LCD pioneer Shin-Tson Wu named to Florida Inventors Hall of Fame

SPIE Fellow Shin-Tson Wu, Pegasus professor of optics in the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida (CREOL) and a pioneer in the development of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used in smart phones, computer monitors and television screens everywhere, is among six inventors named as the first inductees of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.

Wu's contributions to liquid-crystal research and the resulting patent portfolio for next-generation LCDs, adaptive optics, laser-beam steering, biophotonics, and new photonic materials, have had a major impact on display technology worldwide.

His most significant development is the mixed-mode twisted nematic LC cell, which is an integral part of high-resolution, high-contrast reflective and transflective LCDs, including direct-view, projection and wearable displays. His technologies have enabled new types of optical beam-control devices and have impacted many who have ever used an LCD product.

Wu is joined in the inaugural class by innovation heavyweights including Thomas Edison; William Glenn, the inventor of the high-definition camera for NASA; and Shyam Mohapatra, whose nano-HIV detection kit provides a diagnosis in just 20 seconds.

Wu, who holds a PhD in laser physics from University of Southern California (USA), serves on the program committee for the Emerging Liquid Crystal Technologies conference at SPIE OPTO, part of SPIE Photonics West, and is an SPIE course instructor for liquid crystals for displays and telecommunications.

The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for 10 September.

More information:

• UCF press release
• Florida Inventors Hall of Fame press release
• Florida Inventors Hall of Fame
• Shin-Tson Wu's profile on SPIE.org