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For Immediate Release
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Mary Cimo
Lighting Research Center
518.687.7174
cimom@rpi.edu |
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Troy, NY - 5/9/2000
Center Wins Grant to Develop Course on Lighting and Health
Summary: The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, has been awarded a $20,000 grant to develop a graduate-level course in lighting and health.
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The Lighting Research Center (LRC) will use a grant from the Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education to research, develop, and teach a class on the influence of light on physical and psychological health and well-being. The course will become part of the LRC's MS in Lighting curriculum and serve as a model curriculum for other universities and continuing education programs.
"We know that lighting can have a significant impact on health and well-being. This course will offer information from experts in both fields, and lighting will benefit from expanded expertise," said LRC Director Mark Rea, PhD. "We are happy that the Nuckolls Fund recognizes the importance of this addition to lighting education."
The LRC is matching the two-year Nuckolls grant. "Light and Health" will present information on the visual and nonvisual effects of light on human health and well-being. For example, studies show lighting can help in treatment of seasonal affective disorder, depression, and Alzheimer's
disease. Other research shows lighting may affect the risk of breast cancer in some women by altering production of melatonin, a hormone associated with sleep.
The Nuckolls Fund was established in 1988 in memory of lighting designer and educator Jim Nuckolls. It supports educational programs that provide
students with an understanding of lighting and prepare them for careers
in lighting.
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About the Lighting Research Center
The Lighting Research Center (LRC) is part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N.Y., and is the leading university-based research center devoted to lighting. The LRC offers the world's premier graduate education in lighting, including one- and two-year master's programs and a Ph.D. program. Since 1988 the LRC has built an international reputation as a reliable source for objective information about lighting technologies, applications, and products. The LRC also provides training programs for government agencies, utilities, contractors, lighting designers, and other lighting professionals. Visit www.lrc.rpi.edu.
About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation's oldest technological university. The university offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty are known for pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of fields, with particular emphasis in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and the media arts and technology. The Institute is well known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.
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Lighting Research Center, 21 Union Street, Troy, NY 12180 USA 
