Press Releases

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center (LRC) has announced the recipient of the 2007-2008 ASSIST Scholarship. ASSIST (Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies) is a consortium of researchers, manufacturers, and government organizations working together to identify and reduce major technical hurdles currently facing solid-state lighting.

“ASSIST is a driving force in the solid-state lighting research community,” said Mark Rea, Ph.D., LRC director. “ASSIST members are committed to moving LED technology forward, and we are grateful that they see value in helping us to develop tomorrow’s solid-state lighting leaders, an important part of the LRC’s mission.”

The ASSIST Scholarship has been awarded to Tianming Dong, a 3^rd year Ph.D. student at the Lighting Research Center. Dong’s research is focused on understanding the thermal issues of high-power LEDs and developing thermal management strategies for LED light fixtures. “My goal is to optimize the thermal performance of LED lighting systems so that LEDs operate at the lowest possible temperatures,” explained Dong. His studies include heat sink design for LED lighting systems and thermal packaging materials.

“Tianming Dong has demonstrated outstanding academic performance and strong leadership abilities and is helping to advance research in solid-state lighting technologies, which is very important to ASSIST and to the LRC,” said N. Narendran, Ph.D., director of research and the head of the solid-state lighting program at the LRC.

Dong says receiving the ASSIST scholarship is encouraging him to continue with his efforts in ASSIST projects and to remain closely involved with the latest developments in solid-state lighting applications. Upon completing his degree, he plans to enter the solid-state lighting industry, working on LED system development and integration. Prior to enrolling at the LRC, Dong earned a masters degree in physics at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He earned his bachelor’s degree in lighting in 2004 from Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

“I am grateful to ASSIST sponsors for supporting my PhD study,” said Dong. “I am also grateful to Dr. Narendran for exposing me to a challenging series of meaningful projects.”

About ASSIST (www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidstate/assist)

The Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST), established in 2002 by the Lighting Research Center, seeks to advance the effective use of energy-efficient solid-state lighting and to speed its market acceptance. ASSIST is a collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and government organizations, with a goal of identifying and reducing the major technical hurdles currently facing solid-state lighting. On behalf of ASSIST, the LRC conducts research, demonstration, and educational activities. Beyond technical research, ASSIST has been active in fostering discussions between traditional luminaire manufacturers and LED manufacturers. Through this work, ASSIST is helping LED technology to gain widespread use in lighting applications that can benefit from this rapidly advancing light source.

ASSIST members include:

Bridgelux
Cree
Federal Aviation Administration
Industrial Technology Research Institute(ITRI)
Lite-On
GE Lumination (formerly known as GELcore)
LED Effects
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
OSRAM SYLVANIA
Philips Lighting/Color Kinetics, now Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions
Photonics Cluster (UK)/The Lighting Association
Seoul Semiconductor
United States Environmental Protection Agency
USG