Sol Felty Light (May 5, 1886 – June 21, 1947) was an American zoologist, entomologist, and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, known for his research on tropical marine invertebrates and caste development in termites.

[6] He went on to spend two years teaching zoology at the University of the Philippines, where he attended graduate school (MA, 1913) and participated in a marine survey at the harbor of Puerto Galera, Mindoro.

[7] From March to June 1912, Light and a team of researchers, including ichthyologist Alvin Seale (1871–1958), set up a temporary site, collecting samples for the department of zoology.

[8][α] Bullock notes that Light's early, productive work on coelenterates, octocorals, and true jellyfish[β] arose out of his time in the Philippines.

[4] While there, he published an article in Science about lancelet (amphioxus) fisheries,[10] surprising scientists who had previously believed the fish to be rare in the region.

[4] He was known for his conservative demeanor, always appearing in full business suits while on field trips at the beach, only changing his shoes for rubber boots.

Former student Joel Hedgpeth remembers that he "always signed himself S. F. Light, or S. F. L. He obviously didn't care much for what his parents had done for him...So sometimes, we use those terms, being overfamiliar in our behind-his-back sort of references.

The church was popular with zoologists,[21] with Light's doctoral advisor Charles Atwood Kofoid and colleague Richard M. Eakin notable members.

[6] In the 1940s, Light was profiled in American Men of Science as one of the top 255 practicing scientists and 37 zoologists in the U.S.[22] He published 70 papers, many in entomology.

[17] Hedgpeth recalls that Light was referred to by others as an "inspired pedagogue" who "left his mark on virtually every institution of learning on the Pacific coast.

[30] In 2010, Hanus et al. referred to Light's work on identifying insect pheromones in the reproductive inhibition of termites[θ] as part of a larger body of "pioneering studies".

[31] A few months after Hanus et al. published their findings, Matsuura et al. summarized the state of research, citing Light: "In termites, which evolved eusociality independently of Hymenoptera, the existence of queen pheromones inhibiting the differentiation of supplementary queens has been suggested for many decades, but to date no active compounds have been identified.