Founder & Managing Partner
Since founding EPL in 2001, Rod Heller has served as the company’s lead designer and researcher. He is deeply involved with research on light and its effects on human physiology. Rod is currently working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine & Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and others on how light effects student performance and general human performance. He founded Midwest Lighting Institute (MLI), an independent scientific research organization which examines how the right light can help people thrive, as well as save energy. He currently serves as MLI’s Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Rod has an intimate working knowledge of every part of the business, including project development, project management, installation, product research, and operations. His passion is to take the best that the science of light has to offer for energy efficiency, human health and productivity and bring it to life in real-world projects that can help people thrive in the spaces where they live, work, learn and play.
Those who work with Rod are used to hearing him say, “Get light right for the occupant. Do what’s right for the people in the space. And the energy savings will come right along with it.”
Rod earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is Lighting Certified (LC) and is a Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional (CLEP).
