Lighting pioneer Joel Spira, founder of the Lutron Electronics Co. and inventor of the first solid-state electronic dimmer, died on April 8, 2015 at the age of 88.

Spira served in the United States Navy from 1940 to 1946 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Purdue University (1948). He then worked for a defense contractor where he developed his lifelong interest in lighting control.