5 Things to Know: August 23

The Illuminating Engineering Society’s annual conference, IES25, lit up Anaheim this week, where a spontaneous moment during an awards presentation unexpectedly stole a bit of the spotlight.

During Thursday night’s awards ceremony, past IES president Lance Bennett took the stage to honor Dr. Kevin Houser, recipient of the IES Medal, the Society’s highest technical award. Houser, currently in China, couldn’t attend this year. But in explaining that the honoree would be on hand next year in Denver to accept the award in person, Bennett casually revealed the tightly held secret of the 2026 host city, a full day ahead of the planned Friday reveal.

The crowd erupted in laughter. Bennett, a longtime Cooper Lighting executive and affable presence within IES circles, laughed along, his good-natured reaction disarming and endearing. If anything, the gaffe made the moment feel more human, and perhaps more memorable, than any scripted unveiling ever could.

For an industry built on precision and control, sometimes the best light is the one you didn’t plan to shine.

Energy Focus CEO Jay Huang has once again reached into his own pocket to fund the struggling company, purchasing 264,550 shares of common stock for $500,000 in a private placement on August 15. This is Huang’s second personal capital infusion this year — he invested $200,000 back in March.

The latest 8-K and Form 4 filings confirm the deal was executed at $1.89 per share, matching the stock’s closing price the day before the agreement. The move raises the question: is this another vote of confidence or just a deeper act of triage?

As Energy Focus continues to burn cash, with only $499,000 reported on hand at last count, the company admits in filings that “substantial doubt” exists about its ability to continue operating. Huang now directly or indirectly controls more than 2 million shares, signaling commitment, but also emphasizing just how few external investors remain willing to bet on the company’s future.

With no turnaround capital in sight, and commercial wins proving one-off at best, this latest move looks less like a rescue plan, and more like a prolonged holding pattern.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center — home of the US Open — has become the first professional sports complex in the world to earn certification from DarkSky International, according to the Associated Press.

Seventeen courts were upgraded with shielded, dark-sky-friendly LED lighting to reduce glare and skyglow. While Queens isn’t exactly home to sea turtles or migratory desert beetles, species like those are among the many globally affected by excess artificial light. The project shows that even in dense urban environments, lighting can serve people and minimize broader ecological impact.

The effort was a collaboration between the United States Tennis Association, Musco Lighting, and the DarkSky team. CEO Ruskin Hartley called it “a model for how business leaders can pair excellence with responsibility,” citing performance benefits and energy savings alike.

Tennis now has a new kind of leader — and it glows a little smarter at night.

Credit to The Vindicator of Warren, Ohio, which this week reprinted a 1915 article chronicling Youngstown’s leap into modern street lighting. “At 9:08 o’clock p.m.,” the article begins, “Youngstown emerged from... an ancient, worn out, inadequate and ineffective lighting system, into the floodlight of a system modern in its installation, perfect in its operation.”

The event drew an estimated 40,000–50,000 spectators for a night parade, speeches, and a dramatic lighting moment: “Let there be light,” quoted the mayor, just before the Queen of Light (who was surrounded by her maids of honor) flipped the switch. “In a moment the square and streets were flooded with a light that caused the immense crowd to break into demonstration,” the paper reported.

One leader called it “one of the finest systems of street illumination in the United States.”

Tony Esposito, PhD, a well-regarded lighting researcher, has been appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction. Esposito, who co-chairs the IES Color Committee and is known for his research on spectral design and color metrics, will focus on architectural lighting education and research.

Tony Esposito
(Credit: LinkedIn)

The move signals a renewed institutional commitment to lighting within one of the few U.S. programs offering a dedicated lighting track. Esposito takes over the same lighting lab once led by his mentor, Dr. Kevin Houser, making the appointment both strategic and symbolic.

In a field with only a handful of full-time lighting faculty nationwide, each appointment carries weight. Esposito’s hire strengthens Nebraska’s position as a leader in lighting education and reflects the growing need for academic programs that align with the evolving demands of the lighting profession.