BELLINGHAM, WA--(Marketwired - Jan 28, 2015) - Human interactions take place around light, be it daylight, campfire, or LEDs. While the role of light in life itself on Earth has been long acknowledged, light-based science and technology have revolutionized modern life through applications in medicine, communications, entertainment, and culture.
This year, during the United Nations' International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL2015), educators, community group organizers, and individuals can share that story through customized displays, using striking images coupled with general-audience descriptions provided at no charge.
The program, Light Beyond the Bulb, is sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, the Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the International Astronomical Union.
Images illustrate the ubiquity and amazing variety of light-based technologies, and are particularly suited for audiences interested in science, how research is transformed into new applications from entertainment to healthcare, and how the world works.
The descriptive captions and images were crowd-sourced then expert-curated for science content, beauty, and the ability to engage all audiences.
"Using eye-catching images, the Light Beyond the Bulb program offers an extremely effective means to tell about light-based science and technology," said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. "They explain noninvasive medical technology that tests newborn infants for jaundice, the workings of the giant telescopes through which we see the distant universe, how chlorophyll creates energy and nutrients from sunlight, why bluebells are blue, and much more."
Information about the customized exhibitions is at www.lightexhibit.org/howtoexhibit.html. Images and captions are available at no charge for educational use. Local organizers are responsible for obtaining funds for printing as well as for securing locations to host the content.
Current exhibitions in museums, planetariums, universities, libraries, airports, conferences, and festivals around the world are listed in the exhibit schedule on the Light Beyond the Bulb website.
SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 256,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided more than $3.4 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2014.
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Amy Nelson
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