Now in its sixth year, the LEDs Magazine Sapphire Awards has annually recognized the contributions of the LED and solid-state lighting (SSL) supply chain in producing high-performance, quality engineered components and systems into the commercial distribution stream. Each year, a team composed of LEDs Magazine staff, Strategies in Light advisory board members, and other colleagues collaborate to deliver an awards program that culminates in acknowledging the finest innovations in SSL technology. The 2020 Sapphire Awards winners will be announced on Feb. 12, 2020.
The 2020 awards also bring a change in the presentation venue — moving from a ballroom to the deck of the historic aircraft carrier Midway. “Coming into our sixth year, we knew that we would want to focus on the quality of the nominated products and their role in pushing the industry to perform better and seek new levels of engineering and design ingenuity,” said chief editor Maury Wright. “We simplified the ceremony and pursued an inspirational venue that offers an environment which encourages industry peers to socialize and celebrate together, and share their experiences with colleagues in a more casual atmosphere.” Still, the stars are the innovators, and he continued, “I’m pleased to see that there have been many exciting advances in products that push the boundaries beyond simply providing illumination that serves, and instead delivers improved quality of experience.”
Lighting the way into 2020
Indeed, each year a common thread emerges with the submissions, and this year was no exception. The 2020 entries reflected a renewed focus on improving light quality and the granular control capabilities afforded by digital lighting. During last year’s program discussions, several panelists commented that, now that the initial wave of LEDification had passed, the SSL industry needed to focus on refinement and engineering quality products with features which would enhance the lighting experience or the specialty application for a more future-proof design. It appears that the industry has absorbed that message and responded accordingly.
The LEDs Magazine and Endeavor LED & Lighting Network team thanks its judges for their valuable time in evaluating this year’s entries.
Illumineer finalists break barriers
Innovation lies at the heart of every Illumineer of the Year nomination, along with a passion to exceed performance expectations and drive SSL capabilities into new applications or form factors. Nominees are evaluated based on the perceived level of viability and impact their contributions have made or will continue to make on the growth prospects of LED and SSL as a technology market. Finalists for Illumineer of the Year include:
• Shinya Matsuda, manager, lighting LED development engineering; Naofumi Sumitani, manager, lighting & automotive LED development; and Koji Kajikawa, manager, Phosphor R&D Center, Nichia Corporation — Development team leaders for Optisolis, Vitasolis, and single-LES [light-emitting surface] tunable 757 LED
• Karin Dankis, director, product management and engineering, Heliospectra — Development leader for SIERA and MITRA horticultural LED systems
• Kory Liszt and Bob Rogers, software engineering managers, Cree Lighting — Software development leaders for Cadiant dynamic skylight
Read more about the Illumineer nominees’ submissions in our earlier website announcement.
Prepare to celebrate
The finalists will be recognized at the Sapphire Awards reception aboard the Midway in San Diego, CA during the week of Strategies in Light. This year’s celebration will begin at 7:30 PM with tapas and cocktails. Magician Nick Ivory will entertain guests with illusions during the cocktail reception. Winners will be announced from 8:00–9:00 PM, with time for additional networking and exploring the museum after the ceremony. The USS Midway presents an interesting historical venue with its many exhibits and portrayals of military history.
Purchase your tickets to join us and celebrate your peers on the flight deck via the Sapphire Awards website.
SAPPHIRE AWARDS PRODUCT FINALISTS
Packaged LEDs and OLEDs
• Bridgelux — Thrive™
• Nichia Corporation — Vitasolis (NF2W757GT-V3F1 Rv—-)
• Osram Opto Semiconductors — OSCONIQ® S 3030 Quantum Dot
• Samsung Electronics — LM302N (SPMWH3326FC5FBU0S0)
Tunable White LEDs and Light Engines
• ERP Power — LT3E LED Driver featuring Tri-mode Dimming with Integrated Tunable White Light Engine
• ERP Power — LTM3 Tunable Color Light Engine with ALPM Araya5 Logic and Power Module featuring Wired and Wireless Digital Control
• Lumileds — LUXEON Fusion
• Samsung Electronics — Samsung T-series (SPHWHAHDNH25YZWPT1)
LED Drivers
• Bridgelux — Vesta® Flex
• Inventronics — EUM-DT Series, Next Generation Class P LED Drivers
• Mean Well USA Inc. — HVGC-1000
• Universal Lighting Technologies — EVERLINE® PWX LED Drivers
SSL Enabling Technologies and Test
• Dow — DOWSIL™ EI-2888 Primerless Silicone Encapsulant
• Gamma Scientific — 940 LED-200 Series Goniometer
• Vektrex — SpikeSafe SMU (Model Number: 10A SpikeSafe SMU)
Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules, and Drivers
• Igor — Nexos Linear Network Node – Max (NP60-99-T-F-EM)
• Signify — ELI-S-10 10VA Pure Sine Wave Emergency Nano Inverter
Smart and Connected SSL Enabling Technologies
• Igor — Nexos Linear Max Node Series
• McWong International Inc. — TruBlu™ Bluetooth-DALI Wireless Fixture Controller (PSC-ZA-310-xx)
• Samsung Electronics — Samsung ITM-Resi (ITM-D-BZ)
Smart and Connected SSL Systems
• Enlighted — Enlighted One
• Espen Technology — VersaDim RF
• Kenall — TekLink TL2000PS Parking Suite
• Signify — Advance FlexTune System
SSL Flex, Tiles, and Sheets
• Evo-Lite, LLC — Auragami Flexible LED Light Sheet
• IllumiSci — IllumiTile Light Engine – Configurable LED arrays (Model IS-IT-89MM)
• LED Linear USA — NEXUS – Ultra High Definition LED Flex Tape
• Lucetta Lighting — CELESTE Flexible Linear Lighting
SSL Lamp and Retrofit Designs
• eLumigen — LED Rough Service A19 Lamps
• Signify — Fortimo InstantFit (Model Number: 929001673906)
• Soraa, Inc. — Soraa VIVID™ Warm Dim MR16 Lamp (SM16-07-36DM-930/918-01)
Indoor Decorative and Pendant SSL Luminaire Design
• Eureka Lighting — Arena 8200 and accessories 8290-8291-8292-8293
• Fluxwerx — Profile Mini
• Nulite Lighting — Regolo1
Indoor Troffer, Track, and Downlight SSL Luminaire Design
• Columbia Lighting — Versify
• ConTech Lighting — Mini-Stealth Wall Wash Track Luminaire
• Fluxwerx — Rails
• Glint Photonics, Inc. — Glint Hero
Industrial SSL Luminaire Design
• Dialight — Reliant High Bay
• Cooper Lighting Solutions — Metalux Industrial WaveLinx Wireless Connected Lighting System Solutions
• Isollux LED Ltd — Soffito (SFO-IP65-UT-85-180W-ND)
• Meteor Lighting — WHIZ 2.0
Outdoor Landscape and Architectural SSL Design
• Diode LED — HYDROLUME SLIM 24V IP68 RGB Strip Light (DI-24V-HLSRGB-**)
• Elemental LED — NEON BLAZE RGB Diffused linear LED Lighting
• GVA Lighting — HL-DL-BLADE
• KIM Lighting — KFL Collection
Outdoor Street and Area SSL Luminaire Design
• ANP Lighting — EQ Collection – Post Top Luminaires (EQ111/112/113/121/122/123)
• Kenall — LuxTran LTSI-A1
• Luminis — Lumiquad
• Selux Corporation — Mistella
Horticultural Lighting
• Agnetix — A3-1200-HERO
• Fluence Bioengineering — SPYDR 2i
• Fluence Bioengineering — VYPR 2P
• MaxLite — PhotonMax LED Spot Light
Lighting for Health and Wellbeing
• Circadian ZircLight Inc. — CIRCADIAN Zirc™ Day-Night Mid-Power LED Set
• Cree Lighting — Cadiant™ Dynamic Lighting Experience (Product number: CDNT-AL-ACK-CMA)
• Healthe® by Lighting Science — SunTrac® Ecosystem, with Automated Scheduling (including SunTrac A19, Downlight, Troffer, Panel Light, Motion & Daylight Sensor, SunLync GPS locator, Healthe App)
• Kenall — MedSlot Family of Luminaires
Specialty SSL Design
• A-light — Absorb H
• Cooper Lighting Solutions — Ephesus Lumadapt 8 LED Sports Lighting System
• Cooper Lighting Solutions — Shaper Sense Acoustic LED Lighting (BOX and TRAP)
• Hubbell Lighting — SpectraClean
