Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center (LRC) has enhanced its outreach education by taking the LED Lighting Institute “on the road.” In addition to the traditional three-day seminar held each spring and fall at the LRC, a two-day LED Lighting Institute program option has been added, which will be hosted at a program sponsor site each year.

The first two-day, on-the-road LED Lighting Institute will be held March 17-18, 2009, at Cree Corporate Headquarters in Durham, North Carolina. It will provide detailed instruction for lighting fixture designers and manufacturers, lighting specifiers, and other professionals interested in learning more about this quickly evolving lighting technology.

Through hands-on workshops and classroom sessions, participants learn the basics of LED technology while building an understanding of LED system integration issues involving the electrical, optical, and thermal characteristics of LEDs. Participants also learn how to measure and evaluate LEDs and LED systems, and have the opportunity to compare LED technologies from a variety of manufacturers. The program culminates with the participants designing, building, and evaluating their own LED fixtures.

According to Dan Frering, LRC manager of education, the program is designed to have participants choose and evaluate all necessary LED system components including heat sinks, LEDs, and drivers from a variety of manufacturers. Then participants will have the opportunity to compare the systems side-by-side, examining the thermal, photometric, and color properties for each system.

N. Narendran, Ph.D., director of research and head of the Solid-State Lighting Program at the LRC, noted that the workshop offers objective information on current LED technology so participants walk away with realistic expectations for using LEDs in place of traditional light sources. In addition, the participants are taught methods for measuring and quantifying LED performance.

Upon completion of the LED Lighting Institute, participants will earn three continuing education units and will receive a Continuing Education Certificate in LED lighting technology.

LED Lighting Institute Sponsors
The LED Lighting Institute has gained notable support from sponsors who see the benefit of LED lighting education. The main sponsor is the Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST), a collaboration of researchers, manufacturers, and government organizations designed to identify and reduce major technical hurdles and help LED technology gain widespread use in lighting applications. ASSIST sponsors include Bridgelux; China Solid State Lighting Alliance; Cree, Inc.; Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd.; Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); GE Lumination; Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI); Lighting Science Group; Lite-On; NeoPac Lighting; New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); OSRAM SYLVANIA; Permlight; Philips Color Kinetics; Photonics Cluster (UK)/The Lighting Association; Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; USG; and WAC Lighting.