May 5 2009
While most students were writing reports and taking exams during finals week, lighting design students were worrying about glare, light distribution, and presenting a quarter's worth of work to a panel of industry professionals as part of the LED (light-emitting diode) Luminaire Design Competition with the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California, Davis. As the result of their hard work and dedication, the winning designs will be displayed at LIGHTFAIR International 2009.
From left to right are the winners of the 2009 LED Luminaire Design Competition: Jana Sharmir (2nd place), Tieni Wu (1st place), Amanda Radatz (3rd place). (Photo: Business Wire)
Beginning in January 2009, the 28 students enrolled in the “Designing with Light” studio course with Professor Michael Siminovitch at the CLTC designed, developed and prototyped a fully working LED-based lighting fixture. Products were donated by numerous industry sponsors including OSRAM Opto Semiconductors who supplied the LEDs for the project. From decorative wall sconces to emergency exit lighting, the project provided a variety of opportunities to design unique and functional fixtures. Students explored fundamental concepts in lighting, materials, and aesthetically pleasing lighting systems.
“It was very exciting to see the students’ energy-efficient prototypes come to life and the unique use of LED lighting,” said Brian Terao, Director, Solid State Lighting, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Inc. “The judges were genuinely impressed with the caliber of the students’ work. These innovative, young designers are at the forefront of a growing industry and it was an honor to see the creativity and innovation of tomorrow’s design professionals.”
After a series of presentations, a panel of judges from the CTLC and sponsors had the challenging task of evaluating the prototypes based on the creative use of LED technology, overall functionality and design. The top three designs, as well as two luminaries that received honorable mentions, will be on display in the OSRAM Opto Semiconductor LED Gallery in the OSRAM SYLVANIA booth (#1609) at LIGHTFAIR International 2009, May 5-7 in New York City. Three of the five selected winners will travel to New York City to attend LIGHTFAIR in person.
The winners of the 2009 LED Luminaire Design Competition are:
- First Place: Tieni Wu
- Second Place: Jana Sharmir
- Third Place: Amanda Radatz
- Honorable Mentions: Jenny Zhouchen and Melina Prokopakis
The sponsoring companies also provided scholarships to the top three designers. This generous contribution helped to offset the costs of materials for the winning designs.