Jim H. McClung Lighting Research Foundation Announced Funding of Research Projects

Dec 2, 2011 The Jim H. McClung Lighting Research Foundation ("McClung Foundation") announced that it is funding work on two new research projects which will have far-reaching impacts on both users of light as well as lighting designers and the lighting industry.  

The first of these projects will study light flicker (quick, repeated changes in light intensity - light that appears to flutter and be unsteady) and, particularly, flicker from LED lighting on visual performance and brain function.  The work will be led by the National Research Council of Canada's ("NRC") Institute for Research in Construction and managed by Dr. Jennifer Veitch, Senior Research Officer at the NRC.  Other sponsors of the project include the Clean Energy Fund, a Canadian government program, and Osram-Sylvania.  

"Recent work by a special committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE PAR1789) identified several knowledge gaps related to flicker that are critical to the successful use of LED lighting," said Dr. Veitch.  "This new research is needed to fill in those gaps which can impact the health and behavior of people in spaces utilizing LED light sources."

The second project involves a study of how the color of the light source affects the impression of brightness in outdoor lighting situations.  The work will be led by the Lighting Research Center ("LRC") at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.  Dr. John Bullough, Senior Research Scientist at the LRC, is managing the work.

"New light source technologies such as LEDs offer new opportunities to 'tune' or change the spectrum of outdoor illumination," remarked Dr. Bullough.  "We know that conventional light measurements do not represent the visual sensitivity of the eye, especially at low levels such as those found in outdoor lighting situations. Understanding the nature of the eye's sensitivity will be critical in optimizing light spectra for outdoor lighting applications."

Diarmuid McSweeney, President of the McClung Foundation said, "The McClung Foundation is pleased to support both of these new research projects.  Work will get underway yet this year and the results will be generally distributed as well as added to the lasting body of research already funded by the Foundation.   Our objective is to encourage creative thinking and scientific exploration that help us better understand lighting and its impact on our health and environment."  

Source: www.mcclungfoundation.org