Details > Times Union: Let there be lighting

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3/12/2012 8:58:17 AM

Times Union: Let there be lighting

Times Union

NISKAYUNA — Thomas Edison may have invented his incandescent light bulb in New Jersey, but it was here in 1909 that another GE scientist developed ductile tungsten filaments, allowing it to burn longer and brighter than ever.

While the Capital Region has long played a role in lighting, within the past 15 years the mission has expanded, attracting researchers, designers and entrepreneurs, all working to develop and use solid-state lighting such as LEDs, or light-emiting diodes.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center in downtown Troy has served as a catalyst as researchers there examine lighting's role in everything from health and safety issues to its use in agriculture and aviation. Fly on Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner and you'll see the LRC's work in its interior lighting.