Lighting Lab
Department of Architectural Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
About Our Lab
The Lighting Lab focuses on the interaction between humans and the built environments with respect to a wide range of applications on energy consumption, user interaction, and environmental impacts. The lab facilitates cross-disciplinary research to address socioeconomic, sociotechnical, and sociocognitive aspects of illumination design. Fundamental research enabled by the lab aims to improve our understanding of the human response to visual stimuli, while the applied research explores novel ways of utilizing this basic knowledge to design, operate, optimize, and maintain lighting systems.
Research areas
Light and health
Energy efficiency
Next-generation lighting systems
Architectural lighting
Museum lighting
Horticultural lighting
Color science
Visual perception
Pyschophysics
About us
Alp Durmus
Assistant Professor
Dr. Durmus conducts research on colorimetry, visual perception, image statistics, and human factors in lighting, including the non-visual impacts of optical radiation. His research investigates next-generation lighting systems that reduce energy consumption while increasing occupants’ well-being and satisfaction using psychophysical experiments and computational modeling.
J Mundinger
Research Technologist
Dr. J Mundinger is interested in color science, spectral optimization, design and development of multi-channel LED arrays, lighting control systems, and development of advanced dimming curves. He also developed a new multi-channel LED product as a collaborator for an incubator grant awarded by the Penn State College of Engineering.
Rugved Kore
PhD candidate
Rugved Kore’s doctoral research focuses on a light projection system that reduces damage to artwork without causing perceptible shifts. Observer’s subjective and objective evaluations of artwork under the spectral and spatially tunable light projection system will lead to a novel method of illumination in museums.
Eunice Wang
PhD candidate
Eunice Wang’s doctoral research investigates the perceived quality of digital images. Using computational image quality metrics to estimate visual preference, visual clarity, and visual complexity will lead to a mode comprehensive model for visual comfort.
Wangyang Song
PhD candidate
Wangyang’s doctoral research investigates perceived brightness, human visual sensitivity functions, and perception of glare in outdoor sports lighting applications. His research has the potential to change regulations and standard practices in illumination engineering, such as IES recommended light levels.
Parisa Mahmoudzadeh
PhD candidate
Parisa’s doctoral research focuses on the development of a framework for lighting application efficacy (LAE). The new LAE metric will enable designers, engineers, and building professionals to quantify the efficiency of lighting applications holistically, as opposed to individual luminaires.
Naser Shehab
M.Eng
Naser is a master of engineering student in Architectural Engineering. His research is focused on the effects of lighting on cognitive processes.
Jumanah Alawadhi
M.Eng
Jumana is a master of engineering student at the Department Architectural Engineering. Her research focus is perceptual and cognitive responses to light.
Vincent Boyer
BAE
Vincent Boyer is an undergraduate student at the Department Architectural Engineering. His research focus is spatial lighting perception and wearable sensor performance analysis.
Alvaro Campos
BAE
Alvaro is an undergraduate student in Architectural Engineering. His research is focused on the multi-sensory perception chromatic lighting.
Gianna Gilfert
BAE
Gianna Natalie Gilfert is an undergraduate student at the Department Architectural Engineering. Her research focus is the lighting perception in peripheral vision.
PAST MEMBERS
Yonger Chen [MAE]
George Zhu [MAE]
Christie Gonzalez [BAE]
Tina Wang [M.Eng]
Philip Dure [BAE]
