Last week, Dr. Ching W. Tang, the Academician of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong was the guest of honor at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) for the 219th SUSTech Lecture Series. He spoke about “The History of OLED Technology and Development.”
Academician Ching W. Tang is a professor at the East Asia Bank of the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), an honorary professor at the University of Rochester, a founding member of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a member of the American Inventor Hall of Fame. He was a research scientist at the Kodak Research Laboratory between 1975 and 2006. His most famous inventions are OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) and organic solar cells. These inventions laid the foundation for modern organic electronics research. He also won numerous awards such as the 2011 Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the 2018 NEC C&C Award.
In the early 1980s, Professor Ching W. Tang discovered OLEDs in Kodak’s laboratory. Through the decades that followed, academia and industry developed new display technologies based on OLEDs. This is now recognized as the most important display technology today. In his lecture, Professor Ching W. Tang introduced the technical advantages of an OLED display, compared to LCD displays. He also spoke about the use of OLEDs in VR technology and their recent use in folding screen technology. OLEDs have numerous applications in wearable devices, where their picture quality and fast response pairs well with their electronic efficiency, light weight and long life span.
Professor Ching W. Tang also spoke about the history of materials development in OLEDs. He also introduced many scientists and their research achievements in this field. Professor Deng Qingyun covered the structure of OLED display devices, along with the future challenges and opportunities for OLED technology.
The Q&A session that followed the lecture was high-spirited. Professor Ching W. Tang finished his lecture with a message to the faculty and students: “Observation and experimentation is the basis of invention. Do invention with courage, ambition and freedom.”
