I bought a sunrise alarm clock [1] to do something similar to this. It's not nearly as fancy as rjd's setup, but it works really well for me. I put blackout curtains on the windows in my room. I usually wake up at 7, so I'll set the clock to reach full brightness at 6:50, and then the alarm on my cell phone goes off at 7. It works really well, especially in winter.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00196LFGW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp...