The object
Hornbeck invented the Digital Micromirror Device, a chip containing individually switchable microscopic mirrors that direct light. It became the core hardware in DLP projection and digital cinema, translating electronic images into bright projected optical images.
01
What Larry did
Invented the Digital Micromirror Device, a semiconductor array of tilting microscopic mirrors.
02
Why it matters
NIHF documents DLP's use from pico projectors to more than 8,000 cinema screens, a concrete measure of the device's deployment.
03
Living-status check
The University of Texas at Dallas's current faculty profile identifies Hornbeck as a professor and National Academy of Engineering member, positive evidence he was alive and active when reviewed in 2026.