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Welcome to the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center
The Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center (ERC) advances LED technology by making substantial progress in novel materials, device technologies and system applications. Our main goal at The Smart Lighting ERC is to demonstrate revolutionary lighting systems with controllability and tunability for, but not limited to, bio-imaging, high-efficiency displays and illumination devices, safer transportation and novel modes of communications. Innovations at The Smart Lighting ERC will be rapidly commercialized through our industrial partners while securing intellectual property. Meanwhile, more and more intelligent, innovative young people will be attracted to Science, Math and Engineering Education through our outreach educational programs.
The Smart Lighting ERC is funded by an $18.5 million, five-year award from the NSF Generation Three Engineering Research Center Program. The Smart Lighting ERC is also the only ERC centered in New York state.
Core research university
- Boston University (visit Smart Lighting website at Boston University)
- University of New Mexico
- Howard University
- Morgan State University
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- Wadsworth Center, NY State Department of Health
About Smart Lighting
The field of photonics starts with the efficient generation of light. The generation of efficient yet highly controllable light can indeed be accomplished with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are, in principle, capable of generating white light with a 20 times greater efficiency than conventional light
bulbs. Deployed on a global scale to replace conventional sources, such solid-state light sources will result in enormous benefits that, over a period of 10 years, include
(1) gigantic energy savings of 1.9 X 1020 joule,
(2) a very substantial reduction in global-warming CO2 emissions,
(3) a strong reduction in the emission of pollutants such as acid-rain-causing SO2, mercury (Hg), and uranium (U), and
(4) financial savings exceeding a trillion (1012) US$.
These benefits can be accomplished by the "replacement paradigm" in which conventional light sources are replaced by more energy efficient, more durable, and non-toxic light sources. However, it will be shown that solid-state light sources can go beyond the replacement paradigm, by providing new capabilities including the control of spectrum, color temperature, polarization, temporal modulation, and spatial emission pattern. We will show
that such future, "smart" light sources, can harness the huge potential of LEDs by offering multi-dimensional controllability that will enhance the functionality and performance of light sources in a wide range of applications. These applications include optical microscopy, imaging, display technologies, communications, networking, and transportation systems.
(after Jong Kyu Kim and E. Fred Schubert,
"Transcending the replacement paradigm of solid-state
lighting" Optics Express Vol. 16, No. 26, page 21835, 2008)
"Transcending the replacement paradigm of solid-state
lighting" Optics Express Vol. 16, No. 26, page 21835, 2008)
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