It has long been said that lighting is a combination of art and science. This year’s CIBSE Annual Lecture, presented by the SLL at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, will consist of two talks that explore each aspect of this combination, beginning with the historical perspective and then looking towards the future.

The Scientists

Dr. Bryson Gore and Dr. Frank James will begin the lecture with a talk on the work of the Royal Institution from the times of Faraday, painting a picture of the scientific fervour that led up to the formation of SLL’s original incarnation as the Illuminating Engineering Society in 1909. In addition to anecdotes about the pioneers of the past, the talk will include artefacts and demonstrations from the Royal Institution’s marvellous collection.

The Designer

Multiple award winning designer Jonathan Speirs will postulate in our second talk that architectural lighting design is primarily about creativity, about inspiration, about the idea. During 25 years in the international arena of architectural lighting design, Jonathan Speirs has been responsible for significantly and consistently promoting the creative approach to light in our built environments. His talk entitled ‘Creativity, Creativity, Creativity!’ will present visual examples of creative lighting design around

the world looking to the past, the present and into the future.

President and active CIBSE member Brian Moss received the Gold Medal award at the Institution’s Annual General Meeting in May 2008 held at the Royal Society.  The Gold Medal is the highest award to a member by the Institution and reflects the exceptional service Brian has given to CIBSE and the position of eminence within the industry that he has achieved over the years.

Brian has held the position of both President and Treasurer for CIBSE, as well as helping to set up and run the Publications, Research Output and Development Committee (PROD), ensuring that the Institution’s guides are kept up to date. Under his leadership the quality and standing of technical publications has never been higher and publication sales continue to set new income records each year.

At invitation of the Board, he has set up and leads CIBSE Services Limited - as a viable trading company to bring in additional income, embracing the opportunities relating to energy certification. He currently leads the Weather Task Force - researching what we should be recognising as future weather data for our buildings.