Illuminate at NeoCon drew more than 60 exhibitors and strong designer engagement in its debut year, while Chicago lighting reps offer a candid take on the event’s value. A new QTL and Fry Reglet collaboration shows how B2B partnerships drive innovation, and HLB Lighting Design promotes a 19-year veteran to Principal.

Avraham Mor and the Morlights team launched Illuminate at NeoCon as a hands-on lighting education exhibit, while BIOS Lighting took home three Best of NeoCon honors for its SkyView Tile. The lighting industry is also mourning the loss of Brian H. Wald, founder of Fulham, remembered as a visionary entrepreneur and generous mentor.

Lighting designer David Seok reflects on his path from architecture student to studio leader and the launch of the Asian Lighting Community. A Florida Gulf Coast sanctuary switches between white and turtle-safe amber LEDs, and the Lighting Matters Podcast reveals that none of 100 recent award-winning projects credited a lighting designer.

Westgate is challenging the lighting community to predict the NBA Finals champion and final score for a chance at $1,000. A new Glamox study tackles human-centric lighting for 24/7 offshore wind farm control rooms, and Tivoli Lighting debuts TRACE Pro™, a flexible linear platform for architectural and entertainment applications.

A new Electrical Trends article examines why distributors are increasingly valuing manufacturer reps over manufacturers themselves. Morlights CEO Avraham Mor heads to NeoCon to share how lighting shapes design and human perception, and Dialight brings its industrial LED solutions to the 2026 Energy Projects Conference in Houston.

Jules Fisher of Fisher Marantz Stone has been named the recipient of the 2026 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, capping more than six decades of Broadway and architectural lighting work. Two lighting industry veterans also discovered an unexpected family connection through an Illinois gubernatorial ticket, and the IEEE Sustainable Smart Lighting World Conference is heading to Athens in December.

ETI Solid State Lighting has filed a complaint against Signify alleging royalty demands on products that don’t infringe any patents — a case that could have major implications for the industry. Meanwhile, Linmore LED Labs champions repairable modular fixtures, and The Lighting Quotient debuts a human-centric workplace system at Fulton Market Design Days.

WAP Sustainability and the International Living Future Institute invite the industry to help shape Declare Health 2.1 standards, CIE 2027 heads to Nanjing for global lighting science sessions, and Inter-lux debuts two new systems — a Dark Sky-compliant bollard family and a high-performance indoor surface fixture.

New UCL research raises concerns about blue-heavy LED lighting and its impact on mitochondrial health, while a 20-year residential lighting veteran makes the case that soft skills matter as much as design. Plus, the University of Bergen is using a human centric lighting hall to fight seasonal affective disorder.

Cree Lighting’s assets have been sold through an impaired asset sale with questions remaining about the new investors and the brand’s future. Meanwhile, a teenager who hauled neon signs built a thriving Arkansas lighting business, and Lodes turned heads at NYCxDESIGN in SoHo.