When I have no idea what to blog about, I cast the net to hot topics, content trends, interviews, or other resources. Today, I fully disclose that I am stealing was inspired by chief editor Maury Wright’s Friday newsletter column. And if you didn’t see that column, you may want to subscribe so you can get the News & Insights newsletter twice weekly.
Maury teased out two interesting prospects for virtual events that we have coming up, both covering LED and solid-state lighting (SSL)-based technologies in applications that can address critical needs in global society.
First, a reveal that we’ve been working toward is the conversion of our HortiCann Light + Tech conference to a fully virtual event this October. I second Maury’s sentiments that we value all of our opportunities to interact with you the audience, and to discuss the lessons of the day from every industry event that we attend, in person. However, we heard you when you responded to our surveys and inquiries that this fall, many of you would not be prepared to travel to in-person conferences. Our team has been discussing and working with our event and digital media operations colleagues to determine a productive and safe path forward for this year’s horticultural and AgTech focused conference, and our conclusion was that the optimal way to carry on this fall was with a digital-only, virtual event that will take place across Oct. 20‒21. Of course, it will be held to our usual standards of quality and value of expertise and information. We look forward to delivering more specific program news to you soon.
On our second, related note, if you haven’t been sequestered in an underground bunker over the past several months with little to no outside communication, you will agree that we’ve noted a time or two that ultraviolet (UV) radiation has gained a lot of attention for its germicidal potential during the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed, we’ve not only mentioned an uptick in interest in UV technology based on LEDs but we’ve also had to address some of the misinformation or negative capitalization on opportunity that we’re doing our best to mitigate. We’re happy to report that on June 18, we will host Robert “Bob” Karlicek , director of the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, during a live webcast. Bob has been engaging with our group and our audiences in multiple ways — from webcasts to live conference presentations to contributed articles and as an advisory board member — for some time now. He also just happens to be involved in some compelling UV-C-band research and commercialization opportunities occurring through LESA and RPI partnerships. Not only will he summarize the research but he will put to rest some fiction about UV-C and disinfection/germicidal applications while framing the realistic potential and challenges. Register now to join us live or on demand for the webcast.
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