This award will support a two-day, multi-disciplinary symposium, The Night: Why Dark Hours Are So Important, on February 21 and 22, 2007 at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. The conference will focus on the importance of a dark nighttime environment and its wide ranging connection to such disciplines as astronomy, biology, ecology, energy, engineering, government, human health, outdoor lighting, and urban planning. As a first-of-its-kind event, this symposium will bring together leaders and innovators from the fields of astronomy, ecology, medicine, lighting technology, business, and public policy to discuss the effects of light pollution on humans and on our environment. Discussion topics will be divided into four distinct sessions: Protecting the Nighttime Environment, Ecological and Human Health Concerns, Energy Efficiency and Technology, and the Solutions Necessary for Providing a Quality Nightscape.
The symposium will coordinate and focus discussion from seemingly disparate disciplines into a single multidisciplinary topic, the night. This topic impacts human health and well-being, the balance and diversity of the environment, economic prosperity, scientific advancement, and governmental representation. By including top researchers, educators, innovators, and executives, this conference will highlight the importance and necessity of bridging disciplines in order to preserve society's heritage of dark skies and present a quality nighttime environment. The symposium will be designed to attract representatives from major governmental agencies such as the Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and Department of Commerce as well as the NSF and the NIH. The convergence of such a diverse set of scientists, engineers and agency representatives, discussing topics from the effect of artificial lighting on the growth of breast cancer cells, through the optimum designs for safety and security lighting and energy conservation, to the effect of artificial lighting on astronomical observations could have positive repercussions in the crafting of future public policy.
This award is funded by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities of the Directorate of Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
