What would you take if you could bring one thing into outer space? Your favorite book? Your best friend? Your laptop or cell phone…with fingers crossed for good Wi-Fi? That was the question put to a class of fourth graders and shared with LD+A late last year by IES Member Shawn Good: “My daughter’s teacher asked the class to write about what they would bring along to the new space station [Artemis I] on the moon. Her answer caught me completely by surprise.” Spoiler alert, she chose a “lighting engineer.” To learn all the reasons why, seethe “Insights” item on page 10.
Granted, Gillian is biased—her dad’s a lighting designer—but for a grade schooler, this answer was pretty neat. One might say she struck a blow for all those every-day professions—ahem lighting—that may languish in the shadows. The cocktail party answer to the question “What do you do?” sometimes doesn’t come easily. Some professions are more accessible or glamorous to the layperson than others. We all want people to “get” what we do.
I’ve seen it before. Years ago, when I was an editor at Civil Engineering magazine, some readers wondered why they couldn’t have their ownprime-time TV show like L.A. Law, a popular show at the time. L.A. Engineer would add a little sizzle to their profession. Here at IES, one of our Boards, asked about the possibility of buying rack space for LD+A in stores like Home Depot to celebrate our industry and get the public excited and educated about lighting. For the moment, Gillian has articulated the case for lighting to her teacher and classmates.
That adorable fourth-grade penmanship and a page of notebook paper was all it took.
Paul Tarricone
Editor and Publisher
ptarricone@ies.org