2005 ILDA Career Achievement
Award recipient:
L. Michael Roberts
At the 2006 ILDA Conference in Rimini, Italy, the 2005 ILDA Career Achievement Award was presented to L. Michael Roberts. The CAA honors "exceptional individuals with a distinguished history of achievement in the laser display industry."
This page contains a biography, Michael's acceptance speech, and remarks by the three CAA judges about Michael.
L. Michael Roberts: A laser biography
L. Michael Roberts has led a distinguished dual career: one in laser shows and artwork, and the other in assisting ILDA and the laser industry.
Laser shows and artwork
Michael is a pioneer in Canadian laser shows. Inspired by a Laserium show in Toronto, in 1976 he built his own laser system and started his company, Laser F/X. Later that year, he presented the first-ever Laser Dance Party, making him the father of laser raves.
He
has also toured with Canadian rock groups such as Saga and Triumph, performed
for HRH Queen Elizabeth II, and produced lasers at the Canada Pavilion at Expo
86 in Vancouver. In 1984, he produced the first laser billboard in Canada
(pictured at right). In 1993, Michael became one of the first
creators of "laser clip art". Also in 1993, he won two ILDA artistic awards for
his laser artwork.
Assisting ILDA and the laser industry
While his laser work has been pioneering and distinguished, what most impressed ILDA’s judges was Michael’s extensive efforts to help ILDA and the laser industry.
Within
ILDA, Michael worked in many areas. In 1990, he helped organize the first
Lase-Off. He was a very active contributor to the Awards and the Terminology
Standardization committees. He pushed to make ILDA’s membership more open and
international, and personally recruited many new members.
In November 1996 he led "Team Canada" in hosting the first ILDA Conference held outside the U.S. This was also the first ILDA Conference to feature audience scanning.
Outside of ILDA, Michael was tireless in disseminating laser show related knowledge. In 1993, he produced and distributed the first non-ILDA newsletter for the laser industry, Laser Effects: The Light Show Newsletter. That same year, he began publishing his widely-used Laser Resource Directory, pulling together information that was hard to find in the pre-Internet age.
From
1996 to 2000, he ran the Laser F/X conference in Toronto. At its peak, it drew
120 attendees. At his conference, Michael introduced the "Brewster Awards", the
first to be judged solely in laser light, by laserists.
In 1996, he published the first and only book detailing how to do laser light shows. The 400-page Laser Light Show Handbook inspired many laserists (including ILDA’s Kelly Sticksel) and is in libraries at NASA, Dolby Labs, and colleges and universities.
His publications moved from print to the Internet in 1996, to his website at LaserFX.com. The site has grown to almost 1000 webpages, and is one of the Internet’s major resources teaching about laser shows. Also on the Internet, he is a regular contributor to the alt.lasers newsgroup, and for six years he ran a weekly IRC chat for laserists from around the world.
Conclusion
The laser display industry would be very different if it were not for the work of L. Michael Roberts. For his persevering work and many influences within the industry, ILDA recognizes him with the industry’s highest honor: the Career Achievement Award.
L. Michael Roberts' acceptance speech
Buona
sera, ILDA.
I am extremely grateful and humbled to receive the ILDA career achievement award. The list of previous recipients reads like a who’s who of the giants in the laser display industry…. Ivan Dryer, Seiji Inatsugu, Floyd Rollefstad, Jennifer Morris, Bob Mueller and Patrick Murphy. These are people who have played important roles in the founding and nurturing of our industry and I feel fortunate to be counted amongst them for my humble contributions.
The work I have done in the laser industry does not stand alone. Previous recipients of the ILDA career achievement award have been my inspiration, my mentors and my advisors. To quote Sir Isaac Newton; "If I have seen further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants". I encourage all of you to stand on our shoulders to see further and take the industry forward in new directions.
It is certainly a great honor to be counted as one of seven people who have received this award in the 21 year history of ILDA. Although, as one member I have always admired and respected put it to me, it can be thought of as the "kiss of death" award… one has to be long in the tooth — and I certainly qualify with 30 years in the industry and more than a few gray hairs —
and preferably retired or semi-retired from the industry in order to win the career achievement award!
The one person who has bucked
that trend is our recently appointed executive director and my friend, Patrick
Murphy. Despite my being semi-retired from the laser industry… having taken a
position as director of research and recently become an inventor… I hope to
follow Patrick’s example and remain active in ILDA to contribute where and when
I can.
I pose the question that some you have asked yourselves… What has ILDA done for me?
For myself, ILDA has been more than a social club and networking opportunity. Those of you who have been ILDA members for some years, remember the days of 12K scanning and colour boxes — now we are in the era of tiny, high speed, RGB solid state systems.
- The ILDA frame interchange standard and standardized scanner tuning made it possible for me to provide laser clip
ILDA has become my extended family… In my travels around the world, ILDA members have never failed to make me welcome in their homes and businesses. Certainly I have not always agreed with the Board of ILDA, but I always stayed a member and worked within ILDA for change. I have stood up for the "little guys" and the international members who felt disadvantaged by language barriers. I have tried to contribute to ILDA in a positive and constructive manner and have put in more than a few hours on committees. From what I have seen this week, I believe the new ILDA will welcome your efforts and ideas.
So, to answer the question "What has ILDA done for me?", it has rewarded me through my participation and efforts to improve the organization.
I paraphrase the words of a great leader who’s vision set humankind on the journey to the stars… "Ask not what ILDA can do you for you… but rather ask what YOU can do for ILDA".
Thank you!
2005 Career Achievement Award judges
Jay Heck = Alexander Hennig = Patrick Murphy
Comments from the judges
Jay Heck: "The deciding factor in my mind is the effort Michael put into the laser entertainment industry in general, above and beyond his own company.... Michael went out of his way to gather and share knowledge about laser shows, in order to help foster a more exciting and diverse industry."
Alex Hennig: "He shared his knowledge with others by means of his manifold publications and his website. I am sure that his work attracted many new talents to the industry and helped them to overcome problems anyone experiences when trying to do something with lasers. For some people he has perhaps been even something like a father. In my personal opinion his outstanding achievements in neutrally promoting the laser display industry and certainly also his (sometimes controversial but always constructive) contributions to ILDA are deciding factors to give the Award to him."
Patrick Murphy: "As one of Canada's first laserists, Michael has had a very active career doing laser displays. But it is his industry-related work that truly makes Michael unique. Within ILDA, he was very active; for example, he helped host the first non-U.S. ILDA Conference. Outside of ILDA, he virtually had his own laser industry support organization. He ran conferences, created the first awards to be judged in laser, and published books, newsletters, resource guides and a widely-used website. His tremendous energy, dedication and service to the laser industry make him very deserving of the ILDA Career Achievement Award."
