Research matters - Illuminating Engineering Society

GUEST EDITORIAL A Message From The Editor of LEUKOS
David DiLaura
IN THE NEAR CENTURY-
LONG history of the Society’s
technical publications there have
been significant changes driven by
the evolving needs of the Society’s
membership and the increasing
sophistication and importance of
lighting. Just one year after the
Society was founded, it began publishing
the Transactions of the
Illuminating Engineering Society, a
small-format monthly that published
news of the organization and
technical papers, most of which had
been presented at the annual meeting.
In 1939, Transactions became
Illuminating Engineering, a name that
reflected the wide-spread acceptance
of illuminating engineering as
a career and a profession. The
development of strong lighting education
programs in the first third of
the 20th century produced many
prominent practitioners of the science
and art of lighting, and their
work figured prominently in
Illuminating Engineering.
In 1949, several important
changes were made to Illuminating
Engineering. No longer produced
anonymously by the Society’s staff,
an editor was appointed to manage
the new and larger publication. In
addition, advertising appeared for
the first time. No longer limited to
Society news and technical publications,
Illuminating Engineering became
a source of commercial information,
as well; one can see the influence of
the explosively-developing fluorescent
lamp and luminaire industries.
In September of 1950,Ruby Redford
became editor of Illuminating
Engineering, a position she held until
her retirement nearly a quarter of a
century later. In 1963, another
change to Illuminating Engineering
was introduced: the April issue was
published in two parts: one contained
society news, reports and
advertisements; the other contained
only technical papers—most having
been presented at the previous
Annual Technical Conference.
These special April numbers of
Illuminating Engineering were the
precursor to another significant
change in the Society’s technical
publications that took place in
1971. In July of that year, the Society
ceased publication of Illuminating
Engineering and publication of The
Journal of the Illuminating
Engineering Society and Lighting
Design and Application began. LD+A
was conceived as a monthly publication
that conveyed Society news,
carried advertisements and published
articles dealing with lighting
applications. The Journal was conceived
as a quarterly publication,
limited to “technical papers.” The
Journal inherited (and in retrospect,
was limited by) the task of publishing
papers presented at the
Society’s annual conference. In
1983, the Journal became a biannual
publication; there was simply not
enough material to support four
issues per year. From its inception,
the Journal printed articles that
were vetted by the Society’s Papers
After more
than two
years of
difficult work,
a plan was
put in place
in July of
2003 to
renew and
expand the
Society’s Journal
Committee. This volunteer group
had the difficult task of reviewing
and accepting papers for presentation
at the annual conference, and
then deciding which would appear
in the Journal.
After more than two years of difficult
work, a plan was put in place
in July of 2003 to renew and expand
the Society’s Journal. Several important
changes have been made:
� An independent editor was
established for the Journal.
� The format and publication
mechanism of the Journal has
been changed.
� The scope of the content of
the Journal has been expanded.
� The input mechanism for arti-
cles in the Journal has been separated
from the Society’s annual
conference.
Journal Management
The Society has established the
position of an independent editor
to control the content, quality and
expansion of its Journal. I am honored
to have been asked to assume
this responsibility. I have established
an Operations Advisory Board
(OAB) to assist me. Beginning work
last July, the OAB has provided
invaluable help.These able folks are:
� Rita Harrold, FIES Director,
Educational and Technical
Development, IESNA
� Richard Mistrick, Ph.D., FIES,
PE, Pennsylvania State University
� Gary Steffy, LC, FIALD, Gary
Steffy Lighting Design, Inc.
� Jennifer A. Veitch, Ph.D., FIES
National Research Council of
Canada
Working with IESNA staff and
the Board of Directors, the OAB
has produced and begun to implement
a renewal plan for the Journal.
A New Format
The Society’s Journal has been
given a new name and format.
LEUKOS is the new name; a Greek
word meaning brilliant, white, radiant.The
full, formal name is LEUKOS,
The Journal of the Illuminating
Engineering Society of North America.
The format for LEUKOS will be an on
line publication,available quarterly to
all members of the society. At the
end of each publication year, a printing
of all four issues bound in a single
volume will be available to
archival subscribers such as libraries
and government agencies and others
who need or want a printed copy.
The cover and interior style of
LEUKOS has been redesigned with
contemporary design sensibilities in
mind.The new format can be seen at
the LEUKOS website, reached from
the Society’s website at www.
iesna.org
Broader Content
With LEUKOS, the traditional
scope of the Society’s Journal has
been broadened to include five
types of publications:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June . . 2004 . . . LD+A . . . . 10. . www.iesna.org
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