The first CIE Expert Symposium in this Series, entitled "Light and Health" was held in Vienna, Austria, 29 September - 1 October 2004, and its emphasis was centred on the results of unfolding research on the effects of light upon the neuro-endocrine system, most notably the identification of a novel photoreceptor in the human retina and its role in regulating circadian rhythms, and ultraviolet radiation effects upon the skin and eyes. The discussions during that symposium led to the conclusion, that a follow-up symposium should be organized with the emphasis upon practical implications for lighting from new research findings.

This second symposium on Lighting and Health was thus organized in conjuction with Division 3. It was held in Ottawa, 7-8 September 2006, and provided updates on scientific progress, with a stronger emphasis on how we might apply this new information in lighting recommendations and lighting design. The sessions were organized in two parts 1) fundamentals where the biological basics were presented, and 2) application papers detailing the practical implications and practices that might result. About one-third of the time was devoted to discussion of the possible consequences for different lighting scenarios, lamp and luminaire specifications.

The symposium had four presented paper sessions and a poster session. The session on Fundamentals reviewed photoreception, the neural pathways that regulated circadian rhythms and experiments to phase shift the circadian cycle. The related application papers discussed measurement issues and the different effects of application with different light sources. The session Effects upon Healthy People concentrated on fatigue, stress and reduced alertness after long periods spent indoors under artificial lighting. Extra stress, sleep disorders and cancer risk of shift workers, further jet-lag of travellers were debated and lighting conditions were presented to reduce these negative effects. Medical and Clinical Lighting Therapy focused on well adapted lighting conditions especially for the elderly to treat sleeping disorders by supplying carefully prescribed light exposures. Lighting therapy devices and new concepts of luminaires were demonstrated. Finally, a panel-led discussion, Applications in Lighting, centred on discussions on applying the circadian and health research findings for applied lighting. The discussions were triggered by a featured speaker in each session. Implications for day- and night lighting and future road maps for CIE Divisions 3 and 6 were discussed. The Poster Session covered very diverse topics from gerontopsychiatric care of aged people that showed improvement for higher lighting to effective UV radiance and irradiance measurements, and the interrelation between in vivo and in vitro action spectrum for vitamin D production. More than 160 people from 21 countries attended the symposium showing an increase of around 60% compared to the first symposium in Vienna, indicating an increasing interest in Lighting and Health.

The papers included in this volume are edited by the authors; they are published in full under the responsibility of the authors themselves. The editing group restricted its contribution to matters of typography and layout. The Proceedings contains the full text of all the presented 24 papers and 29 posters.

The publication consists of 239 pages with 164 figures and 13 tables.

A CD-ROM with all papers in a searchable form is included with the puchase of the "softcover/CD-ROM" format.