Engineering professor Nick Holonyak is one of five people awarded the 2015 Draper Prize for being pioneers of light-emitting diode, better known as LED, technology.

Among the other recipients are two University almuni, George Craford and Russell Dupuis, who were also Holonyak’s students.

Holonyak created the red LED light in 1962, becoming the first ever to pioneer LED technology.

The $500,000 prize is given by the National Academy of Engineering and is sponsored by the Massachusetts-based Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, a nonprofit research organization.

According to the laboratory’s website, the Draper Prize is awarded with the intent to “honor those who have contributed to the advancement of engineering and to improve public understanding of the importance of engineering and technology.”

Holonyak has made many contributions to engineering but this one in particular has made it’s mark on several aspects of everyday life. Common uses for LED technology include traffic lights and flashlights.

LED technology, which is used in traffic lights and flashlights, created a $17.7 billion global industry, according to the website. LED lights also have a high efficiency and benefit the environment, the website states.

The Draper Prize is not Holonyak’s first award for his success in engineering. He holds a number of other awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science, which he was awarded in 1990 for his work with semiconductor materials and solid-state science and technology.

“I’ve been doing this stuff for 60 years,” Holonyak said. “So I’ve worked on a lot of things, and I don’t specifically look at just one.”

Holonyak said he believes education is one of the driving forces behind his success.

“You could do a lot of things that go wrong,” he said, “but your education is more or less permanent.”