Does Smart Street Lighting Make Cities More Climate Resilient?
Light pollution clouding the sky near the horizon in Moab, Utah. Photo credit: Benjamin Velani. When I first started digging into this...
Curiosity Inspired by the Stars
Benjamin Velani is from Minneapolis and graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University '22, majoring in Religious Studies and Government.
Through the Humanities Scholar Program, he researched how to minimize light pollution’s disruption of the rhythms and ecology of the natural world and human experiences with a dark night sky. His thesis won the inaugural Joseph E. Connolly prize "awarded to undergraduates who have demonstrated exceptional scholarship at the intersection of religion and politics or society" (Cornell A&S Society for the Humanities).
As a summer research fellow at Fallen Tree for a Resilient Future, he studied the impact of artificial light at night on urban environments, human health, and how to reduce light pollution at home and within a community.
He also uses astrophotography and the Dark Sky Meter app to document the artificial brightening of the night sky.
Feel free to get in touch via email or social media, and I will get back to you as quickly as possible!
I am more than happy to answer any questions my blog may raise for you, including how to do astrophotography at a dark park near you or while traveling.
612-787-8889