and blue lasers in industrial automation?

Let us know.