Nick Holonyak
Inventor
Inventor of the light emitting diode, who came to be called the 'father of the LED.' He has been given awards by George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Emperor Akihito of Japan and Vladimir Putin and in 2008 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
He graduated from the University of Illinois with a M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering.
In 1963 he told Reader's Digest that LEDs would replace Edison's incandescent bulbs - and he was right.
He married Katherine Holonyak in 1956; they had three children.
George Bush and his son George W. Bush both presented him awards for his life's work.