Stevens' Light and Life Lab tracks dangers of UV radiation

Of the 1 million cases of skin cancer diagnosed this year, more than 40,000 will prove to be malignant melanoma. Among all diagnosed cases, according to the American Cancer Society, an average of 7,300 deaths occurs annually. Additionally, the incidence of melanoma has risen by 4 percent per year over the last 25 years. The majority of these cases can be traced to exposure to harmful ultraviolet radiation in the environment.

At Stevens Institute of Technology, the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics has initiated the Light and Life Laboratory to study interactions of light with living organisms in our environment, including the environmental and health effects of UV. When one considers that one of every two cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer, the urgency of the lab's efforts to gather new and better data becomes clear.

Under the direction of Dr. Knut Stamnes, the lab's team is engaged in an analysis that can be expressed in thoroughly human terms.

"Since excessive exposure is harmful," says Stamnes, "there is a need to know more about UV levels at the Earth's surface and at varying levels in the oceans. Along coastlines where people use the beaches for sunbathing and recreation, it is especially important to provide data on UV exposure."

The Stevens' Light and Life Laboratory is developing instruments to measure UV that will be ready for field deployment this spring. A visiting scholar who is an expert in the area, Dr. Trond Thorseth of the University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, will guide the initial testing of the instruments. Data on seasonal variances in UV intensity and the range of effects on humans and other organisms will be gathered and analyzed.

"The goal," says Stamnes, "is for Stevens to become a national center for excellence in this area of research and development. Providing useful information to the public about the potential harm from UV exposure is also one of our goals."

Stamnes arrived at Stevens in July 1999. He is an internationally renowned researcher, recognized for his work on the measurement and impact of radiation in the atmosphere. Over twenty years, his research agenda has taken him from Colorado, where he earned his doctorate in Astro-Physics in 1978, to Alaska, where he headed the Environmental Optics Group at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He was also a member of the Science Working Group for Surface Heat and Energy Budget for the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) during 1992-96. He is Site Scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurements) facility. In addition, he is a Science Team member for the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellites (ADEOS) program.

His primary research sponsor has been the National Science Foundation, which selected Stamnes to be the principal or co-investigator on thirteen proposals. Additional funding has also been awarded to Stamnes from the Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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