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Bluetooth Creator Visits Long Island Campus, Inspires Students
March 21, 2022
Pictured from left: BrainLit North America CEO Kyle Harris, BrainLit Global CEO Magnus Zederfeldt, students Robert Doxey and Lincoln Dover, and BrainLit founder Tord Wingren in the ETIC.
New York Tech students, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to meet tech legend Tord Wingren during his visit to the Long Island campus on March 11. The founder of Sweden-based biocentric lighting company BrainLit, Wingren previously served as the first chief executive of Ericsson Mobile Platforms and oversaw the development of today’s omnipresent Bluetooth technology.
Wingren started his campus tour after meeting with President Hank Foley, Ph.D., and Vice President for Real Estate Development and Sustainable Capital Planning Suzanne Musho. He visited the iconic NYIT de Seversky Mansion and Education Hall before arriving at the Wisser building, the new home of the School of Health Professions. Dean Gordon Schmidt, Ph.D., gave a tour of the high-tech, high-touch simulation labs used by occupational therapy and nursing students.
Musho made a special point of showing Wingren the building’s new BrainLit lighting installation, programmed to mimic the daylight spectrum. The BioCentric Lighting by BrainLit simulates important aspects of daylight, including wavelength, intensity, direction, timing, and duration, to help occupants sustain a healthy circadian rhythm.
After moving on to view new campus renovations in Salten and Anna Rubin Halls, Wingren met with several New York Tech students working in the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) at Harry Schure Hall. The students enthusiastically shared their work, including an exoskeleton suit being prototyped by Lincoln Dover and Robert Doxey as part of a project for NASA. Another student also working on the NASA project, Benjamin Fuoco, presented his research on the use of ultrasound for object distance measuring.
“Your students are solving big problems,” said Wingren, noting that he could feel the energy and optimism at New York Tech during his visit.
“In all, it was a fantastic visit with Tord and his BrainLit team,” said Musho. “We look forward to exploring ways to continue the relationship and develop research opportunities together. We are also happy to announce that Tord will give a special presentation about light and wellness during New York Tech's upcoming Earth Week celebration.”
