Time-sensitive: DLC releases RFP
The DesignLights Consortium, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the adoption of high-performance commercial lighting, recently released a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a consultant to develop process maps for networked lighting controls projects.
In the RFP, DLC states that although it’s widely accepted that LED lighting “represents a significant increase in energy savings over legacy technologies,” the market has been slow to recognize the added benefits of networked lighting controls. With the goal of informing resources and policies to facilitate NLC adoption, DLC is looking for a consultant to detail three to five active lighting retrofit projects from concept to installation, commissioning, and ongoing operations so the organization can better understand barriers to technology adoption during project lifecycles and make recommendations.
Download the RFP from the DLC website. Interested parties should submit questions to Andrew Antares, DLC project manager of technical development, by July 7, 2023. Bids are due by July 21.
LightingEurope announces new secretary general
Brussels-based LightingEurope has announced the promotion of policy director Elena Scaroni to the role of secretary general. The organization represents 31 companies and national associations in generating a positive business and regulatory framework for the European lighting industry.
With a master’s degree in law, seven years’ experience at LightingEurope, and eight years at multinational energy corporation Enel, Scaroni is well positioned to take over for Ourania Georgoutsakou, who became secretary general in 2017 and conveyed the organization’s direction with regard to human-centric lighting and UV disinfection technology. Scaroni has specialized in European affairs, working to align LightingEurope with European Parliament members on climate, energy, and corporate social responsibility issues.
“I am honored to take on the position of secretary general for LightingEurope,” Scaroni said. “My first thoughts go to my predecessor, Ourania Georgoutsakou and to the LightingEurope team, who have made LightingEurope a leading trade association in the field of sustainable products and quality of light. Lighting is now recognized as one of the main contributors to indoor environmental quality and LightingEurope as a key actor asking policy makers that rules should be better enforced.”
GLASE welcomes new director
This month, the Greenhouse Lighting & Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium, which supports advances in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems and practices, has announced engineer Gretchen Schimelpfenig as executive director.
Schimelpfenig has worked at the intersection of lighting, controls, and energy resource management since interning as Schneider Fellow with the U.S. Green Building Council. In subsequent engineering and consulting roles on both U.S. coasts, including with Resource Innovation Institute and her current employer, Energy Resources Integration, she has developed programs and best practices for energy management in CEA operations. Schimelpfenig has a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from the University of Wyoming, a master’s degree in in civil engineering from Stanford University, and is a licensed civil professional engineer in California and Vermont. She also served as a 2023 LEDs Magazine BrightStar Awards juror.
IES lands compelling keynotes
The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) has announced two very distinct keynote presentations for the 2023 IES Annual Conference, which will be held Aug. 3–5 in Schaumberg, Ill.
On Friday, Aug. 4, historian and Chicago Architecture Foundation docent Ellen Shubart will convey the architectural significance of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition — generally known as the World’s Fair —and the simultaneous emergence of serial murderer H.H. Holmes, as discussed in Erik Larsen’s novelistic nonfiction work, The Devil in the White City.
On Saturday, Aug. 5, CannonDesign principal and sustainability director Eric Corey Freed will close the conference with “Symbiosis — Designing the Healthiest Buildings on Campus By Using Biology,” exploring biophilia, physiological responses to the built environment, evidence-based design, and how to employ related data and concepts to design student and health facilities that support wellness.
Learn more and register at the conference website.
Light and health educational opportunities
The Light and Health Research Center (LHRC) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has two online certificate courses — one for lighting design and one for light and human health — beginning in September.
The online professional certificate course in lighting design runs from Sept. 14 through Nov. 16 and is intended to introduce or expand lighting skills for professionals involved in interior, architectural, buildings, construction, and sales services. Live remote instruction will be provided by LHRC lead instructor Jennifer Brons, Lam Partners’ Lisa Wong, and Renfro Design Group designers Angie Ohman and Matthew Caraway. For more curriculum information, visit the design course page.
“Light and Human Health” runs from Sept. 27 through Nov. 15 and features online lectures, demonstrations, and discussions as well as independent field exercises for participants, who will learn about the impact of light on human health and wellbeing and how to apply findings to improve lighting designs. Before the session begins, each U.S. registrant will receive a Daysimeter to measure circadian light while they track their routines for one week as part of the unit studies. Instructors include LHRC director Mariana Figueiro, research scientist Rohan Nagare, professor Mark Rea, and research specialist Allison Thayer. For more details and to register, visit the health certificate course page.
CARRIE MEADOWS is managing editor of LEDs Magazine, with 20-plus years’ experience in business-to-business publishing across technology markets including solid-state technology manufacturing, fiberoptic communications, machine vision, lasers and photonics, and LEDs and lighting.
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