A Lighting Revolution: Gary Allen at TEDxCLE 2013

Gary has been developing novel, energy-efficient light sources as a physicist with GE Lighting for 25 years. In his current role as Principal Engineer on the LED Innovation Team, he and a talented team of engineers and scientists at their 100-year old headquarters in Cleveland's NELA Park are helping to forge a Lighting Revolution with new LED lighting products and technologies. With over 40 issued US Patents, his recent contributions include the world's first Energy Star certified LED replacement for the traditional incandescent light bulb, and a line of no-glare LED PAR lamps that can replace halogen reflector lamps, both products providing ~80% lower energy consumption. His earlier work in Lighting touched every one of the company's traditional lighting technologies, including Incandescent, Halogen, Automotive, Fluorescent, and High Intensity Discharge. He's active in teaching and mentoring his colleagues, and in community service.

At Pennsylvania State University, he obtained a BS in Engineering Science; and a BS and MS in Nuclear Engineering. In 1981, he obtained a PhD in Astrophysical Sciences, Plasma Physics Division, at Princeton University. His career began with R&D in Nuclear Fusion for 5 years in the Particle Beam Fusion department at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque; followed by 2 years in the research labs of GTE Sylvania Lighting in Boston.

While fusion still promises to provide the world with limitless, relatively benign power, as the timeline to its commercialization stretched to 2050 or beyond, Gary shifted his career from the supply side of the global energy challenge to the demand side, where energy-efficient lighting is providing immediate and very cost-effective solutions to our global energy and eco challenges. The significant eco contribution of the rapidly unfolding LED Lighting Revolution, and Cleveland's unique heritage and promising future in it, are the themes of his TED talk.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)