The Richard Kelly Grant board of directors has named Jessica Collier and Tony Esposito as the two recipients of this year's grant. Organized by the New York Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the Richard Kelly Grant originally took the form of an educational scholarship. Over time, it expanded its applicant pool to include any professional 35 years of age or younger who can best "illustrate the way in which the conceptual or applied use of light in new and innovative ways is used to solve or better understand a problem," according to an IES press release. Collier and Esposito, both recognized for their research in lighting science, will receive cash prizes to further their work in the field.
"This year we had so many over-qualified applicants,” said Caleb McKenzie, co-chair of the Richard Kelly Grant, in the same release. “But Tony and Jessica's work and contributions to the industry were admired by every member of the jury."
Collier, currently an associate lighting research engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Portland, Ore., received the grant for her examination of the relationship between objective color metrics and subjective color preferences. Esposito, the head research scientist of Somerville, Mass.–based Lighting Research Solutions, was named a grantee for his work on color discrimination.
This year's grantees were selected by a six-person jury of Richard Kelly Grant board members: co-chairs Addison Kelly and Caleb McKenzie, principals of US Lighting Consultants, in New York; Stephen Bernstein, principal of Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design, in New York; Philip Cialdella, president of Light Abilities, in New York; Scott Hershman, senior vice president of LF Illumination, in Chatsworth, Calif.; and Randy Sabedra, lighting designer at RS Lighting Design, in New York.
