On October 19 at a press conference held at the LDI2002 exhibition in Las Vegas, Martin Professional’s US subsidiary, Martin Professional Inc., presented its second annual Intelligent Lighting Technology Grant to the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Department of Theatre. On hand to accept the award on behalf of the university was Brackley Frayer, lighting designer and Head of Design/Technology at UNLV.
Valued at $50,000, the grant consists of a variety of Martin fixtures and control products. Martin also provides technical training and support for the winning college or university, as well as quarterly seminars on emerging technologies and application discussions.
"The grant will allow UNLV to teach students with state-of-the-art equipment and help to establish an Entertainment Engineering program," Frayer stated after the presentation. "Las Vegas is the center for entertainment technology, thus we need our students involved in all aspects of lighting. We currently expose our lighting design students to theatre, dance, and opera. The equipment will be a valuable resource in our theatre labs for all of our lighting students. An Entertainment Engineering program is being formed to further address the needs of these students to a wider scope that we feel is essential in their education."
Former UNLV theatre students include Cirque de Soleil lighting director Jeanette Farmer and Emmy award-winning lighting designer Barbara Brennan, who commented, "I applaud Martin's unflagging efforts to not only raise the bar on technology but to guarantee that there will be proficient professionals geared to take that technology to infinite possibilities."
Martin US CEO Troels Volver commented, "The development and dissemination of new technology to the users and future users of intelligent lighting products is a top priority at Martin. And while we cannot give our products to everyone we would like, we are committed to this annual grant for the future."
The Martin Intelligent Lighting Technology Grant is awarded to an accredited college or university in the USA each year. Grant applications are accepted after January 1, with the selection of the winning school chosen by the Martin Management Team and Board of Directors in association with the LDI exhibition each year.