Jerry Woodall

Who is Jerry Woodall?

Jerry Woodall is an American inventor and scientist best known for his invention of the first commercially viable heterojunction material GaAlAs for red LEDs used in automobile brake lights and traffic lights, CD and DVD players, TV remote controls and computer networks. He is a recipient of US National Medal of Technology and Innovation for "his pioneeriong role in the research and development of compound semiconductor materials and devices..."

Born in Washington, DC, Woodall received a BS in Metallurgy from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960 and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University in 1982. He worked at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center where he was appointed IBM Fellow in 1985.