Pallab Bhattacharya, James R. Mellor Professor of Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has received the Nicholas Holonyak Jr. Award, which honors an individual who has made significant contributions to optics based on semiconductor materials, including basic science and technological applications. The endowed award, originally made possible by Spectra Diode Labs, Inc., was created to honor Nicholas Holonyak, Jr., who has made distinguished contributions to the field of optics through the development of semiconductor-based light-emitting diodes and semiconductor lasers.