Courses
How do experts find solutions to problems in illumination optics? What happens in the head of an experienced optical designer? In my series of courses, I give a comprehensive insight into the deep physics and beautiful mathematics of illumination optics. I then fill the “toolbox” with methods and design elements. Finally, using a few archetypal examples, I show how to analyze problems from first principles, and how to use these insights and the toolbox to choose the right design approaches.
Upcoming Online Courses
The next series of online courses is scheduled to start on Jan. 13, 2026. The courses are live, real time Zoom meetings, with exercises, supporting materials and certificates of completion.
Discounts may apply for multiple registrations. Learn more here.
Testimonials
"I highly recommend the illumination courses taught by Julius Muschaweck. His deep knowledge of illumination and his expertise in implementing optical designs, combined with his passion to teach, make him a perfect instructor. He translates illumination concepts into conceivable real-life examples. During the virtual sessions, he did a great job keeping all course participants engaged by using technology that allowed him to switch smoothly between lecture notes, a virtual whiteboard, and illumination software. I’m glad I had the opportunity to take his course." -Shohreh Shadalou, Ph.D. Candidate, Optical Science and Engineering, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte “Julius Muschaweck’s course provides an excellent overview of illumination fundamentals and applications. Julius is an expert in illumination optics and is an excellent teacher. He did a fantastic job of breaking down and presenting complex concepts for students with a wide range of previous experience and educational backgrounds. In addition, Julius is extremely well versed in software and modeling of illumination systems. I learned a number of practical new tips and tools for using LightTools in the course.” -Dr. Thomas Suleski, Professor of Physics and Optical Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte "I had the chance to attend the course "Modeling sources and Systems for Illumination" given by Julius Muschaweck and I really enjoyed it! My favorite part of the course was the one about ray files and the available set ups in LightTools to use them properly. Julius is really good at making all the students comfortable to ask their questions and to give very clear and complete answers. I would recommend this course to anyone curious and passionate with the field of illumination optic design." -Gabrielle Grondin, Optical Designer, Lumenpulse
Course #1: Understanding Light for Illumination
Jan 26, 28, 30, 2026 (Mon, Wed, Fri)
Feb 2, 4, 6, 2026 (Mon, Wed, Fri)
Feb 9, 11, 13, 2026 (Mon, Wed, Fri)
All nine sessions at same time of day:
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific
= 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
= 17:00 to 20:00 CET
$1,500 (minus applicable discounts)
Course description
This online short course explains the deep, beautiful, and immensely useful theory of light for illumination.
Practical exercises and examples are an integral part of the course. They show how the theory lets us see what can or cannot be done in illumination optics, and how the same theory guides us towards viable solutions.
A basic working knowledge of optics is assumed.
The course consists of nine 3-hour Zoom sessions held on three consecutive weeks. Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. PDT each day, with breaks at appropriate times.
Attendees do not need illumination design software. While a pocket calculator suffices for the exercises, spreadsheet calculation software is useful.
A download link to course materials will be provided prior to the class.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
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understand and apply the concept of étendue to practical problems
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compute étendue even in complex cases, using illumination ray tracing software
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connect the dots between flux, intensity, illuminance and luminance
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determine LED luminance from common data sheet values
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use étendue, luminance and flux information to determine feasibility from first principles and to find promising design approaches.
Who should attend
Any engineer or optical designer who wants to reach a deeper understanding of what is limiting and guiding illumination optics. While only a basic working knowledge of optics and standard engineering mathematics is required, the course’s comprehensive, coherent viewpoint on light for illumination lets experienced optical engineers gain new insights, too.
Registration and Fees
The fee for this short course is $ 1,500 (minus applicable discounts).
Participants from outside the European Union can proceed to the web shop and pay directly by credit card at checkout.
If you come from within the European Union, VAT rules apply. Please register to provide your contact information. We'll get in touch typically on the same business day to get everything sorted out for a proper VAT invoice to your company.
Feb 17,18,19, 2026 (Tue, Wed, Thu)
All three sessions at same time of day:
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific
= 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
= 17:00 to 20:00 CET
$ 500 (minus applicable discounts)
Course description
This online short course shows engineers in illumination optics how to
model LEDs and other sources in illumination design software, how to work with ray data files, and how to get their ray-tracing models right.
The optics concepts covered in our course “Understanding Light for Illumination" would be helpful, but are not required.
The course consists of three 3-hour Zoom sessions held on three consecutive days. Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. PDT each day, with breaks at appropriate times.
Attendees do not need illumination design software. We use LightTools® software to demonstrate the concepts, but they are readily applicable in most other packages.
A download link to course materials will be provided prior to the class.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
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make educated choices which source model to use
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build well working source models, including spectra, from often mediocre quality of LED vendor ray files
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understand how Monte Carlo ray-tracing software “thinks”
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understand the tradeoffs between various surface and material modeling options
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apply the concepts covered in our course “Understanding Light for Illumination” to source and system modeling
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choose which optical effects to model, and which to neglect
Who should attend
Any illumination engineer or optical designer who wants to be on safer ground when it comes to modeling light sources, especially LEDs, and to building optical system models which are sufficiently precise, but not overengineered. It helps, but is not required, to be familiar with the optics concepts covered in our course “Understanding Light for Illumination”.
Registration and Fees
The fee for this short course is $ 500 (minus applicable discounts).
Participants from outside the European Union can proceed to the web shop and pay directly by credit card at checkout.
If you come from within the European Union, VAT rules apply. Please register to provide your contact information. We'll get in touch typically on the same business day to get everything sorted out for a proper VAT invoice to your company.
Course #3: Optical Elements for Illumination
Feb 23,24,25, 2026 (Mon, Tue, Wed)
All three sessions at same time of day:
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific
= 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
= 17:00 to 20:00 CET
$ 500 (minus applicable discounts)
Course description
This three-day online short course introduces “design patterns” in illumination optics: building blocks as reusable solution approaches to recurring problems. TIR lenses, faceted mirrors, micro lens arrays, mixing rods, CPCs, Köhler illumination and more are explained by what they do to the light, and how to combine them.
The optics concepts covered in our course “Understanding Light for Illumination" would be helpful, but are not required.
The course consists of three 3-hour Zoom sessions held on three consecutive days. Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. PDT each day, with breaks at appropriate times.
Attendees do not need illumination design software. We use LightTools® software to demonstrate the concepts, but they are readily applicable in most other packages.
A download link to course materials will be provided prior to the class.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
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understand the building blocks of illumination optics from a common, coherent viewpoint
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think about illumination optics in terms of design patterns
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let the theory presented in “Understanding Light for Illumination” guide you when selecting and combining design patterns
Who should attend
Any illumination engineer or optical designer who wants to gain a deeper understanding of how the common design elements (lenses, mixing rods, micro lens arrays, CPCs,…) actually work for illumination, how and why to choose one over another, and how to combine them. It helps, but is not required, to be familiar with the optics concepts covered in our course “Understanding Light for Illumination”.
Registration and Fees
The fee for this short course is $ 500 (minus applicable discounts).
Participants from outside the European Union can proceed to the web shop and pay directly by credit card at checkout.
If you come from within the European Union, VAT rules apply. Please register to provide your contact information. We'll get in touch typically on the same business day to get everything sorted out for a proper VAT invoice to your company.
Course #4: Freeform Optics for Illumination
Feb 27, 2026 (Friday)
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Pacific
= 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern
= 17:00 to 21:00 CET
$ 250 (minus applicable discounts)
Course description
This four-hour online short course introduces participants to the art of designing freeform optics for illumination: surfaces without translational or rotational symmetry that can efficiently create desired illuminance distributions. The course will explain how freeform surfaces “work”, and show which degrees of freedom, and which limitations, are inherent to the design process. Practical examples will be shown and explained.
The course consists of one four-hour session. Class begins at 8:00 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m. PST, with breaks at appropriate times. The course uses Zoom conferencing.
Attendees do not need illumination design software. We use LightTools® software to demonstrate the concepts, but they are readily applicable in most other packages.
A download link to course materials will be provided prior to the class.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
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understand how freeform surfaces for illumination “work”
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know the fundamental limitations of freeform surfaces are, especially with extended sources
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use some solved examples as guidance for your own work
Who should attend
Any illumination engineer or optical designer who wants to gain a deeper understanding of freeform optics for illumination. Participants should have some prior optical design experience and have a working knowledge of the laws of optics and photometric quantities.
Registration and Fees
The fee for this short course is $ 250 (minus applicable discounts).
Participants from outside the European Union can proceed to the web shop and pay directly by credit card at checkout.
If you come from within the European Union, VAT rules apply. Please register to provide your contact information. We'll get in touch typically on the same business day to get everything sorted out for a proper VAT invoice to your company.
Course #5: Colorimetry for LED Users
Jan 13,14,15, 2026 (Tue, Wed, Thu)
All three sessions at same time of day:
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific
= 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
= 17:00 to 20:00 CET
$ 500 (minus applicable discounts)
Course description
This three-day online short course covers what engineers in illumination optics need to know about to quantify color, with special emphasis on LEDs. A basic working knowledge of optics is assumed.
The course consists of three 3-hour Zoom sessions held on three consecutive days. Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. PDT each day, with breaks at appropriate times.
A download link to course materials will be provided prior to the class.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
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be familiar with the common color spaces, including CIE 1931 XYZ
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intuitively grasp additive color mixing and LED binning
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compute which LEDs to mix in which amounts to achieve desired color and brightness
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use JMO’s open source Matlab® spectrum library (if you are a Matlab user)
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understand the Color Rendering Index (CRI) and its limitations
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use various color difference metrics to assess homogeneity
Who should attend
Any engineer or optical designer who needs to understand colorimetry and color mixing, especially with LEDs.
Registration and Fees
The fee for this short course is $ 500 (minus applicable discounts).
Participants from outside the European Union can proceed to the web shop and pay directly by credit card at checkout.
If you come from within the European Union, VAT rules apply. Please register to provide your contact information. We'll get in touch typically on the same business day to get everything sorted out for a proper VAT invoice to your company.
Applicable Discounts
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A 10% discount will apply when you register for all 5 online courses.
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Registration is full price for the first registrant.
Additional registrants from the same company receive a 30% discount when they sign up for the same course. -
Students of optical engineering, including PhD students: I have a soft spot for you. Please contact me to see if we can find a solution for your budget.
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You live and work in a developing country? There are two free seats in each course for people like you. Contact me to see if one is still free.
Discounts may be combined.
Currently scheduled public courses
At various occasions, my colleague Henning Rehn and I teach condensed versions of the online courses for a live audience. Stay tuned for a one day course at the SPIE Optical Systems Design conference in Strasbourg, France, probably on April 12, 2026. Another full three day course, face to face is planned for spring of 2027 Jena, hosted by OptoNet.
Private courses
The course content and length can be adapted to your needs: Please contact me to schedule a dedicated course for your group at your offices, tailored to your needs, online or at your offices.