The Lighting Research Center (LRC) is    part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute    of Troy, N.Y., and is the leading    university-based research center    devoted to lighting. The LRC offers the    world's premier graduate education in    lighting, including one- and two-year    master's programs and a Ph.D.    program. Since 1988 the LRC has built    an international reputation as a reliable    source for objective information about    lighting technologies, applications, and    products. The LRC also provides    training programs for government    agencies, utilities, contractors, lighting    designers, and other lighting    professionals. Visit

   Thanks to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), you have an online option for the introduction.

   Discover Lighting! is a quick course in lighting, intended to provide the lighting basics for anyone who wants to learn them.

   Among the topics covered in the educational module are:

   A Brief History of Electric Lighting

   The Basics: How we see, and an introduction to useful lighting terms Lamps and Ballasts Luminaires and Lighting Controls

   Applications of Lighting Participants are required to register, but the course is free