Who matters now?

The light-emitting diode is poised to become the new lightbulb, and for that, Edmond deserves much of the credit.

At Cree, the LED manufacturer he helped start two decades ago, Edmond is pushing the technology into the mainstream. With 22 percent of the nation's energy spent keeping the lights on, an LED bulb can burn for almost six years before replacement and can use less energy than a compact fluorescent.

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