August 22, 2022

IES Succeeds in Lighting the Way

Hundreds of lighting people converge upon New Orleans for leadership-themed lighting conference

NEW ORLEANS, LA — The first in-person IES Annual Conference since 2019 concluded on Saturday at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans, Louisiana – the venue originally selected for the canceled 2020 event.

The theme for the 2022 IES Annual Conference was Lighting the Way – focusing on leadership both in the lighting community and by the lighting community. Conference topics explored the research, code changes, technology advancements, lighting application and more – that are enabling lighting professionals to take a leadership role in a rapidly evolving world.

While conference attendance was lower than in previous years, most attendees and stakeholders seemed to be very pleased with the general sessions and specialized breakout seminars. The leadership theme was evident with the involvement of numerous Emerging Professionals who kicked things off with a pre-conference forum of their own on Thursday.

Some of the more talked about moments during the three-day conference included:

Ukrainian lighting design firm, Expolight, was awarded two Illumination Awards in absentia. Firm founder and principal, Mykola Kabluka, recorded a very humble and gracious acceptance speech with interwoven messaging relating to both lighting design and the current war in Ukraine that ended with a "light always defeats darkness" message. The crowd responded with a standing ovation at the conclusion of Kabluka’s video.

Kim Mercier’s acceptance speech for her Louis B. Marks award was a uniquely crafted and heartfelt message. Mercier memorized and delivered a thoughtful and sincere speech, that was a mix of haiku and poetic prose.

At each year’s conference, the Progress Committee lives up to its reputation of interlacing lighthearted fun, pop culture and occasional lunacy into the presentation of 80-150 product recaps. This year, the entire production was on the shoulders of just seven of the 27 committee members who entertained us with interludes inspired by Mission Impossible, Interview with a Vampire, Stranger Things and Squid Games. Additionally, the committee dropped the world premiere video of “We Don’t Talk About COVID,” a parody of the Disney tune “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Shaun Fillion flexed his live theatre experience by starring in many skits including singing both lead and backup in the catchy and hilarious COVID tune.

Numerous conference breakout sessions were praised by attendees. Two specific seminars that received especially positive reviews were "Light Privilege - A Practical Framework for Holistic Lighting in Underserved Communities" presented by Nick Albert and Lauren Dandridge of Chromatic and "Health and Wellness Lighting and Energy Efficiency Converge" presented by Robert Soler of BIOS Lighting.

This year’s conference was the first in-person one for numerous IES staffers including Executive Director, Colleen Harper, who took the helm in March 2022. Both Harper and IES President, Frank Agraz, acknowledged the recent IES organizational challenges and restructuring, but didn’t harp on them – keeping the audience focused on their promising present and future vision for the organization.

In separate presentations, keynoters Adam Rogers and Nathalie Rozot each challenged the audience to expand its thoughts about various lighting topics. Rogers, a longtime editor and correspondent for WIRED and author of the piece “The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress”, presented outside-the-industry viewpoints about light and color. Rozot covered numerous lighting topics that interlaced humanitarianism, technical innovation and ecological lighting solutions.

IES Director of Education and Standards, Brienne Musselman, a former lighting designer, demonstrated her leadership chops with an excellent summary of IES initiatives to:

Collaborate with adjacent technology organizations
Promote light and health initiatives
Advocate for responsible outdoor lighting (and joked that in doing so, she was working toward “a darker future.”)
Publish numerous standards including the recent update to RP-8 Roadway Lighting.

The 2023 IES Annual Conference is scheduled for August 3-5, 2023 in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois.

AWARD RECIPIENTS

2022 IES Technical and Service Achievement Award Recipients:

MEDAL AWARD:
Dr. George “Bud” Brainard

LOUIS B. MARKS AWARD:
Kim Mercier

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD:
Robert Cilic, Michelle Prew, Mark Roush, Lisa Reed, and Ardra Zinkon

FELLOW DESIGNATION:
Cameron Miller, and Erik Page

PRESIDENTIAL AWARD:
Cheryl English, Antonio Garza, Rita Harrold, and Kathie Leslie

2022 Illumination Awards

Outdoor Lighting Design - Distinction

SOFI STADIUM
Designers: Jamie Perry, Keith Yancey, Jennifer Sanborn, Dan Weissman, Lisa Wong, Jack Risser, Maggie Golden – Lam Partners

NORTHCONNEX
Designers: Julio Escalante, Pedro Hurtado, Edith Vidal, Francisco Montes, Xiomara Alfaro, Thomas Paterson, Bob Bohannon, Eduardo Zepeda, Lorena Rodríguez, Fernando Villalobos – Lux Populi

Outdoor Lighting Design - Special Citations

PARK OF CULTURE AND REST NAMED BY M.O.HUROV
Designer: Mykola Kabluka – Expolight

LANTERN ART SPACE
Designer: Jordan WANG – Guangzhou Goden Lighting Design Co., Ltd

SUZANNE AND WALTER SCOTT AQUARIUM
Designers: Steve Gollehon, Jeff Frank, Alex Asay – Morrissey Engineering; Cindy Smith, Mark Bourne – Smith Bourne & Associates; Kurt Dohn – Stanley J. How Architects

Interior Lighting Design: Excellence

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY EXHIBITION LIGHTING
Designers: Derek Barnwell, Nastassia Ortiz, Lindsay Duval, Rachel Gibney, Matt Zelkowitz, Hamilton Smith, Bill Kadra, Steven Rosen, Dylan Bomgardener – Available Light

BUDDHA BAR NEW YORK
Designers: Mykola Kabluka – Expolight; Vladimir Nepyivoda – YOD Design Lab

ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES EXHIBITION LIGHTING
Designers: Ted Mather, John Delfino, Alex Fabozzi – Available Light; Dawn Hollingsworth – Darkhorse Lightworks

HALL OF ANCIENT EGYPT, HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE
Designer: Donald Christensen – Christensen Lighting

Interior Lighting Design: Special Citations

ICHIJO-TOMA CO-OP OLYMPIA
Designers: Masato Oyoshi – Daisuki Light Inc.; Shinya Kojima, Ayaka Kojima – Kooo Architects

FUKOKUSEIMEI BUILDING LOBBY RENOVATION
Designers: Hideto Mori, Junji Nagano – Lighting M Inc.; Yuta Shimada, Tomoya Akazawa – Field Four Design Office