This week, UC Davis Health recognized CLTC’s contributions to healthier indoor environments with the Office of Wellness Excellence Award for Center of Excellence. CLTC Director Jae Yong Suk and former Director Michael Siminovitch accepted the award on behalf of the center, honoring the team’s research and design solutions that improve health, well-being, and quality of life.
For more than two decades, CLTC has advanced lighting that combines energy efficiency with human needs. Research at the UC Davis Honda Smart Home helped inform California’s Title 24 lighting requirements, including color rendering, flicker reduction, occupancy sensing, and automated dimming.
For more than two decades, CLTC has advanced lighting that combines energy efficiency with human needs. Research at the UC Davis Honda Smart Home helped inform California’s Title 24 lighting requirements, including color rendering, flicker reduction, occupancy sensing, and automated dimming.
CLTC extended this work into healthcare through a simulated patient suite and nurse station. These spaces allowed researchers and practitioners to explore lighting that supports circadian rhythms, nighttime path lighting that protects sleep, and task lighting that supports nurses while minimizing disturbance to patients.
During planning for UC Davis Medical Center’s new 334-bed California Tower, CLTC hosted sessions where designers, health system leaders, and contractors could experience these lighting approaches firsthand. That collaboration helped inform plans for lighting that supports circadian rhythms throughout the facility, which is scheduled for completion in 2030.
The research continues in CLTC’s Color Lab, where findings on amber light’s potential to reduce stress are informing further exploration in medical settings and beyond. The center is also studying lighting strategies to support alertness, wellbeing, and productivity in commercial offices.
Thank you to UC Davis Health for this honor, and to the CLTC staff, researchers, students, and partners whose work made it possible. Congratulations to the entire team!