Purpose

Sylvan R. Shemitz, FIES, a member of the IES for sixty-one years, was a distinguished lighting designer with a long and illustrious career. He founded Sylvan R. Shemitz Designs, Inc., makers of elliptipar and tambient, patented many major innovations in asymmetric lighting and invented the first single-source task/ambient lighting solution.

In honor of his memory, his family and company, now The Lighting Quotient, have established the Sylvan R. Shemitz Memorial Scholarship to help deserving students pursue their studies, and most of all, their passion for beautiful lighting. This year’s scholarship winner will be awarded $2,500.  The amount of the scholarship in subsequent years will be based on the endowment’s dividend.

Student Eligibility

All second, third, fourth or fifth year undergraduate or graduate students in an accredited lighting degree program during the fall of each year are eligible to apply. This scholarship applies to students in all aspects of lighting including, but not limited to, architectural, commercial, residential, and theatrical lighting. Applicants should refer to the IESNA Handbook for eligible fields of study.

Judging Criteria and Process

All applications will be judged by a panel comprised of three IES members and two representatives from The Lighting Quotient. The following set of criteria will be used to evaluate each application:

•Communicated passion for lighting
•Writing style
•Knowledge of the lighting design industry
•Potential for success in a lighting design career as determined by letters of recommendation

Materials and Deadline

To apply for the Sylvan R. Shemitz Scholarship, interested students should submit the following to the selection committee:

•A 1,500 word essay titled The Next Generation of Lighting: How would you bring a historical lighting installation into the next generation of sustainability? (In addition, drawings, schedules, and renderings can be submitted to supplement the essay.)
•Two letters of recommendation from principal instructors at the student’s current lighting program. One of the letters may be from someone who supervised the student in an internship program.
•Scholarship to be valued at $2500
•A completed scholarship application form
•Deadline for submissions is May 1
•Select winner by July 15
•Announce winner by August 1

For more information on The Lighting Quotient, please visit http://thelightingquotient.com