Ivan Dryer (March 7, 1939 – July 27, 2017) is generally considered to be the father of the commercial laser light show industry.
On one project, he worked with Dr. Elsa Garmire, a California Institute of Technology physicist interested in laser light art.
[6][7] In 2013, Dryer received the first IMERSA Lifetime Achievement Award from the Immersive Media Entertainment, Research, Science and Arts association.
IMERSA noted,[citation needed] In addition to his pioneering creative and technical achievement, he also did something unprecedented for planetariums and science centers: Laserium showed that these facilities could be used as entertainment venues, increasing attendance and generating revenue... Dryer's influence carries on with presentations where light becomes an actor.In his IMERSA acceptance speech, Dryer concluded by saying: I'm delighted that we managed to enlist what was then a somewhat esoteric technological device that has been used to guide missiles and telescopes, to instead guide the neurons in millions of brains to dance synesthetically in a fusion of music and image that enhances both – to create a machinery of joy.
"In 2017, ILDA declared Dryer's birthdate, March 7, to be an annual event called "International Laserist Day".