Rensselaer is America’s oldest technological research university, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology and web science, architecture, management, and the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The university offers degrees from five schools: Engineering; Science; Architecture; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; and the Lally School of Management; as well as an interdisciplinary degree in Information Technology and Web Science.

Rensselaer offers more than 145 programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Students are encouraged to work in interdisciplinary programs that allow them to combine scholarly work from several departments or schools. The university provides rigorous, engaging, interactive learning environments and campus-wide opportunities for leadership, collaboration, and creativity.

Driven by talented, dedicated, and forward-thinking faculty, Rensselaer has dramatically expanded the research enterprise by leveraging our existing strengths and focusing on five signature research areas: biotechnology and the life sciences; energy and the environment; computational science and engineering; nanotechnology and advanced materials; and media, arts, science, and technology.

The Institute is especially well-known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.

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Toward Smart and Ultra‐efficient Solid‐State Lighting

Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching of GaN

A Modified Pulsed Gradient Technique for Measuring Diffusion in the Presence of Large Background Gradients

The Handbook of Advanced Lighting Technology is a major reference work on the subject of light source science and technology, with particular focus on solid-state light sources – LEDs and OLEDs – and the development of 'smart' or 'intelligent' lighting systems; and the integration of advanced light sources, sensors, and adaptive control architectures to provide tailored illumination which is 'fit to purpose.' The concept of smart lighting goes hand-in-hand with the development of solid-state light sources, which offer levels of control not previously available with conventional lighting systems. This has impact not only at the scale of the individual user, but also at an environmental and wider economic level. These advances have enabled and motivated significant research activity on the human factors of lighting, particularly related to the impact of lighting on healthcare and education, and the Handbook provides detailed reviews of work in these areas. The potential applications for smart lighting span the entire spectrum of technology, from domestic and commercial lighting, to breakthroughs in biotechnology, transportation, and light-based wireless communication. Whilst most current research globally is in the field of solid-state lighting, there is renewed interest in the development of conventional and non-conventional light sources for specific applications. This Handbook comprehensively reviews the basic physical principles and device technologies behind all light source types and includes discussion of the state-of-the-art. The book essentially breaks down into five major sections: Section 1: The physics, materials, and device technology of established, conventional, and emerging light sources, Section 2: The science and technology of solid-state (LED and OLED) light sources, Section 3: Driving, sensing and control, and the integration of these different technologies under the concept of smart lighting, Section 4: Human factors and applications, Section 5: Environmental and economic factors and implications

Handbook of Advanced Lighting Technology

Dr. Robert F. Karlicek, Jr. is the Director of the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an NSF and industry funded program exploring advanced applications for next generation solid state lighting systems.  Prior to joining RPI, he spent over 30 years in industrial research and R&D management positions with corporations including AT&T Bell Labs, EMCORE, General Electric, Gore Photonics, Microsemi, Luminus Devices and SolidUV.  His technical experience includes epitaxial growth of high performance LEDs and lasers, advanced device fabrication and high power LED packaging, thermal management, control systems design and applications research in solid state lighting as well as other novel LED uses such as IR and UV LED applications, wireless communications using lighting (LiFi) and advanced LED display applications. 

Dr. Karlicek is well known globally as an LED industry expert, and is a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops.  He obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and has over 56 peer reviewed technical papers and 44 U.S. patents. He is the founder and president of SolidUV, Inc., and sits on the technical advisory boards of several high tech startup companies.

Optoelectronics

Advanced Sensor Technology

Advanced Display Technologies

Advanced Lighting Systems

Lighting and Biological Applications

Internet of Things

Faculty Profile Page

Lightning Enabled Systems & Applications

Google Scholar Citations

Co-Directors Named for Rensselaer Institute for EBESS

Transforming patient health care and well-being through lighting

STRATEGIES IN LIGHT SPOTLIGHT — LEDs connect the dots between disinfection and smart lighting

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Method and apparatus for performing wavelength-conversion using phosphors with light emitting diodes

High power LED power pack for spot module illumination

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Director, Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) & Professor, Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, germicidal lighting has been eyed for indoor disinfection. Bob Karlicek, the director of the Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications (LESA) Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute led a team of engineers who designed and built a UVC system to disinfect masks for reuse.  In addition, he has been answering some of the biggest questions people have surrounding this potential tool in the current global public health crisis.

These are a few examples:

1. Can UVC radiation kill SARS CoV 2?

Yes, several groups have demonstrated that UVC radiation can quickly deactivate the SARS CoV 2 virus that causes COVID-19. To be effective, however, the delivery dose needs to be high enough and the required dose depends on several environmental factors (surface or airborne, relative humidity, and other environmental factors) that impact the delivery of UVC radiation to the virus’ RNA. The higher the dose, the faster the process, and the greater the percentage of virus deactivated.

2. Can UVC LEDs be used for germicidal applications?

Absolutely, and there is considerable published evidence for the effectiveness of UVC LEDs in germicidal applications including SARS CoV 2. Also, the output power, reliability and cost-effectiveness of UVC LED solutions are continually improving with continuing research on the design and manufacturing of UVC LEDs. Note that both UVC mercury lamps (254 nm) and UVC LEDs have lifetimes that are considerably shorter than LEDs used in solid-state lighting, so that should be factored into the design of GUV systems using either technology.

3. How can UVC sources be used safely around people?

So long as humans are not in the direct line for exposure to the UVC radiation there should be no issues. Ordinarily, UVC systems are used only when people are not present or in disinfecting air (either inside of ductwork of HVAC systems or with specially designed optics to irradiate the upper portions of room-air) with little or no radiation to the people below. Some UVC lamps come with presence detection systems that turn off when persons approach, but these systems will have to have very low false-negative error rates (turning on when the system falsely thinks that people are not present).

You can read more questions and answers here. If you'd like to interview Robert Karlicek, please click on his ExpertFile profile.


new-system-of-infrared-sensors-maintains-privacy-while-keeping-patients-safe

Short of cameras, there are few tools at the disposal of health care providers or loved ones to remotely monitor patient safety within hospitals and assisted living care facilities. This challenge was on Bob Karlicek's mind when he and a team of other researchers developed a new system of infrared sensors that is able to provide real-time data about a person’s movements in a room while also maintaining their privacy.

“We can thread this balance of information and privacy,” said Karlicek, the director of the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA). “It turns out that lighting and light field sensing give us a tremendously powerful tool for figuring out where people are and estimating what they are doing, but without creating an image of who they are.”

The system relies on what Karlicek calls occupant-centric control. More specifically, a set of sensors uses infrared light to measure distances between sensors and objects in order to identify where someone may be in a room. This information can help determine if a person is standing, sitting, or lying down on the floor. It can also distinguish between where people are standing and how they are interacting with other people.

Such measurements could alert a caregiver that someone has fallen or document the last time someone checked on their loved one.

The use of infrared light to measure distance is not a new concept. What’s novel about this approach, Karlicek said, is the development of a very inexpensive sensor that has data analytics built right into it, allowing the sensors to collect data, process it, and communicate with each other in order to track movement within a room. 

Karlicek is available to discuss this technology and other efforts LESA is working on to make buildings more capable, efficient, and helpful to the people who use them.


New System of Infrared Sensors Maintains Privacy While Keeping Patients Safe

The Smart Lighting crew interviewed Dr. Robert F. Karlicek during the networking lunch at the 4th international conference 
and showcase at Smart lighting 2014 held at CCIB, Barcelona Spain, and posed him the following question: 

How do you think Smart Lighting technology could be more sustainable?
_______________________________________

Prof. Dr. Robert F. Karlicek
ERC Director, Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United States

Dr. Robert F. Karlicek, Jr. directs the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center and is a Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and has over 40 published technical papers and 38 U.S. patents.

Smart Lighting 2014: Interview with Dr. Robert F. Karlicek

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