If you have kept up with the 2017 Nobel prizes, you know three Americans won the prize in physiology or medicine for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. For the nonscientific community, the Nobel Prize Twitter account described it this way: “Our biological clock helps to regulate sleep patterns, feeding behavior, hormone release and blood pressure.”
For an electrical contractor-centric take on this emerging field, Craig DiLouie explains the four major factors in designing a lighting system in the aptly named “Circadian Lighting.” In “Expanded Reach,” Chuck Ross writes about the tunability of LEDs, the way they render color and the effects of light on human health.
Jeff Gavin brings us a look at citified agriculture in “Urban Farms Shine On.” This is not growing herbs on your windowsill; it is the super scientific deployment of LEDs that leads to resource-efficient crops.
Our fourth feature, which you can glimpse on the cover, is about the Many Glacier Hotel in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Under some rare and challenging conditions, Electrical Systems Inc. updated the lighting at the 100-year-old national historic landmark.
In the Integrated Systems Contractor supplement, Claire Swedberg writes about the revived popularity of neon lighting. Deborah O’Mara discusses power over ethernet innovation. In the Fire Focus, Wayne D. Moore writes about his skepticism concerning intelligent buildings. Has he come around?
Our products editor brings you some cool and unusual luminaires in our featured products section.
The Nobel Prize-winning scientists we mention above, who probably never thought they would get a shout-out from Electrical Contractor magazine, are Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young. Congratulations to them!
About The Author
Julie Mazur
Managing Editor, Electrical Contractor magazineJulie Mazur is the managing editor of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, Safety Leader and Line Contractor magazines. Before coming to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, she was an editor at Knight-Ridder/Tribune newspapers and the Los Angeles Times and taught English as a foreign language in Egypt and Japan. As managing editor, Julie oversees the whole publishing arc. She plans and assigns the stories for every issue, works with writers and designers and interacts with the printing plant. She has a mass communications B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Go Bears!
Permanently retired from ziplining, Julie is an enthusiastic sports spectator and radio listener. She likes to read, exercise and cook.
JOHNSON is a writer and editor living outside Washington, D.C. He has worked in magazine, web and journal publishing since 2006, and was formerly the digital editor for ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine. Learn more at www.tjfreelance.com.
