UNESCO has named 2015 International Year of Light, and DTU is celebrating the occasion with a two-day conference on light and light-based Technologies.
Over a billion people are without light after sunset, preventing them from reading and studying after dark, which in turn limits their educational prospects. Light is therefore seen as an important resource that can promote education and prosperity for the world’s population.
This is but one of the perspectives for light which is being highlighted at the opening of the Year of Light 2015 at DTU on 22 January 2015. A two-day conference organized by DTU’s own ‘light department’, DTU Fotonik, in collaboration with DTU Physics, will mark the official opening of the International Year of Light.
According to UNESCO, the aim of the Year of Light 2015 is to highlight the importance of light and light-based technologies and the role they play in developing society and shaping our future.
Light also plays a key role in modern-day society, emphasized DTU President Anders Bjarklev in a speech at the opening ceremony:
“In communication, just about everything you send involves light at some point or other. So optical technologies are vital in communication. Light also plays a major role in other important areas such as medical treatment and diagnosis, just as light-based technologies are gaining a foothold in new areas such as food safety and transport,” said Anders Bjarklev.
The conference at DTU includes a scientific programme with Danish as well as international speakers who will be sharing their knowledge about light and light-based technologies.