Rice University PhD Candidate Receives $25,000 Prize

Nichia announced the winner in essay competition, Nichia's Search for the Next Big Thing.

Nichia places a high value on environmental responsibility and strives to pursue products that offer superior performance through technology but limit impact on the environment. In July, Nichia set out to recognize the next generation of scientists and engineers by asking future innovators how electronics can contribute to environmental solutions. Students in the U.S., Japan, and U.K. were asked to write and submit an essay on this topic.

Rice University PhD candidate Syed Asif Hassan has been awarded the $25,000 prize for his innovative essay outlining his idea to tap into idle time on wireless communications devices to help predict the behavior of large-scale chaotic systems such as global weather patterns and ocean currents.

Hassan had a multinational upbringing and worked in software development before enrolling in Texas's Rice University to pursue a PhD in Theoretical Physics. He has long thought that the idle time on personal computers and wireless communications devices could be put to better use. Nichia's essay contest triggered the idea that the idle time could be used to help track weather patterns, and he believes that Nichia's reputation as the leading developer of LED backlighting on cellular devices puts the company in a unique position to advance his idea. With recent international weather-related tragedies such as the tsunami in Thailand and the hurricanes hitting America's Gulf Coast, Hassan believes willingness among cellular companies and consumers to offer idle time on their devices for environmental research will be high.