Miki Matsushita Lighting Design

Miki Matsushita

Lighting Designer / Doctor of Philosophy in Health and Environmental Sciences

In 1989 I established a lighting design office, Miki Matsushita Lighting Design Co., Ltd. I have participated in more than 1,000 projects by developing my network with various people, and I could experience the new cultures and different specialties of various experts. Through these valuable opportunities, I realised that lighting has immense potential, and that I should study it further.

With the 30th anniversary of the company's founding as a momentum, I stepped down from all my positions of teaching lighting design at universities and I instead reentered university on a doctoral program. I conducted research on sustainable environmental lighting design for two years to form the basis of my doctoral thesis. The Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan, which has a history of more than 100 years, had not published any lighting design papers, instead only focusing on the engineering and scientific aspects of the industry. For the next generation of lighting design and research, I submitted my original papers about lighting design to The Illuminating Engineering Institute of Japan, and they were accepted in December 2020. Based on this achievement, I wrote my doctoral dissertation and obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Health and Environmental Science) from the Graduate School of Health and Environmental Sciences of Fukuoka Women's University in March 2021.

Because of the support of many people, I was able to receive my doctorate while working. However, this was not the completion of my ambitions. Rather, I feel that I am standing at the entrance. As a lighting designer, I will continue studying to improve my research, my professional skills, and my work.