The Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) has been selected as the new name for the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center (ERC) at Rensselaer.
“We are proud to announce the launch of a new name and logo,” said LESA Director Robert Karlicek. “The ERC has grown and evolved and we felt it was time for a change. We have refreshed the logo to reflect who we are today and to symbolize our dynamic future.”
LESA, headquartered at Rensselaer, is one of 19 National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers throughout the United States. The center, now in its eighth year, has been the recipient of over $30 million dollars in research funds, with interdisciplinary research programs including educational outreach programs for K-12.
The ERC’s new identity satisfies the existing expectations of the center’s original work, while simultaneously moving forward to acknowledge the maturity, functionality, and diversity of the center and the new lighting landscape, Karlicek said. The new name more accurately represents what the center is doing today—creating “Lighting Systems that Think™”—and captures the broad range of research in areas such as horticulture and human-centric lighting.
“We are excited about this change and hope that it will help not only to differentiate the center, but also to epitomize the change, innovation, and creative growth that are the cornerstones of our center,” Karlicek said. “Industry interest in LESA research is growing, as shown by a recent LESA Industry Days Conference that had industry attendance comparable to that at the Department of Energy’s Solid State Lighting R&D workshop held in advance of our event.”
By developing innovative original intellectual properties, collaborating with industry members, and working on high-quality research programs, LESA will continue to create long-term value and enrich people’s lives.