Q&A with Thesis Prize Recipient Valeria Terentyeva
After honoring Valeria Terentyeva this past May as one of this year’s two Thesis Prize recipients, the Scholarship Committee and the Board of Managers of the IESNYC were proud to sponsor her trip to the recent IES Conference in Portland where she presented her thesis before academics, designers, and manufacturers. Valeria was a student member of the Albany Section when she attended the Lighting Research Center at RPI and attended their meetings. Now that she is working at HLB Lighting Design’s Boston office, she will join that Section. We were able to get some observations from her about her experience at the conference.
What motivated you to attend this year’s conference?
The main motivation for me was presenting my thesis work, but I was also very pleased to meet with my professors and adviser from the Lighting Research Center and my new colleagues from HLB Lighting Design from offices other than Boston. I was also looking forward to meeting new people and learning about the work of other people in different areas of lighting. I couldn’t have attended the conference if not for the IESNYC sponsoring me. I think overall it was a great opportunity for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
What did you do/see/experience at the conference?
Unfortunately, due to tough work schedule during the week of the conference, I was only able to attend two lectures outside of my own presentation and the luncheon with Charles Stone. It was very interesting to listen to the presenters in areas of lighting that I never did research in and learn new things.
What part of the conference were most meaningful to you?
I think the most meaningful part of the conference was when several people asked my adviser and me questions after my presentation, which showed that the research that we did sparked interest in the lighting community and that we contributed to the advancement of the new technology.
As you transition from graduate student/researcher to a lighting designer, how valuable was attending the conference for you?
It was a very nice experience, sort of a "farewell" to the world of research for me and a transition to the professional world of lighting design. Meeting new people in this field was, in a way, an introduction to the new chapter in my life.
