Lighting solutions company Royal Philips (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was applauded by the Optical Society (OSA; Washington, DC) for signing on as the first patron sponsor of the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL 2015). The United Nations proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and the plans for the year-long initiative are underway by a large consortium of scientific bodies, with UNESCO as lead agency. OSA is one of eight founding partners of IYL 2015 and is working with the consortium to encourage more corporate support of the global initiative.
"IYL 2015 is a celebration of light, and Philips has been a recognized global leader in innovative lighting solutions for well over a century," said OSA CEO Elizabeth Rogan, a member of the IYL 2015 Steering Committee. "We've collaborated with Philips on successful programs before and look forward to working with them on IYL 2015. Companies like Philips will be well served by joining this ever growing year-long focus, with the ability to showcase their breakthroughs, applications and light-inspired experiences with the world."
OSA most recently partnered with Philips on the 2012 OSA Renewable Energy and the Environment Optics and Photonics Congress in Eindhoven, Netherlands where Philips Lighting CTO Klaas Vegter provided a keynote address on "The Future of Lighting: Beyond Saving Energy," and Congress attendees were treated to a tour of the Philips facility in Eindhoven. Additionally, Philips research staff members have long published in OSA journals and conference proceedings.
As a patron sponsor, Philips will work closely with the IYL 2015 planners to highlight the crucial role that light and light-based technologies play in improving the quality of people's lives worldwide. Philips will also support a key IYL 2015 program called "Study after Sunset," promoting the use of portable solar-powered high-brightness LED lanterns in regions of the world with little or no reliable source of light.
The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL 2015) is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations (A/RES/68/221) to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health. With UNESCO as lead agency, IYL 2015 programs will promote improved public and political understanding of the central role of light in the modern world while also celebrating noteworthy anniversaries in 2015--from the first studies of optics 1,000 years ago to discoveries in optical communications that power the Internet today. The IYL Global Secretariat is located at the International Centre of Theoretical Physics ICTP. Founding Partners of IYL 2015 are the American Physical Society (APS), the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG), the European Physical Society (EPS), the IEEE Photonics Society (IPS), the Institute of Physics (IOP), the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), the lightsources.org International Network, and The Optical Society (OSA).
SOURCE: OSA; http://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2014/the_optical_society_welcomes_philips_as_internatio/