Welcome to the LEDs Magazine News & Insights newsletter for Sept. 30, 2020. I’m writing this column in the aftermath of the first day of our “Renaissance of light quality: SSL industry swaps focus from efficiency to architecture” event. Our first multi-session virtual conference was almost more stressful than holding an in-person event, although the in-person event would mean a much longer workday. Time zones limit how much you can fit in a virtual day. But I digress...
I think day one of our event went very well. I’d love to hear your opinion. We had a few technical glitches, but they were minimal. I also got quite a surprise. Our Carrie Meadows not only helped out in organizing presentations today and keeping things running smoothly, she also found time to write a news article on highlights of the day. The good news is that you can still catch the archive if you missed the live event.
Sessions will continue Wednesday morning likely about the time this email hits your inbox. Again, I would highly recommend that you catch the Closing Plenary, if you have time for nothing else. Just listening in on a rehearsal with former Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda, Los Angeles-based designer Chip Israel, and Acuity executive Sero Cardamone was amazing. Our LEDs Magazine team owes Michael Kershner of Innovative Lighting Consultants for planning and executing the session. Register and catch the discussion at 4:00 PM Eastern.
In terms of other news, we have had a tough time seeing beyond our own event this week. I did take the time to write yet another germicidal ultraviolet (UV) LED story. Crystal IS and the Boston University (BU) National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) have detailed data on UV-C irradiance levels and dosage needed to deactivate SARS-CoV-2. I remain amazed at how much UV-C research has happened in such a short period of time.
Our Mark Halper also reported on a joint venture between Osram and Continental in the automotive space being disbanded. That auto-lighting-centric joint venture was announced in the summer of 2018. Halper wrote that a slowdown related to the pandemic in auto sales was a major factor in the abandonment. But as we have documented, Osram also has been through major changes in being acquired by ams. That saga continues, as Halper reported last week that a domination vote is now scheduled for Nov. 3.
We have an optics-oriented webcast coming your way on Oct. 13. The topic is optically clear silicone. Dow will present, and the company’s silicone-oriented webcasts have been amazingly popular over the years, revealing a number of applications that other materials simply can’t serve.
You will find many more stories of interest in the body of today’s newsletter. And always feel free to contact me to discuss content we post or to pitch a contributed article.
- Maury Wright, (858) 748-6785, [email protected]