Many researchers have focused on the effects of light on elderly people. Dr. James was drawn to the health effects of light on young people. She discusses with Michael and Greg, how light affects depression, sleep, eyesight and memory. Want your teen to do better on a test, give them some quality light. Your Dad was right - get outside! Dr Shelley James is an international expert on light and well-being, TedX and keynote speaker, WELL Advisor and Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art. She is also a trained glass artist and electrician. 

Sean lives in California, so he is immersed in the code requirements that the rest of the country will eventually see. As Sean says, dimming is a requirement in California code, and isn’t that a fundamental part of lighting controls? Webster and Ron discuss with Sean how relationships with manufacturers, agents, engineers, and architects help drive towards those requirements while still satisfying the customer. Sean O'Connor recognized the power of light and shadow as a student of architecture. Since establishing his firm, Sean O'Connor Lighting, nearly 25 years ago Mr. O'Connor has developed an award-winning body of work which defines spaces, their character, identity, and beauty through the use of light. 

Michael Colligan was inspired to be a Dark Sky advocate by William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” The stars have inspired countless poets. Kerem considers the night to be a “realm” and he specializes in dark sky friendly lighting design for what he likes to call, “the urban and rural public realm.” Kerem Asfuroglu is the founder of Dark Source, a London-based lighting design studio driven by social and environmental values. Following his graduation from Wismar University – Architectural Lighting Design MA, Kerem has worked at Speirs + Major as a senior member of the creative team for 8 years. Throughout his career, he has won several design awards including Red Dot, Vox Juventa, PLDC, LAMP and LIT. 

This episode starts with a long bio description - because Michael Siminovitch has accomplished ALOT! As usual, California leads in the push for energy efficiency and Michael was there with his involvement in California’s Strategic Lighting Plan. If you want to attend any of his classes at UC Davis, you’re out of luck - he’s retired. But you can listen to this podcast and learn a lot from him! Michael Siminovitch is the director of the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) and associate director of the Energy Efficiency Institute at UC Davis. He established CLTC to support collaborative efforts among representatives from private industry, public agencies and utilities. CLTC projects accelerate the development and commercialization of energy-efficient lighting technologies for both residential and commercial applications. 

Patrick once worked in laser cutting sheet metal, then building recreational vehicles which eventually led to Syndesis, his company that creates solutions for integration. How? Well, you’ll have to listen to this podcast to find out. Webster and Ron talk with Patrick about efficiency, communication and “plug and play - without the plug!” Patrick P. Treadway is President and owner of Syndesis LLC. Pat opened Syndesis LLC in September 2020, to offer the Lighting industry a resource reflective of the diverse factors lighting, controls, and manufacturing companies face today. Syndesis brings Product Development, Product Management, Industrial Design, and Project Management expertise to its clients commercialization efforts. 

Mark originally wanted to be a painter and painting to him was like subtracting light as paint is added to a white canvas. Conversely, in lighting, one is adding light to darkness. And this led Mark to understand you can’t talk about light without talking about darkness. Michael discusses with Mark how we have lost much of our understanding of the value of darkness as lights have gotten cheaper and more efficient. Mark formed Speirs Major with Keith Bradshaw which grew out of Speirs and Major Associates. Speirs Major are recognized as being one of the world’s leading lighting design practices, using light and darkness to enhance the experience of the visual environment. 

This one is so packed that we are already planning part 2.  Pieter and Mike are taking Seaborough from a purely R & D company to more of a business partner with the lighting industry.  If you’re a manufacturer, you might want to consider becoming one of those partners when you hear about their innovative LED technology.  Dr. Mike Krames has been working in LED for 30 years and as he says, he was laughed at in the beginning. No one’s laughing now.

Pieter Six is well versed in the world of lighting and is passionate about the development and disruption of new lighting innovations. Before joining Seaborough in 2020 as CEO, he worked as Chief Commercial Officer for Ellipz Smart Solutions, a scale-up company in the field of data communication via light (LiFi).

Dr. Mike Krames has more than 25 years of materials, device, and applications experience, with emphasis on solid-state lighting devices and products, including advancing the performance and color quality of LEDs for general illumination.

Tom joins Michael Colligan to talk about “the big lie,” mercury, arsenic, politicians, education, and rock and roll! And also, who’s going to win out - China or the aliens? Tom is the owner of BLC America Inc. and Green Energy Lighting Corp. He’s also a musician who was bitten by the music bug on Feb 9, 1964 when the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. And he’s been writing music ever since. Stay tuned at the end for Tom’s interview from the NAILD Convention in September 2022, and a bonus song. 

With a guy like Steve Mesh, it’s hard to keep the discussion to an hour. In this episode, Webster taps into Steve’s vast knowledge of lighting controls to find out how he became a lighting controls specialist and what can be done now to formalize the education of lighting controls specialists. Steve knows so much that he is a much sought-after lecturer and teacher. Oh - and he can fly planes! Steve has been a lighting designer and educator for 42 years. He was the Senior Lighting Program Coordinator at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco from 2008-2011. Steve is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society and was the IES/Northeast Regional Vice President. He was also part of the development team for the California Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program. Steve has taught lighting for 38 years. He won an IALD award for the Palm House at Dowling College and an EPRI award for Brower Commons at Rutgers University. Since 1992, he has given several workshops at LightFair and has spoken at Lux Pacifica in New Delhi, India. He is also a private pilot. 

Bernd is an astrophotographer based out of Cologne, Germany. Bernd tells Michael how hard it is to find dark skies for his astrophotography. Even driving 2 days from Cologne, he can’t find an ideal dark area to take pictures. Bernd has taken photos from high in the Austrian mountains, but the bright lights of the ski hill grooming machines moving up and down the hills is hard to avoid with his time lapse photography. Bernd Pröschold is an astrophotographer and author. From 1998 to 2003 he studied communication science, sociology and cultural studies at the University of Münster, Germany. Shortly after he started to produce astronomical time lapse videos, an activity which turned into his profession very soon. His footage has been distributed by TV stations, planetariums and picture agencies.