Illuminating Engineering Society

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), is an industry-backed, not-for-profit, learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. The IES's stated mission is "to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into actions that benefit the public".

Since 1906, when the IES was legally incorporated, the IES has always been known as the "IES". However, in 1981 the 6th edition IES Lighting Handbook published the phrase, "Illuminating Engineering Society of North America("IESNA"). The "IESNA" moniker persisted until it was removed in 2010 when the 10th Edition of Lighting Handbook was released. The IES is a global organization with sections worldwide and solely related to North America.

The Society is headquartered in New York City. The IES is divided into approximately 100 local sections.

Publications
The IES is credited with over 100 publications on the subject of lighting such as The Lighting Handbook: 10th Edition. Other publications, many of which are American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or ASHRAE standards, include recommended practices for a variety of specific lighting applications such as office, sports, and outdoor lighting, and lighting for healthcare facilities. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) references several IES publications for Optical Radiation Calibrations. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) makes several references to the IES and its publications in its Outdoor Lighting Code Handbook.

The Illuminating Engineer could be considered the first journal of the society. One of the founders, E. Leavenworth Elliott, had begun publishing it late in 1905—just prior to the founding. He described it as "a technical journal devoted to the use of artificial light".

The society's present-day journal, LEUKOS (originally the Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society from 1971 to 2004 ) is published by Taylor & Francis with four issues per year.

LD+A (from Lighting, Design + Application) is the IES's monthly magazine. It is free to members.

Illumination Awards
Annually since 1973, the IES Illumination Awards program has recognized individual engineers and lighting designers for meritorious original design in a nominated project. While local sections may offer their own awards, there are five international award categories:
 * The Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award for Interior Lighting Design
 * The Outdoor Lighting Design Award sponsored by Eaton's Cooper Lighting Business, formerly the Paul Waterbury Award for Outdoor Lighting Design
 * The Energy and Environmental Design Award sponsored by Osram Sylvania
 * The Lighting Control Innovation Award, sponsored by the NEMA's Lighting Controls Association
 * The Aileen Page Cutler Memorial Award for Residential Lighting Design

The Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award for Interior Lighting Design
The awards are for an outstanding balance of function and aesthetic in interior lighting projects

Special Citation
 * 2022 Daisuki Light Inc. for Ichijo-Toma Co-op Olympia Tokyo (Philosophical Approach to Residential Lighting Design); Lighting M Inc. for Fukokuseimei Building Lobby Renovation Tokyo (Main Lobby Ceiling with Regard to Tunability and Application of Light to Transform a Space)
 * 2020 Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design; Duda/Paine Architects for Center For Health And Wellbeing, Winter Park in FL, USA (Enhancing a Strong Architectural Form)
 * 2019 Schuler Shook, Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel, Martinez & Johnson Architecture/OTJ for Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati (Historical Renovation) and Alvine Engineering for OPS JP LORD, Omaha, NE USA (Strong Correlation Between Lighting Design and Users of the Space)
 * 2018 School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, X Studio for Shangping Village Regeneration, Xiyuan Town, Jianning County, Sanming City, Fujian Province, China (Innovative Use of Color and Materials) and Licht Kunst Licht AG for HSBC Cafeteria, Düsseldorf, Germany (Human Centric Illumination in a Daylight Deprived Space)
 * 2017 The Lighting Practice, Inc. for Case Western Reserve University, The Milton And Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, OH (Meeting the Technical Challenge of Transforming a Historic Building into a Performance Space); Illumination of City Environment for Tokyu Plaza Ginza, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Grand Sight Design International Limited for Intercontinental Beijing Sanlitun, Beijing, China (Attention to Detailing & Sensitivity to the Architecture); KGM Architectural Lighting for Westfield Terminal 2 At Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA (Internal Backlighting of Sculptural Elements)
 * 2016 NBBJ for 1201 3rd Ave Public Spaces Renovation, Seattle (Execution and Simplicity); Morrissey Engineering for Blue Barn, Omaha, NE (Use of Light as a Beacon that Enhances the Community Culture); Nikken Sekkei for Narita International Airport Second Passenger Terminal Building (Integration of Daylight and Electric Light Within Circulation Spaces to Enhance User Experience); AES for Ubc Student Union Building, Vancouver, British Columbia (Architectural Integration and Coordination)
 * 2009 George Sexton Associates for Star-Spangled Banner Exhibit National Museum of American History Washington, D.C. (Uniform Illumination of a Large Artifact from a Single Source)
 * 2008 Douglas Welch Design Associates, Ltd. for Museo del Acero – Furnace Show, Monterrey, Mexico (Metaphoric alliteration)

The Outdoor Lighting Design Award
The awards are for an outstanding built environment solution by aesthetic, creative, and fine technical aspects of outdoor lighting projects with a good understanding of activities.

Special Citation
 * 2022 (49th) Expolight for Park of Culture and Rest Named by M.O. Hurov Mariupol, Ukraine (Transforming a Park); Guangzhou Goden Lighting Design for Lantern Art Space Foshan, Guangdong, China (Ingenuity and Integration); Morrissey Engineering for Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium Omaha, NE (Playful Use of Integrated Color)
 * 2021 (48th) Expolight for Freedom Square in Mariupol, Ukraine (Use of technology to create a community experience)
 * 2020 (47th) Chris Werner Design for Night Garden Miami (Use of Interactive Technology)
 * 2019 (46th) Gwen Grossman Lighting Design for Art in The Mart, Chicago (Seamless Artistic Integration Between Projection and Lighting)
 * 2018 (45th) Skira for Hendrix Bridge, Zagreb, Croatia (Controls)
 * 2017 (44th) Steensen Varming for Australian War Memorial, Campbell Act, Australia (Applying Restraint While Balancing the Emotional Aspects of a War Memorial); COOP HIMMELB(L)AU – Wolf D. Prix & Partner ZT GmbH, agLicht, Grand Sight Design International Limited for Mocape Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China (Artful Illumination of a Unique Glass Envelope Responsive to the Architecture); Shanghai Grandar Light Art & Technology Co., Ltd. for Fuzhou Strait Olympic Sports Center, Fuzhou, Fujian, China (Coordinated Large-Scale Integration of Dynamic Lighting)
 * 2016 (43rd) ArtSci Lighting Design Studio for University of California-San Diego Warren College Douglas Hall Pedestrian Bridge Replacement (Lighting Intervention that Improves Safety and Enhances the User's Experience)
 * 2010 (37th) Fox + Fox Design LLC for Louis Vuitton @ The Crystals (Exceptional integration of kinetic LED technology)
 * 2009 (36th) KBAS DESIGN ERS: Jack Mashel. for Pentagon Memorial
 * 2008 (35th) ALD for Umbra, Toronto (Energy-conscious facade lighting)

The Lighting Control Innovation Award
The awards are for a non-residential project that providing outstanding energy savings, appropriate variety of functions, value creations, and achieving at least a good lighting solution.

Special Citation
 * 2015 (42nd) Karpinski Engineering for Cleveland Clinic, Fairview Hospital Intensive Care Unit, Cleveland (Innovative Lighting Controls Employed Within a Corridor)

The Energy and Environmental Design Award
The awards are for a newly energy-saving strategy in commercial and industrial projects that also achieve quality lighting solutions.

Special Citation
 * 2018 (45th) Nikken Sekkei for Tsu City Industrial Sports Center "Saorina", Tsu-City, Mie Prefecture, Japan (Unique Daylight Delivery System)
 * 2016 (43rd) WSP for Noaa Inouye Regional Center, Honolulu (Adaptive Reuse of an Existing Structure Encompassing Integration of Daylight, Skylight and Controlled Artificial Light)
 * 2014 (41st) Arup Raad Studio for Imagining the Lowline New York City
 * 2010 (37th) CD+M Lighting Design Group for Hard Rock Cafe, Guitar Chandelier (Creative application of LED)

Notable members

 * David DiLaura
 * Thomas Edison (Honorary)
 * Beatrice Irwin
 * Kaoru Mende

Related organizations

 * Alliance to Save Energy (ASE)
 * Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
 * Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP)
 * International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD)
 * International Commission on Illumination (CIE)
 * Professional Lighting Designers' Association (PLDA)