Skip to Main Content U.S. Department of Energy
Energy and Environment Directorate

Robert Davis

Robert Davis

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Portland Office
620 SW FIFTH AVE, SUITE #810
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 417-7572

Biography

Bob Davis is Chief Lighting Research Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where his responsibilities include serving as Technical Director of the Solid-State Lighting program and leading several human factors research efforts. He has been a faculty member in architecture at RPI’s Lighting Research Center and in engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. His experience includes working in engineering and marketing at a lamp manufacturer and leading the product development and engineering teams at a luminaire manufacturer. He has degrees in Architectural Engineering and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, and is a Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society. Bob is a recipient of the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Presidential Award, the John and Mercedes Peebles Innovation in Education Award, and the New York State Governor’s Award for Energy Excellence. He is Co-Director of the Rocky Mountain Lighting Academy at the University of Colorado, where he has an appointment as an adjoint faculty member in architectural engineering, and he holds a joint appointment as Affiliate Professor in architectural engineering at the Pennsylvania State University.

Research Interests

  • Lighting energy efficiency and sustainability
  • Human factors in lighting and lighting quality
  • New technologies for lighting

Education and Credentials

  • BS and MS in Architectural Engineering, Penn State University
  • PhD in Cognitive Psychology, University of Colorado
  • Fellow, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America

PNNL Publications

2022

  • Abboushi B.K., S.F. Safranek, E. Rodriguez-Feo Bermudez, S.C. Pratoomratana, Y. Chen, M.E. Poplawski, and R.G. Davis. 2022. "A Review of the Use of Wearables in Indoor Environmental Quality Studies and an Evaluation of Data Accessibility from a Wearable Device." Frontiers in Built Environment 8. PNNL-SA-167029. doi:10.3389/fbuil.2022.787289
  • Dubose J., R.G. Davis, G. Campiglia, A. Wilkerson, and C. Zimring. 2022. "Lighting the patient room of the future: Evaluating different lighting conditions from the patient perspective." Health Environments Research and Design 15, no. 2:79-95. PNNL-SA-162959. doi:10.1177/19375867211063481

2021

  • Abboushi B.K., S.F. Safranek, and R.G. Davis. 2021. "The Effect of Spectral Resolution of Light Sources on Photopic and a-opic Quantities." In SPIE OPTO: Light-Emitting Devices, Materials, and Applications XXV, March 6-12, 2021, Online Only. Proceedings of the SPIE, edited by J.K. Kim, M.R. Krames and M. Strassburg, 11706, Paper No. 117061L. Bellingham, Washington:SPIE. PNNL-SA-160068. doi:10.1117/12.2577934
  • Davis R.G., G.D. Thomson, and L. Fernandes. 2021. "Achieving Integrated Daylighting and Electric Lighting Systems: Current State of the Art and Needed Research." Energies 14, no. 13:3833. PNNL-SA-162962. doi:10.3390/en14133833
  • Mccunn L.J., S.F. Safranek, A. Wilkerson, and R.G. Davis. 2021. "Lighting Control in Patient Rooms: Understanding Nurses' Perceptions of Hospital Lighting Using Qualitative Methods." Health Environments Research and Design 14, no. 2:204-218. PNNL-SA-152350. doi:10.1177/1937586720946669

2020

  • Collier J.M., B.K. Abboushi, and R.G. Davis. 2020. "Evolving theories of change: Rethinking of the effects of office lighting on occupants." In Proceedings of the 2020 Illuminating Engineering Society Annual Conference, August 24-28; August 31- September 4, 2020, Virtual. New York, New York:Illuminating Engineering Society. PNNL-SA-152957.
  • Davis R.G., L.J. McCunn, A. Wilkerson, and S.F. Safranek. 2020. "Nurses' Satisfaction with Patient Room Lighting Conditions: A Study of Nurses in Four Hospitals with Differences in the Environment of Care." Health Environments Research and Design 13, no. 3:110-124. PNNL-SA-145366. doi:10.1177/1937586719890940
  • Safranek S.F., J.M. Collier, A. Wilkerson, and R.G. Davis. 2020. "Energy impact of human health and wellness lighting recommendations for office and classroom applications." Energy and Buildings 226. PNNL-SA-151604. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110365

2019

  • Davis R.G., A. Wilkerson, and B.R. Kinzey. 2019. "Luminaire dirt depreciation (LDD): Field data from several exterior lighting projects." LEUKOS - The Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America 15, no. 1:55-63. PNNL-SA-130333. doi:10.1080/15502724.2018.1517598
  • Davis R.G., and S.F. Safranek. 2019. "Lessons in the classroom." LD+A Magazine 49, no. 5. PNNL-SA-141890.
  • Veitch J.A., and R.G. Davis. 2019. "Lighting Research Today: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same." LEUKOS - The Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America 15, no. 2-3:77-83. PNNL-SA-141275. doi:10.1080/02604027.2019.1596680

2017

  • Royer M.P., A. Wilkerson, M. Wei, K.W. Houser, and R.G. Davis. 2017. "Human perceptions of colour rendition vary with average fidelity, average gamut, and gamut shape." Lighting Research & Technology 49, no. 8:966-991. PNNL-SA-116963. doi:10.1177/1477153516663615

2015

  • Wilkerson A., A. Donohue, and R.G. Davis. 2015. "Designing for the Active Classroom." LD+A Magazine (February 2015). PNNL-SA-107285.

Energy and Environment

Core Research Areas

Contacts