Rensselaer Magazine, June 2002: At Rensselaer

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Lighting Research Center

Nadarajah Narendran, LRC director of research, checks an LED testing apparatus.

A Brighter Future for LEDs

Researchers at Rensselaer’s Lighting Research Center (LRC) are developing advanced LEDs and other solid-state lighting technologies that could ultimately replace today’s conventional bulbs for illuminating everything from homes and businesses to government complexes and airports.

Solid-state lighting systems, such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes), are made from semiconductors.

They use far less energy and last longer than conventional lighting in certain applications and are being used increasingly in traffic signals, automotive lighting, and exit signs. But they aren’t yet bright enough to replace fluorescent and incandescent lights.

The LRC, in collaboration with the University of California-Santa Barbara, recently received a $3 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop LEDs and other solid-state lighting devices that emit high-quality white light while maintaining energy efficiency, longevity, and low production costs.

“The demand for lighting is increasing every year,” says Nadarajah Narendran, director of research at the Lighting Research Center. “As we know, California couldn’t meet energy demand last year. LED systems could be one way to prevent this from happening again.”

Solid-state lighting has the potential to more than double the efficiency of today’s lighting systems and could save more than $98 billion in energy costs over the next two decades, according to the DOE.

UC-Santa Barbara will work on developing the semiconducting elements while Rensselaer will work on integrating these semiconducting devices with optics and electronic controls, and then evaluate them for general lighting applications.

Founded in 1988 as part of Rensselaer’s School of Architecture, the LRC is the leading university-based research center devoted to lighting.

Rensselaer Magazine: June 2002
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