Support Daylighting Research

Light shapes how we sleep, think, learn, work, and age. Yet most buildings are designed with limited understanding of how their lighting environments affect human health. The radiantlab at Oregon State University studies how daylight and electric lighting influence human biology, behavior, and well-being.

Our research explores questions related to circadian health, cognitive performance, sleep quality, aging, workplace productivity, student success, and long-term health outcomes. By combining building science, engineering, physiology, and data science, we aim to create healthier buildings that better support the people who use them.

Private support helps us pursue innovative research, educate and train the next generation of scientists, policy leaders, and industry professionals, and accelerate discoveries that improve lives.

What Your Gift Funds

Student Researchers

Graduate students are at the heart of the lab's work. Gifts supporting students help fund research assistantships, field studies, data analysis, and scientific training opportunities.

Investing in students not only advances current projects but also helps develop the future leaders of building science and health research.

Research Equipment and Measurement Technologies

Understanding how light affects people requires sophisticated measurement tools. Donations help us acquire and deploy new technologies that expand the scope and quality of our research.

• Wearable devices that track sleep, activity, physiology, and light exposure
• Advanced light and spectral measurement instruments
• Environmental sensing and monitoring equipment
• Biological sampling and laboratory analysis
• New technologies that enable larger and more diverse studies

These tools allow us to collect higher-quality data and better understand how building environments influence human health.

Daylighting and Human Health Research

The lab investigates how lighting and building environments influence human outcomes across the lifespan. Current and emerging research areas include:

• Circadian rhythm and sleep health
• Cognitive function and mental performance
• Aging and healthy longevity
• Dementia and neurodegenerative disease risk
• Workplace and educational environments
• Health equity and access to healthy buildings

Unrestricted research gifts provide the flexibility to pursue new ideas, launch pilot studies, support participant recruitment, and respond quickly to emerging scientific opportunities.

Why Private Support Matters

Many of the most innovative research ideas begin before traditional funding sources are available. Private gifts help bridge that gap by supporting early-stage studies, new technologies, and exploratory projects that can lead to larger research programs and external funding.

Your support enables us to ask ambitious questions and generate the evidence needed to design healthier buildings for future generations.

How to Give

Donations are processed through the Oregon State University Foundation, ensuring your gift is tax-deductible and directed to support radiantlab research.

1. Visit the OSU Foundation giving page.
2. In the Designation field, search for and select Civil & Construction Engineering Research Fund.
3. In the Comments or special instructions field, enter Clotilde Pierson to direct your gift to the radiantlab.
4. Complete your gift amount and payment information.

Partnerships and Major Gifts

We welcome conversations with industry partners, foundations, and individual donors interested in advancing research on healthy buildings and human health.

Support may include sponsored research, equipment donations, student fellowships, collaborative projects, or multi-year philanthropic commitments.

Contact Dr. Pierson at clotilde.pierson@oregonstate.edu.