The Triangle

Issue date: 7/31/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Sarah Michelson

On July 29, the School of Biomedical Engineering Science and Health Systems hosted the founder of CeeLite, a lighting company with a focus on the development and commercialization of a new energy saving technology. Through collaborations with Drexel University and Integra technologies, CeeLite's lighting product may make its way from luminescent panels to life-saving breakthrough Biomedical applications and beyond.

"If we can come up with an approach to perhaps develop this product in an incredible way and combine commercial operations together with the engineering operation at Drexel University, then we will be able to put something together here in the Philadelphia area that would eventually change the entire world," Richard Caruso, chairman of the board of directors at Integra, said.

CeeLite's new lighting product is based on the recently developed Light Emitting Capacitor technology in which an entirely flexible, paper thin panel can be uniformly illuminated with a very small amount of energy. The seminar focused on bringing together researchers and students across the College of Engineering to begin developing ideas to bring LECs into a more research-oriented world.

"Our interest here is through electrical engineering, materials engineering, nanotechnology, and [Biomed] … to see if there are new avenues that as a company may not be able to get into, but as an academic partner, we may be able to push the frontiers of these technologies," Banu Onaral, director of Biomed, said.

"There are a lot of boundaries we need to try and surpass. It is not easy to work together in today's industry alone. It's the research institutes, especially the universities, we need most. So that's what we are trying to do, bring our research over to [Drexel] and expand this technology," H.P Huang, chief technology office and founder of CeeLite said.

The advertising world is also being illuminated by the LEC panels. Amongst many locations in New York City, LECs can be seen lighting up ads across the walls of certain subway stops and the windows of H&M clothing stores. CeeLite's panels also made their premier here on campus earlier this year when a $20,000 grant was provided to Drexel's Smart House to develop a reliable, energy efficient, residential lighting product. The grant, supplied by the Pittsburgh-based Green Building Alliance (GBA), will provide the opportunity to create a prototype that will have the potential of being commercialized, opening up a whole new lighting market.

Students can also see the LEC panels being implemented on Drexel Shuttle Buses. A twelve foot by two foot LEC panel has been installed on Drexel Shuttle Buses in order to provide advertising opportunities geared towards students and city residents in a unique manner.

According to Fran Maahs, Assistant Director of Facilities Services, the panels will at first be used for in-house advertising opportunities. Eventually, those from outside the University will also have the chance to advertise on the side of the shuttle busses. Drexel will charge $7,500 as an introductory department rate to utilize the advertisement space for six months.

Based off a similar, yet older, technology known as electroluminescent lighting, LEC improves in many areas. CeeLite LEC panels emit whiter and more usable light without a blue cast, last longer, and are much more durable.

Demonstrating its durability, Dr. H.P. Huang, Chief Technology Officer and founder of CeeLite, bent and folded the panel, throwing it to the floor and jumping on it repeatedly.

"You can step on it or you can jump on it and it will not break or lose its brightness. We have even had some installations last week on the floor of a nightclub," Huang said.

LEC technology works much like capacitors in standard electronics today, creating an electric field between two conductors that are isolated by an insulator. This electric field then has the ability to store energy and release it when needed. LEC's insulator, however, does much of the same but with a little twist. When charged, it emits photons, providing a reliable light source and a very versatile technology. The proprietary LEC panel has received world-wide attention, winning numerous awards.

"We were one of Time Magazine's best inventions of 2006 and also the Electronic Products Magazine's Product of the Year in 2007," Huang said.

Although not bright enough to completely replace conventional indoor lighting, LECs stand to provide many unique opportunities in the medical and nanotechnology fields. Currently, however, they are mainly utilized across the world in transportation, advertising, entertainment and architecture. Huang presented an illuminated street sign at the seminar that utilizes the technology and can be seen on Market Street in West Chester, Pa. Picking it up with one hand, he explained how these street signs would save cities vast sums of money.

"When [a city] needs to illuminate a street sign, they have to have a very heavy and big light box with a fluorescent bulb inside which needs to be handled by two or three guys. But this one, you just lift with one hand. When they change the light bulb, it will cost $1,500 for labor and parts, and they do this every three to six months. If using [the LEC panel] and lighting it for 10 hours a day, you won't need to change it for four years," Huang said.

"Right now, we have an opportunity to bring this technology from Taiwan to the U.S., bring manufacturing here, and to also create jobs here in the U.S.," Caruso said.

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