Jerry M. Woodall 

Jerry M. Woodall served as a microelectronics professor from 1993 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2012. This prolific inventor and scientist is renowned for his groundbreaking invention of the first commercially viable heterojunction material for red LED lights, which enabled technologies including automobile brake lights, traffic lights, CD and DVD players, TV remote controls, and computer networks. Woodall holds an impressive portfolio of more than 80 patents. He has received numerous accolades, including recognition from IBM and NASA, as well as a National Medal of Technology and Innovation awarded in 2001.