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Abstract
Illuminance has long been the Holy Grail of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and of its constituents. For a century, illuminance has been a moving target. Now unpopular with or at least uninteresting to most of the research community and, apparently, even the application committees, illuminance criteria waffle from RP to RP and recently handbook to handbook. Its fall from grace is illuminated in the latest handbook where it is subservient to other important but less risky criteria. Illuminance simply isn't glamorous. Further, now, many illuminance criteria are promulgated as single-values, while a few notable and critically important exceptions such as parking lot illuminance criteria are essentially nonexistent with a heavily-footnoted ambiguous figure in the handbook suggesting anything goes. To reclaim its position as The Lighting Authority™ the IESNA must reestablish if not simply reinstate rational, robust illuminance guidelines for real-world applications worthy of professionals', code officials', and the public's immediate and every attention.