In collaboration with Microsoft scientists Asta Roseway and Mary Czerwinski during a summer internship, Halley designed several lines of light-emitting wearables using LEDs and fiber optics sewn into clothing. Her garments, known as Lightwear, are luminous (literally), fashion-conscious clothing that anyone affected by winter depression can use to brighten away those blue funk doldrums.
Confronting Winter Dreariness
Halley emphasized making her garments fashionable as well as therapeutic. For example, the light from the wearables must strike the retina at a certain angle to deliver beneficial effects, but couldn’t be too close as to interfere with users’ vision.
Author: Roni Dengler, 3rd year PhD candidate in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology