PLEASE JOIN IES SAN FRANCISCO SECTION TO CONGRATULATE AND THANK THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2016 SOL COHN AWARD FOR THEIR EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LIGHTING INDUSTRY

Rick Miller, PE
RNM Engineering, Inc. 

Rick Miller became fascinated with theatrical lighting when he was in elementary school. Rick pursued that interest thru middle school, high school, undergrad, and grad school. Rick's first lighting control project was a middle school science fair project.

Rick received a BS in Engineering Physics University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His graduate education was in architectural and lighting design and he received a Master of Architecture from the U of Colorado Boulder. 

Rick joined the USITT in 1968.  And was president of USITT in 1971.

Rick Joined IES in July 1967.  He was President of the Chicago section twice, SF section, and served four terms as president of the Santa Barbara section from 2010-2014.  While president of SF he instituted the Light Affair trade show, and with the assistance of Juanita Cox many others became the significant annual event that still exists today.

Rick's IES Committee activities: 

  • Member, Lighting Control Protocols Committee, 2000 – Present
  • Co-Chair, Lighting Control Protocols Committee, 2010 – Present
  • Contributor to publication: TM-23 Lighting Control Protocols, 2011
  • Educational Materials Chair, 1995-1998
  • Contributor to publication:  Second Edition of ED100

Rick has received five IIDA Awards of Merit:

  • IIDA Award of Merit, Lighting design for AT&T RNOC, 1989
  • IIDA Award of Merit, Lighting design for Elgin/O’Hare Expressway, 1994
  • IIDA Award of Merit, Lighting design for DePaul Center Interior Mall, 1994
  • IIDA Award of Merit, Lighting design for DePaul Center Exterior Plaza, 1994
  • IIDA Award of Merit, Lighting design for Knickerbocker Hotel Ballroom, 1995

Rick has been active in the Title 24 process since his move to Calif in 1997.  He has participated in several CEC T24 public hearings.  He has contributed language and suggested modifications over the years with an adoption rate of 80%.

Rick designed and coordinated a digital lighting control system using 11,000 DALI ballasts forthe Marvell 5-building corporate campus in Santa Clara, CA (2004-2007).  This was an early implementation of DALI controls, and it served as a case study for the manufacturer in perfecting their controls product, and a case study for energy savings from controls.

Rick was a co-principal developer (with Kathy Peake) in 2009 of the California Advanced Lighting Control Training Program (CALCTP) for electricians.  The program included ten hours of lecture, plus 33 lab sessions.  Rick was both a lecturer and the innovator and principal developer of the 33 lab sessions.  This program is the first in the country to recognize the importance of teaching lighting controls to the installing electricians so that the controls are properly installed and commissioned.  In the past, many well-intentioned lighting control designs have been poorly installed, negating the expected energy savings.  This special training course ensures building lighting energy savings, and helps electricians gain marketable skills.

Rick has provided electrical and lighting commissioning services on over 25 buildings, including airports, court houses, corporate campuses, federal buildings, hospitals, hotels, museums, prisons, and universities.  Most of these buildings achieved LEED Enhanced Commissioning recognition.

Rick not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.  He has struggled with new controls technologies himself as a design professional, supervised their installation and commissioning, and has received multiple design awards for his excellent engineering work.

There are yet more qualifications:

  • Licensed Professional Engineer in AZ, CA, CO, IL, NM, OR, WA in 7 states
  • LC (NCQLP) since 1997
  • LEED AP since 2002
  • IEEE-SF-IAS, Chapter President, 2005
  • International Association of Electrical Inspectors, Member, 1985-Present
  • Consulting Electrical Engineers member 1976-1997, President 1991
  • National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), member, 1985-Present 

Rick has been lecturing about architectural lighting controls for thirty years:

  • 03/16/10 “Controls for Outdoor Lighting” by Rick Miller, for IES-San Barbara
  • 03/30/10 “Lighting Control Devices Workshop” by Rick Miller and et al, for PG&E Stockton
  • 04/01/10 “Lighting Control Devices Workshop” by Rick Miller and et al, for PG&E San Francisco
  • 10/14/10 "Lighting Controls Commissioning" by Rick Miller, for SMUD
  • 11/20/10 "Advanced Lighting Control Systems for Specifiers" by Rick Miller, for PG&E and SCE
  • 01/18/12, 01/19/12 & 02/21/12 "Emerging Lighting Control Technology" by Rick Miller, for IES Sacramento, IES-San Francisco & IES-San Barbara
  • 10/24/13 “Lighting Control Systems That Meet New Title 24 Requirements” by Rick Miller, for LightShow West 2013
  • 02/28/14 “Paperwork for the New Title 24” by Rick Miller, for IEEE-SF-IAS
  • 06/02/14 “Advanced Lighting Control Systems for Specifiers” by Rick Miller, for LightFair 2014
  • 06/05/14 “Digital Control Protocol Update: BACnet, DALI, ZigBee” by Rick Miller, et al, for LightFair 2014
  • 02/27/15 “Electrical Engineer’s Solutions to Title 24” by Rick Miller & John Griffiths, for IEEE-SF-IAS
  • 05/04/15 “Advanced Lighting Controls – No longer relays & occ sensors” by Rick Miller & Bill Ellis, for LightFair 2015
  • 10/21/15 “Title 24Acceptance Testing Certification” by Rick Miller, for LightShow West 2015
  • 02/26/16 “Dos and Don’ts: Lighting Controls Design & Cx ” by Rick Miller & Lyn Gomes, for IEEE-SF-IAS
  • 04/25/16 “Emergency Lighting-: Codes, Circuits, Controls & Calculations” by Rick Miller & Jack Schneider, for LightFair 2016

    And... Rick has run in the SF marathon!