Registration for this course is full. If you would like to be added to a waiting list for the class or you would like to receive information on upcoming classes, please email your contact information to the LRC’s Director of Educational Programs, Daniel Frering, at frerid@rpi.edu. Due to the popularity of this course, we may hold another session beginning in January 2021.
The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is offering the first-of-its-kind, 12-week, online professional certificate course in lighting design. The course is designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed to help those in professions related to lighting to begin or improve their practice in lighting design.
Who should take the course?
Professionals from practices related to lighting design, or those who wish to add lighting design to their current work. This includes professionals from the fields of:
- interior design
- lighting sales
- application engineering
- architecture
- architectural engineering
- energy or environmental services
- building and construction
Course Objectives
Professionals who complete the 12-week course will be able to:
- Understand the lighting design process and be able to apply it to a variety of residential and commercial applications
- Establish lighting objectives based upon client needs
- Evaluate the lighting requirements of interior and exterior spaces, including appropriate siting of lighting equipment; as well as lighting-related occupant/task needs
- Identify, critically analyze, and apply appropriate lighting guidelines and recommended practices
- Establish appropriate lighting criteria for efficient space utilization, task performance, and energy utilization
- Consider multiple lighting techniques and technology to support client needs and design objectives
- Create renderings, detail drawings, and technical documentation necessary to support the lighting design concept
- Present appropriate verbal, written, and visual presentations required to convey the lighting design concept
- Verify if objectives and metrics established for the lighting design are met
Course Description
The course will consist of both weekly, in-person instruction hosted by course faculty and invited lecturers (i.e. weekly, approximately one to two hour live sessions), via an online conferencing system (WebEx), as well as supplemental activities, readings, and group and individual assignments and field exercises, to be completed by course participants throughout the 12-week course period. Course participants will be able to post content and assignments, hold discussions, and collaborate with each other and with course faculty through an interactive, online chat/bulletin board. The course will culminate with a final design project assignment, in which each participant will present their own graphically-compelling lighting designs to course instructors and other participants via WebEx.
Course Certificate
Participants who successfully complete the course will be awarded a certificate in lighting design from the Lighting Research Center.
Course Schedule
The course will begin on September 9, 2020 and will run through December 4, 2020. Classes will meet each Wednesday during this period from 1:00 to 3:00 PM US Eastern Time. No class will be held on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. A detailed schedule of course activities, lectures, and assignments will be provided upon registration for the course.
Cost and Registration
Registration for this course is full. If you would like to be added to a waiting list for the class or you would like to receive information on upcoming classes, please email your contact information to the LRC’s Director of Educational Programs, Daniel Frering, at frerid@rpi.edu. Due to the popularity of this course, we may hold another session beginning in January 2021.
Faculty
The course will be led by Jennifer Brons, the Director of Design Demonstrations at the LRC, and the LRC’s lead faculty in lighting design. She will be joined by other LRC faculty and guest lecturers from the practice of lighting design throughout the 12-week course.
Jennifer Brons, MS, LC, Educator IALD, Director of Design Demonstrations at the Lighting Research Center (LRC), Troy, New York, USA — Jennifer earned her bachelor's degree in architecture from U.C. Berkeley (cum laude) and her M.S. in Lighting from Rensselaer. Since 1997, her work at LRC has focused on lighting design applications and human factor studies for new lighting technologies. She heads the "DELTA" Program, a series of lighting case studies that are available to the public online. Over her more than 20-year career, she has developed lighting designs and specifications for a wide variety of commercial and residential clients. After practicing lighting design on sabbatical in London, she teaches lighting design as part of the M.S. in Lighting degree program and develops educational material about the more effective use of light.
Guest Lecturers
Lisa Wong, MS, LC, Associate IALD, IES, Lighting Designer at Lam Partners, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
— Lisa has over ten years of experience in the field of architectural lighting and is Lighting Certified. She believes that creating beautifully illuminated environments requires understanding the users’ perspectives, thoughtful coordination among all trades, and attention to lighting details. Lisa regularly serves as a guest lecturer and offers critiques at the Boston Architectural College. In 2020 Lisa was selected for Lighting Magazine’s “40 Under 40” Award. Lisa has two half marathons under her belt and is a proud mama of two rambunctious boys. She can be caught at the latest art and lighting installations around the world.
Angie Ohman, MS, LC, LEED Green Associate,
Lighting Designer at Renfro Design Group, New York, NY, USA
— Angie joined RDG in 2017 and was previously a lighting designer at Domingo Gonzalez Associates where she worked on projects including the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s New Lab and SOM’s Miami Central High Speed Rail Station. Her work is guided by an interest in the intersection of science and art within lighting, especially driven by the discipline’s ability to impact the way people experience or move through a space. Angie holds a M.S. in Lighting degree as well as a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2018, Angie led her colleagues in authoring and illustrating the publication “Lighting Intuition for Architects” to commemorate her firm’s 20th anniversary.
Kate Sweater Hickcox, MS, LC, Associate IALD, Lighting Designer — Kate is a creative thinker in the field of lighting, with over 15 years of experience in both lighting design and lighting research. Her goal is to provide equitable and universal lighting solutions for sensitive populations and spaces. Kate’s unique background blends the artistic with the practical, and allows for discovery of unique design solutions and innovative research-based strategies. Kate was the Lighting Fellow for the Design Trust for Public Space and helped to create a new public space for the community at Lillian Wald Housing in Manhattan. She has designed and created lighting fixtures for the State Capitol building in Albany, New York. Kate has taught at The New School, Parsons’ School of Constructed Environments and was also the Lighting Fellow for ‘Opening the Edge,’ a project of the Design Trust for Public Space, in partnership with the New York City Housing Authority.
For more information
Please contact LRC’s Director of Educational Programs, Daniel Frering, at frerid@rpi.edu to learn more.