UC Davis Launches New Color Lab at CLTC

At UC Davis, the California Lighting Technology Center is establishing “The Color Lab” in collaboration with the Center for Mind and Brain to explore the impact of discrete color spectra on stress, mood, and alertness.

A recurring question asked by building owners during human-centric lighting design is, “which light colors should I use to optimize the space for the well-being of occupants?” Today, there is little data to support the use of specific light colors for increased wellness; however, with commercially available color-tuning lighting technologies – and the new color lab – answers to this question and more are now being addressed.

The Color Lab will be available to all UC Davis researchers and partners interested in studying the interactions between discrete spectra and humans. Partners from The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences are already collaborating with the team on the circadian implications of discrete spectra via the Davis Circadian Protocol.

This work is supported by Toyota-Boshoku America.

The UC Davis team is shown in the photo (from left to right): George (Ron) Mangun, Sreenivasan Meyyappan, Jae Yong Suk, and Michael Siminovitch