This year, the DLA Annual Conference moves from autumn to the long days of spring. Inspired by this change of season, the program will invite you to take a closer look at the rhythms orchestrated by the sun and their impact on all forms of life. The rhythms of daylight shape the biology of all living beings on the planet: humans, animals, plants.

For millennia, we have adapted our activities and our emotional, cultural, and social behaviour to day-night cycles and seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter dictate how to produce food and require strategies and organisation to cope with different life conditions. While in the tropics endless growing seasons enable the lush life of rainforests, life in high latitudes is subject to contrasting seasons and radical changes in light conditions.

By combining a variety of disciplines and perspectives, the DLA Annual Conference 2023 intends to explore several aspects of this subject, from the biological adaptations to different photoperiods to the psychological and cultural differences across latitudes. In the field of technology, variations of sunlight call for innovation, particularly in the areas of materials and energy storage. In addition, this first spring edition will feature a joint session with the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms (SLTBR) about how indoor lifestyles affect our relationship with natural rhythms.

1 June 2023 — 2 June 2023
2:40 pm

EPFL Rolex Learning Center Lausanne

Link to the conference