Teresa Aguilar Carrasco was named SLL Young Lighter 2023 with her project, CircaLight, a new circadian light assessment tool for Grasshopper environment.
This year’s final was hosted by SLL President-Elect, Dan Lister FSLL and took place at LiGHT23 on the 21st November, with all four finalists delivering their presentations to a live audience of their peers. Teresa was announced as the 29th SLL Young Lighter winner at Light2Perform on 5th December 2023 at ExCel.
Teresa is an architect, who graduated from the University of Seville in 2019, and is now a researcher at the Department of Architectural Construction of the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Seville. Teresa is studying for a PhD in Architecture. Her doctoral research encompasses two main lines of research: lighting and energy efficiency. It focuses on the impact of lighting, both natural and electric, on visual comfort and the health of individuals, particularly regarding its effect on circadian rhythms. She is a member of the research group TEP130: “Architecture, Heritage and Sustainability: Acoustics, Lighting, Optics and Energy”.
Her work brings a novel approach to the challenges of better integrating different metrics into a an accessible and easy to follow workflow. The judges felt that this original work collected a number of different processes and presented a new way to tackle the challenges of undertaking the daylight assessment of different metrics, delivering a consistent methodology to present and communicate the outcomes in a consistent manner. An analysis tool that has the potential to bring much wider support to the lighting industry and increased implementation of good daylight design.
The 2023 finalists and presentations were as follows:
- Anna Freiesleben, Michael Grubb Studio - Light Beyond Earth: Illuminating life on exoplanets.
- Irene Mazzei, Edinburgh Napier University / Stoane Lighting Ltd (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) - Improving sustainability in the lighting industry.
- Teresa Aguilar Carrasco - CircaLight, a new circadian light assessment tool for Grasshopper environment.
- Tom Ruddle, EGG Lighting - Lighting Remanufacture.
The judges were impressed by the quality of entries from the initial entry stage, maintaining an exceedingly high standard throughout the competition. All the finalists received a cash prize, along with a year's free membership of the Society.
“All presentations were fantastic, delivered in a confident and accomplished manner – the finalists should all be commended for the exceptionally high standard of work, commitment they have put into their research and preparation for the competition. Setting an incredibly high bar for the future.
Because of such a high standard of submissions all the way through from the initial submission, video submission and the final presentations; the judges were looking for very small areas of differentiation between the finalists. All four finalists showed a deep knowledge of their subject, presenting with confidence and in an accomplished way. In the end the Judges looked to identify the submission that represented something new in the field, demonstrating an innovative approach with original thinking and a practical approach that could benefit the lighting industry now.” Dan Lister, SLL President Elect.
2023 marks the 29th annual SLL Young Lighter competition and after three years online the competition was back in front of a live audience. Open to anyone with an interest in light and lighting, the competition is designed to test not just the finalists’ ability to develop a lighting project, but also their presentation skills.
The competition provides a unique platform for young lighters and is open for all to enter, allowing entrants to illustrate their knowledge, research or ideas on a lighting subject, hone their presentation skills, and raise their profile within the industry.
Anyone under 30 years of age on the Stage 1 submission date can enter with any light or lighting related topic including: photography, product design, light and shadow, novel approach to lighting, natural and electric light, light art or a piece of original/different thinking based on formal or informal personal discovery.
Previous winners include Seda Kacel, Christopher Knowlton, Sabine De Schutter, Rachael Nicholls, Janna Aronson, Youmna Abdallah, Sofia Tolia, Matt Hanbury, Emma Beadle, Anna Wawrzyniak, Aluwaine Manyonga, Maria Englezou and Scott Kluger.
If you would like more information about the SLL Young Lighter competition and how to enter in 2024, please email [email protected].