Groundbreakers in the field of Nanotechnology worldwide, these scientists have created new, revolutionary materials and transcendental techniques for fighting diseases, such as those related to the brain and cancer, and for producing artificial tissues and organs. Their work also stands out for its contribution to the protection of the environment and energy saving via the use of new sources of clean energy that may be produced at a low cost.

All these technological innovations and scientific discoveries are of special importance in the fight against poverty, such as the inexpensive purification of drinking water in the planet´s more underprivileged areas. The possibility of using reduced-cost, low-energy consumption sources of light in this fight is likewise worthy of mention.

Shuji Nakamura (Ehime, Japón 1954), who now holds American citizenship, is the inventor of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) or diodes that emit green, blue and white light. These constitute a revolutionary source of light that is highly efficient, has a long-life and a much reduced energy consumption than traditional sources, such as incandescent light bulbs. Considered to be the lighting of the future, LEDs have an enormous potential in underdeveloped areas which are not covered by the power supply. He has also developed ultraviolet LEDs that enable drinking water to be sterilized, which could lead to a great improvement in life and health conditions for many millions of people in the Third World.

Another of his major achievements is the blue laser, which has important applications in optoelectronics and data storage. This laser has given rise to the blu-ray technology, by means of which it is possible to increase the volume of information stored on devices like the DVD fivefold. He has published 390 articles in the most prestigious scientific journals, which have been referenced 18,936 times by his colleagues, resulting in an exceptional h-index of 108. He also has 448 patents, approved or pending.

He graduated from the University of Tokushima in 1977 with a degree in Electronic Engineering, obtaining his Ph.D from the same university in 1994. In 1979, he joined the Japanese company, Nichia, where he worked until 1999. Since then, he has been a professor and researcher at the University of California-Santa Barbara (USA).Outstanding among the awards he holds are that of the Society for Information Display (USA, 1996), the Quantum Electronics Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (USA, 2002), the Rank Prize (UK, 1998), the Benjamin Franklin Medal (USA, 2002) and the Millennium Technology Prize (Finland, 2006), considered as the Technology `Nobel prize´.