Does “Color Science” even matter?

yogi4fitness wrote:

I’m curious how many universities offer degree programs in color science vs universities offering degrees in signal processing (EE), optical engineering, Ui etc. I’m guessing 10% or maybe even 1%. I dont know the exact number but I’m thinking that itself should tell us how important color science is in the practical scheme of things.

Whether someone has a degree in color science or a degree in another field which intersects with color science knowledge and application (and many fields do); color science is incorporated into an array of devices and technologies — which are useful as well as practical in any scheme of things. Color scientists are making very practical contributions to both scientific knowledge and useful devices — like cameras, displays, projectors, printers, software, etc.

As one example, Ján Morovic received his PhD in Color Science from the University of Derby - Colour & Imaging Institute in the U.K. in 1998 and joined HP Barcelona in 2003 putting his scientific knowledge and research efforts into the development of large format printers. He served for a time as Director of the CIE Image Technology Division. He has well over 100 patents. He is also active in publishing books and articles. His book on color gamut mapping is included in the Society for Imaging Sciences and Technology collection of books on color science and he is a contributor to the book Colorimetry: Understanding the CIE Systems (link is to Internet Archive Library version if you want to save $100 by reading it online) which is found in the previously mentioned and linked book collection and also in the selected books recommended in the wikipedia article on color science. He also still finds time to contribute interesting articles, along with a group of scientists from other varied fields, to a blog called Wonderverse.

That's an example of one color scientist advancing the scientific knowledge base and practical application of color science to products. There are definitely others that come immediately to mind as well — like Karl Lang who, among other things, designed the last and best CRT monitor I used (Sony Artisan) and currently works with the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM) in developing standards for displays  — but reviewing any more of their contributions may make me feel even lazier than I do already.