tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6766706116511064602024-02-06T22:42:24.651-06:00OP-TECOP-TEC: The National Center for Optics and Photonics Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00639248312201877921noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-47850933335898621322013-05-06T15:15:00.000-05:002013-05-06T15:20:12.992-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Karen Diaz</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">—a Photonics Technician<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What affects a person’s choice to become a photonics
technician? What personal strengths and commitment does it take to enter this
career? What are the rewards?</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These questions can be answered by examining the
backgrounds, interests, character traits and career opportunities of successful
photonics technician graduates. OP-TEC’s Photonics Alumni Council for
Technicians (PACT) has recently added 15 new members and presents biographies
of these distinguished graduates to serve as role models for capable young
students who have the interest, desire and commitment to enter the variety of
rewarding careers in this field. Many of these PACT members were not performing
at the top of their high school classes, for a variety of reasons, but
something caught their attention and focused their efforts to obtain an AAS
degree in photonics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need many more
photonics techs than we are producing to support our country’s defense,
innovation and economic prosperity. Does this sound like something you would
like to do?</span></span></i><br />
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqHocHlSSF3MXTBcz80OoTFSZA6ZUtVfiMdSv_a7OTJBeY6b6vxvIPqbVBDFfPglh-L5ftiVey7AEG-ziprWulBRQHEWJdCFMoqeAMDU95bpXJcqaCtLnaaN4MClJwNbtt7v7224BR8c/s1600/Karen+Diaz+blog_name+and+pic+as+jpg+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqHocHlSSF3MXTBcz80OoTFSZA6ZUtVfiMdSv_a7OTJBeY6b6vxvIPqbVBDFfPglh-L5ftiVey7AEG-ziprWulBRQHEWJdCFMoqeAMDU95bpXJcqaCtLnaaN4MClJwNbtt7v7224BR8c/s400/Karen+Diaz+blog_name+and+pic+as+jpg+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="Pa0" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #221e1f;"><span class="A2"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Karen Diaz
considers herself lucky: she gets to experience firsthand the incredible way that
electronics, mathematics, and physics work in harmony. As a student at Central
Carolina Community College (CCCC), Karen initially completed an associate of
applied science program in electronics and computer engineering technology.
Upon earning her degree, Karen decided that an additional degree in laser
photonics would offer an even broader spectrum of job opportunities, so she
continued at CCCC, ultimately earning an associate degree in lasers and
photonics technology. Once she enrolled in the program, she found herself
fascinated by what she was learning. “I took the chance to try something new,”
she says, “and found that I loved it.” Karen was also eager to take advantage
of the many opportunities available to women in technology. “As a female,” she
explains, “there are so many opportunities for me in the engineering field. At
the time I graduated, photonics seemed to be an up-and-coming field with lots
of options.” </span></span><span style="color: #221e1f; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Pa0" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #221e1f;"><span class="A2"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">While Karen
was enrolled at CCCC, she also focused on gaining valuable work experience. At
first, she worked as an information and communication intern for Progress
Energy, where she did everything from building a relay-testing panel to
designing electrical schematics. Later, she worked as a contractor for both
Power Equipment Maintenance and The Atlantic Group. As a contractor, she
calibrated plant equipment and performed maintenance activities. The variety of
experience she gained confirmed her suspicions that photonics was the right
subject matter for her. “This field is so broad,” she explains, “that I have
found myself in situations where I have to apply the knowledge that I learned
in electronics and computer engineering.” By the time she graduated in May
2012, she was ready to advance her career and continue her education.</span></span><span style="color: #221e1f; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Pa0" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #221e1f;"><span class="A2"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Currently,
Karen is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Duke University, where she works as an
intern in the photonics and spectroscopy lab. Karen’s internship has given her
additional experience in Python and MATLAB programming, optics handling, and
components testing. At Duke, Karen is able to apply everything she has learned
in her education so far, including electronics engineering, computer
engineering, and laser and photonics technology. One of the things she most
appreciates about her photonics career is the opportunity to face something new
and interesting every day. For example, she is currently working on the
revolutionary MOSAIC gigapixel camera. “I am proud to be involved in such a
revolutionary project,” Karen explains. This camera “can potentially change
the way we take photographs, as well as the media industry.”</span></span><span style="color: #221e1f; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Pa0" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #221e1f;"><span class="A2"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Karen
believes that students considering a career in photonics will be amazed by the
many opportunities that the field offers. She acknowledges that many students
are intimidated by the amount of physics and mathematics involved in photonics.
Initially, she, too, was worried about her physics courses, but she stuck with
them and now says that physics is “really not that hard.” She urges those
interested in a technical field to stick with their studies so that they can
see all that photonics has to offer.</span></span><span style="color: #221e1f; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Pa0" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #221e1f;"><span class="A2"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Karen has
been offered the opportunity to work in Research Triangle Park, but she has
decided to focus instead on earning her bachelor’s degree. She believes that a
bachelor’s degree will give her career an extra boost and allow her to advance
more easily. </span></span><span style="color: #221e1f; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #221e1f;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span class="A2"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Karen lives in
Durham, North Carolina. She happily dedicates most of her time to her education
and her work, but in her spare time, she enjoys reading and watching movies
with her family.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></em></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-83085959547154277542013-04-03T13:20:00.000-05:002013-04-03T13:30:12.986-05:00What Factors Affect Students to Enroll in AAS Technical Programs?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A report on a recent study
commissioned by OP-TEC provides enlightenment on what is needed to help
colleges recruit more students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It is based on interviews
with 70 "new students" at six colleges throughout the USA to
determine what factors affected their decision
to enroll in photonics technician AAS degree
programs The results are revealing & somewhat unexpected,
particularly the low influence of the high school counselor. I personally think
that the implications go beyond photonics, to most all the technical areas
served by ATE. The paper can be accessed and downloaded from the OP-TEC web
site </span><a href="http://www.op-tec.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.op-tec.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> . <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>If you don't
have time to read the entire paper, just go to the charts of results; it may
surprise you. Here are a few examples:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-17786793462762434772012-05-24T12:06:00.000-05:002012-05-24T15:05:51.753-05:00Are You Teaching About Fiber Lasers?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The emergence of high power fiber lasers, and their
applications, is one of the most significant photonics breakthroughs in the
last decade. Fiber lasers consist of a long “fiber-optic active laser medium,”
pumped primarily by diode lasers directed into the fiber cladding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">They have CW outputs exceeding 10KW and can produce
output pulses as short as 10 picoseconds. Because the pump light from the diode
lasers lies in the absorption bands of the fiber laser active medium, the
conversion of input electrical power to output laser power is highly efficient
(30-40% efficiency, as compared to gas and solid lasers with efficiencies below
1%). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Average output powers from fiber lasers can reach as
high as 10KW. Fiber lasers can operate in the CW mode or in various pulse
modes; even picosecond pulses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Because fiber lasers are smaller, more efficient,
lighter weight, less costly, and their output beams are easier to manipulate
than CO<sub>2</sub> or Nd:YAG lasers, they are becoming the laser of choice for
many materials processing applications, such as welding, drilling, cutting and
etching of metals, plastics, ceramics, glass etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">An excellent one-hour webcast is
available for you to update your knowledge and understanding of fiber lasers at
</span><a href="http://www.laserfocusworld.com/webcasts/2011/11/fiber-lasers.html">http://www.laserfocusworld.com/webcasts/2011/11/fiber-lasers.html</a>. (Click on the red Register Now button for
on-demand viewing.)<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">OP-TEC has developed two instructional modules on fundamentals
and applications of fiber lasers. They can be previewed at <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/photonicstechnologies">http://www.op-tec.org/photonicstechnologies</a>.
We have also identified inexpensive equipment and designed labs to accompany
the modules.</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-51731738788222773052012-05-18T15:03:00.000-05:002012-05-18T15:03:53.222-05:00Train Additional Photonics Faculty Using OP-TEC's Hybrid Online Faculty Development Course<div class="MsoNormal">
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Excellent faculty is the key to a strong, high quality, photonics AAS degree program. Faculty members are the “first line” to the students; they recruit, teach, encourage and counsel students; they develop and control the labs; and they help grads to find their jobs. When faculty members are well-prepared and supported, photonics education programs are healthy and growing; when they are overburdened, poorly supported or approaching retirement, their programs suffer<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.</b></div>
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<b>So, who teaches the Photonics courses when you aren’t available? Who can pick up additional teaching assignments when enrollments increase? One of the best ways you can assure the continued success of your photonics program is to develop another faculty member who is competent and prepared to teach the classes. </b></div>
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Additional photonics teachers may come from at least three sources. </div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span></span></span>Recruiting other faculty members who are teaching related courses (electronics, instrumentation, manufacturing, etc.). This is how some of you entered the photonics field. </li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Developing adjuncts from local photonics industries is another excellent source; they also may be able to enhance the relevance of the courses by sharing from their work experiences. And they may be able to assist in updating course content or in creating/teaching specialty courses.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span></span></span>Training high school science and technology teachers for teaching dual-credit courses, and encouraging their students to consider photonics as a career.</li>
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OP-TEC recently completed its 2012 Employer Needs Assessment for Photonics Technicians. Although the results are still being analyzed, I can tell you that the <u>demand for new photonics techs remains very strong</u>. Most of you already know this because your recent grads are receiving multiple job offers. And the <u>demand for colleges to provide photonics training for employed techs has produced an additional <span> </span>challenge that we all must address more aggressively </u>in the next year.</div>
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From time to time you may receive a notice regarding OP-TEC's Hybrid, Online Faculty Development Courses in Photonics. In one-on-one conversations with photonics faculty, I have discussed the need to <u>train additional faculty</u> at your institutions and at nearby high schools. <u>I would encourage you to consider promoting this option.</u> As your Photonics program continues to grow you will need the flexibility of having other faculty and teachers who can step in and help you. And it doesn't have to cost a lot of $$ to do this.</div>
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OP-TEC will admit to these courses, without charge, additional faculty at your institution, potential industry adjuncts, and teachers at local high schools in your service area. They will be enrolled on a "first come-first served" basis; and <u>we have made arrangements for more students to enroll in these courses</u>. One course requirement is that course participants are asked to travel to an OP-TEC partner college to take a 3-day “capstone” lab experience. This past year Chrys Panayiotou, at Indian River State College, enrolled several faculty and teachers from his college and nearby high schools. To save them the cost of traveling to another college to attend the capstones, Chrys has provided the capstone experiences for his faculty and teachers in his labs. I would encourage you to consider a similar arrangement with OP-TEC.</div>
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All we ask at OP-TEC, is that the faculty/teachers are committed to completing the entire course, including the capstone experience.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">OP-TEC’s</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">next Hybrid, Online Faculty Development Offering, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fundamentals of Light and Lasers</i>, is now available for qualified applicants. </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This course starts August 20, 2012!<span> </span>It is in an Open Entry/Open Exit format, so applicants can begin any time after this date, as long as they can complete it by May 15, 2013.</i><span> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Cost:<span> </span>No tuition or materials fees!</u></i><span> </span></div>
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This hybrid, online course will cover OP-TEC's Course 1, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fundamentals of Light and Lasers</i>. <span> </span>Each of the six modules contained within the course will be taught online with a high level of self-paced instruction combined with an interactive component facilitated by email exchanges and online discussions. <span> </span>Modules will cover topics that span a broad range of basic photonics concepts.<span> </span></div>
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After the completion of the six modules, participants typically spend a 3-day period at an OP-TEC partner college where they have the opportunity to conduct all laboratory experiments included in the course and discuss with experienced instructors best practices for teaching the materials.<span> </span>The 3-day laboratory experience for the courses starting in August 2012 will be scheduled for June 2013 and will be arranged at dates that are mutually agreeable to the participants. But you can save the cost of your participant’s travel to attend this “capstone” experience if you are able to provide the lab experiences at your location, like Chrys is doing this year. If there is sufficient interest, I will ask Fred Seeber, who conducts the “capstone” at Camden County College, and Chrys Panayiotou to conduct a webinar that will provide guidance for all of you who want to conduct your own capstone.<span> </span></div>
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Participants that successfully complete the OE/OE online course and a 3-day lab session will receive a certification of completion from OP-TEC. Participants will be responsible for travel, lodging, and meals for the 3-day lab sessions held at Partner Colleges in June 2013. </div>
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Visit<span> </span><a href="http://www.op-tec.org/faculty">http://www.op-tec.org/faculty</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span> for more information and to apply online! </span></span><span> </span><span> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-66481491828925885762012-03-30T15:03:00.003-05:002012-03-30T15:19:10.293-05:00Free Optics and Photonics Publications and Webinars<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> 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semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">College faculty and high school teachers of optics, lasers and photonics have a need to “stay current” to new developments and applications in the field. Professional networks and attendance at conferences are certainly useful, but opportunities to attend these meetings are limited to the availability of your time and travel $$. Another way to do this, from your office or computer, is by receiving publication and attending webinars from free trade journals.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">I have identified at least 12 free publications that contain the latest technical information and news. Some are general photonics pubs; others are publications in photonics applications, such as materials processing, telecommunications, bio optics, etc. If you want to receive any or all of these pubs, just click on the URLs provided by their titles. In it are the web site locations for you to sign up for the pubs. It's pretty easy, or I wouldn't be able to do it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">In many cases, you may select the digital (e-mailed) version, or have the hard copy mailed to you. I review all of these pubs; mostly I just receive the electronic versions; they're much quicker to review. But you may want to receive hard copies so that you can distribute them to your students. At least twice/year they will publish a Buyer's Guide. Once/year they publish a "directory".</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Free publications from Pennwell:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span><a href="http://www.pennwell.com/index/Optoelectronics.html">http://www.pennwell.com/index/Optoelectronics.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>BioOptics World</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> :<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span><a href="http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/bow.cgi?ADD"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/bow.cgi?ADD</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Industrial Laser Solution</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">:<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span><a href="http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/ils.cgi?ADD"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/ils.cgi?ADD</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Laser Focus World:</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span></span><a href="http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/lfw.cgi?ADD"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/lfw.cgi?ADD</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Lightwave:<span style="mso-tab-count:3"> </span></span></i><a href="http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/lw.cgi?ADD"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/lw.cgi?ADD</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Vision Systems Design:<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span></i><a href="http://www.omeda.com/vsd/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/vsd/</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The website </span><a href="http://www.optoiq.com/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">www.optoiq.com</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> is powered by BioOptics World (from Pennwell) and has many good links and much information.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Free publications from Laurin Publishing:</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">BioPhotonics</i>:<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span><a href="http://www.photonics.com/Subscriptions/SubscriptionForm.aspx?SubBIO=1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.photonics.com/Subscriptions/SubscriptionForm.aspx?SubBIO=1</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Photonics Spectra:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></i></span><a href="http://www.photonics.com/subscriptions/SubscriptionForm.aspx?SubPS=1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.photonics.com/subscriptions/SubscriptionForm.aspx?SubPS=1</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Photovoltaics World:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></i><a href="http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/pvw.cgi"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/pvw.cgi</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Solid State Technology:</i><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span><a href="http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/sst.cgi"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.omeda.com/cgi-win/sst.cgi</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Free Digital and E-newsletters:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span><a href="http://www.photonics.com/MemberCenter/AccountDetails.aspx"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.photonics.com/MemberCenter/AccountDetails.aspx</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">LEDs Magazine:<span style="mso-tab-count:2"> </span></i></span><a href="http://www.ledsmagazine.com/subscribe"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.ledsmagazine.com/subscribe</span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Edmund Optics:</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Electro Optics:<span style="mso-tab-count: 2"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></b></span></i><a href="http://www.electrooptics.com/subscribe/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">http://www.electrooptics.com/subscribe<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">/</i></b></span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></b></p>OP-TEC: The National Center for Optics and Photonics Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00639248312201877921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-84998528197737786492011-04-13T13:34:00.005-05:002011-04-13T14:15:36.845-05:00The World-Wide Laser Industry Has Recovered Quickly<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPgCEkYKhyphenhyphenbF8DqDpFIQt2kjbMeKS2QEHLk6iLh7nyd7zfdxhhiA4aI0xMuh2k0-7_qa0q23zLwlUsMqljtXSVr0G2swGMSzyc-odXXUN43II6JRIXgQsJ7bcqGWyVDm7Y6R07ETLub4/s1600/LFW_0111_chart.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 316px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 228px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595140900343922738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPgCEkYKhyphenhyphenbF8DqDpFIQt2kjbMeKS2QEHLk6iLh7nyd7zfdxhhiA4aI0xMuh2k0-7_qa0q23zLwlUsMqljtXSVr0G2swGMSzyc-odXXUN43II6JRIXgQsJ7bcqGWyVDm7Y6R07ETLub4/s400/LFW_0111_chart.jpg" /></a> <br /><div></div><br /><div>Despite a 30% dip in 2009, the world-wide laser industry recovered over 27% in 2010, to $6.37 billion; it is expected to grow over 12% in 2011 to $7.1 billion, according to the LFW Annual Laser Market Report. </div><br /><div>As shown in the chart, 2/3 of the market is in the Communications and Materials Processing industries. </div><br /><div>Diode lasers amount for 51% of the market and non-diode lasers account for 49%. One of the largest growth areas is fiber lasers, experiencing a 41% growth in 2010 and an even greater rate in 2011. </div><br /><div>The demand for new laser technicians continued to outstrip the supply by over 4:1. Colleges report that 2010 grads received multiple job offers again in 2010. Job prospects for this year also look very good. </div><br /><div>Reference: Overton, Gail, Anderson, Stephen G, Belforte, David A., & Hausken, Tom (2011). Skies may be clearing, but fog still lingers. <em>Laser Focus World</em>, January 2011, 40-42. <a href="http://www.qmags.com/2FE1161B162147DB111616AC3513143E462FF14B817.htm">http://www.qmags.com/2FE1161B162147DB111616AC3513143E462FF14B817.htm</a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-9861778405021025482010-10-20T18:16:00.008-05:002010-10-20T18:57:02.932-05:00Restoring Declining AAS Programs Using Emerging Technologies<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqIOvdyMTiYTjBz45YYCiVz4qoCY675JqHpFKwQvbigDZFbZ8Y8tc0ewL049rIREErK6TUAL8-tUw184VJ_Py7rqhYeOA1KQsSQu3ievIaCBE2kF-KyiFifSjEXnBobwiHXYqmQbxLcc/s1600/TCTC.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530280802567782050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqIOvdyMTiYTjBz45YYCiVz4qoCY675JqHpFKwQvbigDZFbZ8Y8tc0ewL049rIREErK6TUAL8-tUw184VJ_Py7rqhYeOA1KQsSQu3ievIaCBE2kF-KyiFifSjEXnBobwiHXYqmQbxLcc/s400/TCTC.jpg" /></a><br /><div>In the last several years many colleges across our country have experienced a decline in enrollment and graduates from their technician education programs. Five colleges have experienced this in photonics-related programs. As OP-TEC attempts to build national capacity for preparing photonics techs we have concentrated on these declining programs--and we are experiencing very rewarding results in every case. The declining, or recently closed programs often have valuable labs and equipment that newly developing programs might take 3-5 years to accumulate.<br /><br />But the declining programs frequently have some "baggage" that has to be eliminated. This may be in the form of some outdated curricula, courses, lab equipment, inactive employer advisory committees--and faculty. Eliminating this "baggage" is not easy for technical deans and department chairs; it takes an understanding of emerging technologies and their implications on technician careers. It also requires that the administrators have the courage and institutional support to make some very difficult changes.<br /><br />Over the last 3-4 years this restoration process that has been successfully achieved at Tri-County Technical College, in Pendleton SC. TCTC was one of OP-TEC's original Partner Colleges, when we began the Center over four years ago. But TCTC had to drop out for several years until they could re-establish their focus in photonics education.<br /><br />The background, strategies, process, curricula and results of TCTC’s restoration is documented in an OP-TEC Monograph entitled “<a href="http://www.op-tec.org/pdf/TCTC%20Restoration%20Monograph%20080910%20(mlw).pdf">Restoring a Declining Photonics Program at Tri-County Technical College</a>.” The monograph can be read or downloaded, without cost from OP-TEC’s web site, by clicking the monograph title above.<br /><br />This is a relatively brief monograph, but it shows the causes, the restoration process and the results. Of particular interest is the Lessons Learned section, which emphasizes the following success factors:<br />• Persistence<br />• Having the right people in right position<br />• New curriculum strategies<br />• Technical assistance, mentoring and partnerships with other photonics colleges.<br /><br />Eugene Grant, Dean of Industrial & Engineering Technology, Tri-County Technical College, is to be congratulated for his efforts in restoring Photonics Education at TCTC.<br /><br />Dan Hull</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-39890268190389656302010-09-20T17:04:00.032-05:002010-09-21T15:59:51.757-05:00Some Great Visual Resources for Your Science and Photonics Facilities<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEJxodOGCHdacKfxXVd2TqR94aXrtKjRJ2tgBE1GShuWbatPShnUtbQA3hmubaIMuRgIrHvVOVmCESl6MnKpgaXKSjkwpHbBSeqGNiSeFXQ5b5RKoaAwHkB_5MhGEcu2-tpsD49kUJ28/s1600/top+images+2-across+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 288px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519380409481536866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEJxodOGCHdacKfxXVd2TqR94aXrtKjRJ2tgBE1GShuWbatPShnUtbQA3hmubaIMuRgIrHvVOVmCESl6MnKpgaXKSjkwpHbBSeqGNiSeFXQ5b5RKoaAwHkB_5MhGEcu2-tpsD49kUJ28/s400/top+images+2-across+copy.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Do you need some posters to decorate the walls of your classrooms, labs and halls? Two of the photonics professional societies, SPIE and the Optical Society of America (OSA), have created some excellent posters that they provide to K-12 schools and colleges, free for the asking. These posters will not only add color and class to your facilities, they provide interesting education and career information about optics and lasers. To view and request copies of these posters, you will need to visit their web sites. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The SPIE web site is </span><a href="http://www.spie.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.spie.org/</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> but you can go directly to the page that shows the posters by visiting </span><a href="http://www.spie.org/x31474.xml"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.spie.org/x31474.xml</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. There are many posters shown that you may want. SPIE will send them to you rolled up in a tube. We have had them mounted on foam board for a few dollars. Then they can be hung on walls or positioned on tables, unframed or framed. Some of the ones that I found particularly interesting are:<br /><br />• <em>Introduction to Popular Applications of Optics & Lasers</em> (new) — This poster shows novel applications that everyone can recognize, but may not know that they were enabled by optics and/or lasers. I think it is particularly useful for elementary and middle school students—and their parents.<br /><br />• <em>Future of Lasers: Illuminating the Future</em> (new) — This is a futuristic look at new laser applications in healthcare, energy, manufacturing and communications. I think it makes a great addition in either high schools or colleges.<br /><br /><em>• Invent Your Future</em> (new) — This is my favorite! It explores & encourages photonics careers in science and technology. I think it is particularly appropriate for middle and high schools. We have this one mounted in the entrance of OP-TEC. Others are mounted throughout our Center.<br /><br />• <em>Posters that relate to photonics applications in other fields include:</em><br /> Lithography<br /> Remote Sensing<br /> Metamaterials<br /> Biophotonics<br /> Sensors<br /> Nanotechnology<br /> Energy </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><div>The OSA web site is </span></div><a href="http://www.osa.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.osa.org/</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> but you can go directly to the page that shows posters & other educational materials by visiting </span><a href="http://www.osa.org/Foundation/Youth_Education/Classroom_Materials/default.aspx"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.osa.org/Foundation/Youth_Education/Classroom_Materials/default.aspx</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></div></span><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519377727249378050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidoDtbvzL1IQs2bBuGIrp-KCSL3EwtIj1qdvgEGO1l17x9ALnuFRjcl5F0UOQJw7R9XXzdggr_V5oxVp4oYKnJUgd2F0k9Y2ecGAfPOvvxp1_n7hVQE9v8TBwzPz9xRRhoTbIbHCEuc4/s400/images+4-across+copy.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>There are two OSA Poster Series:</strong><br /><br />• <em>Optical Phenomena Posters</em> (four, 11” x 34” — request the set)<br /> Lasers<br /> Fiber Optics<br /> Biomedical Optics<br /> Spectroscopy<br /><br />• <em>Make waves—Discover Science Series</em> (new, four, 11” x 34” — request the set)<br /> Acoustics<br /> Cross Polarization<br /> Echolocation<br /> Lasers<br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">These posters will also be sent to you rolled in a tube; and they are best displayed if they are mounted on foam board. They are printed in five languages, so specify if you want yours in English. We have six of these posters displayed in the OP-TEC office. </span></div><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Educational Pamphlets to accompany OSA posters: OSA has also developed very high quality educational pamphlets to support the posters described above. These 8.5" x 11", 4-8 page documents contain scientific explanations of the phenomena/equipment, experiments and career profiles of photonics scientists, engineers and technicians. They are available as printable PDFs that you can download from the web site.<br /><br /><strong>Other free educational resources: </strong>OSA & SPIE also have several CDs and digital explorations, described in their web sites, that are useful for introducing photonics and careers to young people.<br /><br /></div></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></li><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 134px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519124881487826002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjge_Z4LOPO4VAjCtQN9Lw2amck1ILNYCrRIOjwCBAz-rS_DULCAoi6BAzwgvcd5FsJSSfH8OwCCzEn6JLEiZS-Ugnw0ShAzk9dZ79T8dPkxiTc518ZTxE8TX6k1MapAwtE5GoHhSmduQM/s200/Lighten_Up_OSA_Page_01.jpg" /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">One example that particularly impresses me is <em>Lighten Up! Discovering the Science of Light</em>. This 36 page color booklet, developed through a collaborative effort between OSA Foundation and the Girl Scouts of America, is an exciting educational resource guide for girls, ages 11-15. You can request copies from OSA and GSA, or you can download a PDF and print your own copies.<br /><br />Someone once said, “The best things in life are free.” I’m not sure they were referring to educational materials in lasers and optics, but the saying sure fits for these resources. </span><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Dan Hull</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-54452308076326023182010-08-25T09:50:00.016-05:002010-08-25T12:12:05.410-05:00Helping Graduating Photonics Technicians Find the Right Job and Be Successful<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU5ATp3tA5C8ueQ3XV8DwuQjKM0BvmlgOt9A_DBLrLz4K1JoIoHOkzhOL5r5vqhJ8ENFrl_f5iJaI822buM1oksgfvQWi3EaCCHJFZaWIMt6UgRIxed8HFGgMDYf53N1jZP-haRGoUbM/s1600/2x3in_Cover_Find_Your_First_Job_(7-19-10).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 134px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509381580114173570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU5ATp3tA5C8ueQ3XV8DwuQjKM0BvmlgOt9A_DBLrLz4K1JoIoHOkzhOL5r5vqhJ8ENFrl_f5iJaI822buM1oksgfvQWi3EaCCHJFZaWIMt6UgRIxed8HFGgMDYf53N1jZP-haRGoUbM/s200/2x3in_Cover_Find_Your_First_Job_(7-19-10).jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><p>Recent reports from our photonics colleges reveal that graduates are having no problem getting job offers, even in these slow economic times. The survey we conducted last year indicates that in 2010, employers will need an additional 1200 photonics techs; and the demand will continue at this level for at least several more years. We remain in a “seller’s market” for photonics techs.</p><br /><p>But even with the many job opportunities available to them, graduating techs need to approach their job search armed with wise advice and guidance. They’ve worked hard for this opportunity and they deserve to get off to a good start. And there’s no one better to provide this advice to them than photonics techs that went through the process a few years ago. Last year, OP-TEC established the Photonics Alumni Council for Technicians (PACT). College faculty proposed alumni for membership and sixteen outstanding graduates were selected for the first council of PACT. But the selected alumni didn’t just want to be recognized for their success, they wanted to “give something back”; they wanted to help other techs that were just beginning their career; and they wanted them to benefit from their own experiences—good and bad. So they provided significant input to the preparation of a pamphlet entitled “How to Search for and Find Your First Job.” This four-page publication addresses the following topics: <ul><li>“Money isn’t everything”, but it helps. (Explains other employer benefits that are also important.)</li><li>Where do you want to live? Where would you be willing to live?</li><li>What kind of work do you want to do?</li><li>Have you prepared a resume?</li><li>What do you hope will happen in the interview?</li></ul><p></p></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Shortly after the first pamphlet was published, the PACT set out to develop a second one entitled, “How to Make Your First Year on the Job a Success."</span></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 134px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509382620143623042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsOothIpRCv98jnrQCW-qHMKwEWbub-AS0ewXASIcL5-q1pSTzo7Y7OcVbbzV8_3a0Omy-9DY4q8i0Cp4eZ1vUpVCP-4WaTWNkkAaVG2cpYxobc4tU4bm7FYgsJX9BTechkL1FUoA2ec/s200/2x3in_Cover_Your_First_Year_on_the_Job_(7-19-10).jpg" /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">It included the following topics: <ul><li>You haven’t learned everything when you graduate.</li><li>Your mother doesn’t work here, so learn how to survive on your own.</li><li>You’re personally responsible for the quality and timeliness of your work.</li><li>Your value as an employee will depend on your soft skills as much as your technical expertise.</li><li>When possible, volunteer to represent your employer in community or charitable events.</li></ul></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Employers who have reviewed the pamphlets have enthusiastically recommended that all future techs and new hires have copies of these materials. You can review them also, <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/alumnicouncil.php">by clicking here.</a></p><br /><p>OP-TEC is providing limited copies of these pamphlets to any college—or employer—that requests them. And we can provide a print-ready copy to colleges that want to customize the pamphlets with their institutional identification. We’re not trying to sell them; we just want them to be used.</p><br /><p>This year the PACT is considering the preparation of additional pamphlet(s) that could be used to help high school students consider a career as a photonics technician.</p><br /><p>What a great way for these recent grads to “give back” to the photonics field—and to help young people that could greatly benefit from their advice. </span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-84921626600294815322010-04-16T13:39:00.018-05:002010-04-27T11:43:56.481-05:00SCIENCE AND A SYMPHONY - Artistic Laser Light Show With an Orchestral Performance of “Oscillate”<span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 344px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460811548576781890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKDBCYTigJ20ucKHjFV7TMUzMsuX5vOM3xb6wCLkNgudVMV8yhnPHFJKBVmvRMBefeaBV-H_LeW7kbVvyuKu5R7NPpM6Gg8ObaAlrROeLf8M_gnJLIQNK1RtQUIPfVQTdNhy0ccgqoY4/s400/top+photo.jpg" />Over 200 central Texas science teachers and other educators were invited guests at a March 20 multimedia concert by the <a href="http://www.wacosymphony.com/">Waco Symphony Orchestra</a>. The event was one of many <a href="http://www.laserfest.org/">LaserFest</a> celebrations being held this year throughout the country to commemorate the 50th year of the laser, which was invented in 1960. The purpose of the LaserFest celebrations is to call attention to the many ways that lasers have enhanced our daily lives—from laser printers and copiers to digital sound reproduction and fiber optics, to mention only a few of the applications that are now commonplace. </span><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 161px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460812574279710738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuHQyEJB-yE5vtdICnDy6Ijn8nNx6H6dV2ekCGnMltEYnVONPuUGfk-S3l048uFfV417qTjHbdRKODZqzQiyd2aIwu7ENEORupddOpWpge3icIIKaz-bhfxt2hix1ZQcmvrTNejHpEhU/s400/first+paragraph.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">The WSO concert featured a new composition by Jon Barrett, a Baylor University graduate student. The composition, titled “Oscillate,” was performed in conjunction with a specially designed laser light show.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 161px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460814325562463010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdZ3I8ZlvI7tRRDtXDABbN0VM_Uk_SO5EWbQ-aSCliTiyx6wenRBlDDCuR6HgBjD6n-bdG4A7XCpUW2cYmOkUGXw0oDhBk6lBY_uV8FZILrvXfdq8xwVEkGusMhIuSdZ6dg99NNyMJ_g/s400/middle+section.jpg" />Barrett’s piece was a natural match for a laser light show. Barrett composed it as a musical reflection of what he called the “never-ending ballet of patterns, interconnected and interdependent with one another, large and small.” “Our cells are born from our parents’ cells,” he noted, “and through division give rise to more cells until finally dying. Our lungs respire through a pattern of inhalation and exhalation. Our heart pumps blood through our bodies, circulating oxygen to our cells. Electrical charges constantly course throughout our nervous systems, giving us control of our bodies and a sense of the world and, ultimately, the Cosmos.” “Oscillate,” which won Baylor’s 2009 Symphony Overture Competition, is also a study in the juxtaposition of opposites—loud and soft, high and low, light and dark, fast and slow, transparent and opaque textures, serious and comical tones, and art and popular musical styles.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 287px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460816494434899282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZoemZMkmEiSWg1YERyveNCRvYR5LL7ZFl7B3qLsjh22cnNcrkMLeR8QWQ49wevp50qevEHyNt2WUXpl8ETZJF4wws7MMfQZIA8JZ34G7L55jocR6a15xmYH0vvyuMI9Ame-v8DGjRpE/s400/bottom.jpg" />The laser light show, which was custom-designed as a visual interpretation of Barrett’s music, was provided by <a href="http://www.prismaticmagic.com/">Prismatic Magic</a>, a nationally known laser light show company. Prismatic Magic’s president, Dr. Chris Volpe, is a physicist with a specialization in optics and lasers.<br /><br />Prior to the concert, <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/">OP-TEC</a>, <a href="http://www.waco.tstc.edu/let/index.php">Texas State Technical College</a>, <a href="http://www.baylor.edu/">Baylor University</a>, and the <a href="http://www.waco-texas.com/">City of Waco</a> jointly hosted the guest teachers at a reception in Baylor’s new science building.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 161px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460815251029383538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32PSCQwQi1th6qxpkbEoK89NdlMVrRlOA4KltSKC9yGid9FqKZ1iL3iXXXMx-zRpBU6lR2pCTtl_KuDoMTfe9pplsaEAaqqN-TJbM7PBNVm1y1mdjd2Gl2ywaeiC1KEFpKS1uBW7PjAY/s400/third+section.jpg" /><br /><strong>Over 100 pictures of the laser light show, as well as a 10-minute audio-video recording of the performance, can be seen on the OP-TEC website, </strong><a href="http://www.op-tec.org/lasershow"><strong>www.op-tec.org/lasershow</strong></a><strong>.</strong></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-36994259002761626232010-02-08T10:07:00.008-06:002010-02-08T16:46:33.842-06:00Recent Trends in Solid State (LED) Lighting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGM6Avowv7sTozxfFgQkrfoEbWgGpkyo-hSvmSqt8s4BIm-zDDXht8bZVhQMQo6gSL11942QVGB-91xK1Re0MLBz0SRThuRxS7fn6gxxgoVej7JjtyB5pSAg-xD01xlTIzU6jhX6KnAuI/s1600-h/Untitled-1+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 183px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435910951829395330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGM6Avowv7sTozxfFgQkrfoEbWgGpkyo-hSvmSqt8s4BIm-zDDXht8bZVhQMQo6gSL11942QVGB-91xK1Re0MLBz0SRThuRxS7fn6gxxgoVej7JjtyB5pSAg-xD01xlTIzU6jhX6KnAuI/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;">The acceptance of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as the preferred lighting device continues to grow in all sectors throughout our country, but especially in municipalities. U.S. cities are seizing upon LEDS as a viable strategy to “Go Green”, particularly in applications where low maintenance is more important than lower initial costs. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><div><br />According to an article entitled “<a href="http://www.opnmagazine-digital.com/opn/201002/?pg=14&pm=2&u1=friend">U.S. Cities Go Green with LEDs</a>”, in the <a href="http://www.osa.org/">Optical Society of America’s</a> (OSA) <a href="http://www.opnmagazine-digital.com/opn/201002/?pg=14&pm=2&u1=friend">February issue of Optics and Photonics News</a> (OPN), cities as well as public and commercial institutions are demonstrating the use of LEDs to realize long term cost savings and reduce pollution in the operation of traffic lights and street lighting. Although LED’s are still more expensive than fluorescent lights, their initial costs are offset by their higher efficiencies and longer lifetimes. Maintenance costs to replace failed lighting are very expensive in street lighting and traffic lights. And LED’s don’t usually “fail suddenly”, like incandescent and fluorescents. When they begin to fail their light production usually drops about one-third, which means that there is more time to schedule and coordinate repairs. </div><div><br />James Brodrick, manager of the <a href="http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/">DOE’s solid state lighting program</a>, claims that the use of high efficiency LEDs could reduce U.S. energy consumption for lighting by over 30% in two decades, which would eliminate the need for 44 power plants generating 1000 megawatts each, and cut the equivalent of 47 million automobiles’ greenhouse emission. LEDs are also more efficient in outdoor lighting because they are more directional and can be applied where they are needed. The clean, uniform lighting provided by LEDs also improves visibility. </div><div><br />All new traffic signals now use LEDs, which provide a cost savings of approximately $48/year, due to reduced maintenance and the fact that LEDs produce the desired colors, rather than having a broad band source that has to be filtered, like fluorescents and incandescents.</div><div><br />The DOE is encouraging the use of LEDs by funding municipalities and educational institutions for demonstration and test sites. (Visit <a href="http://www.ssl.energy.gov/">http://www.ssl.energy.gov/</a> for more information.) The <a href="http://www.opnmagazine-digital.com/opn/201002/?pg=14&pm=2&u1=friend">OPN article</a>, cited above, describes several successful examples of DOE-funded initiatives. </div><div><br />LED use is also growing in home use, particularly in outdoor lighting. But the cost and reluctance to switch to a somewhat different lighting effect have delayed widespread use like municipalities have experienced. “The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which set efficiency standards for light bulbs, is also helping to promote LED use. Traditional incandescent bulbs do not meet the standards that go into effect in 2012”, Brodrick said. “By 2020, advanced incandescents will fall below the standards as well. Only CFLs and LEDs are likely to meet the 2020 standards. </div><div><br />OP-TEC continues to follow LED technology advances in lighting, in order to anticipate the need for new technicians in this field. So far most of the production and installation jobs appear to be at </span></div><span style="font-family:arial;">the craft level. </span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><em>Questions or comments? Please </em></strong><a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org"><strong><em>contact us</em></strong></a><strong><em>!</em></strong></span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.opnmagazine-digital.com/opn/201002/?pg=14&pm=2&u1=friend"><span style="font-family:arial;">Click here</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> to read the full OPN article, "U.S. Cities Go Green with LEDs."</span></div><br /><div><a href="http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Click here</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> to visit the DOE's Solid State Lighting website.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-53008963647151844212010-01-11T10:56:00.006-06:002010-01-11T11:17:13.445-06:002010 Update on Photonics for Optical Communications - Photonics is the Key to Broadband Access<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcm9aT-4LoJiLxU8rJ3RxyqpTqDDfAHavuW0Pdro2ljLbNfdt-Jp8raGV0PggkhfT-5e5xAEhiST_Lu7kN2YqprmwKBdluO8oyt8ej0tyXD3aJOcZYwvGGhrdTzEFVC-0Mr9ehs-5ifcQ/s1600-h/top.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 324px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 105px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425530458950154962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcm9aT-4LoJiLxU8rJ3RxyqpTqDDfAHavuW0Pdro2ljLbNfdt-Jp8raGV0PggkhfT-5e5xAEhiST_Lu7kN2YqprmwKBdluO8oyt8ej0tyXD3aJOcZYwvGGhrdTzEFVC-0Mr9ehs-5ifcQ/s400/top.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Background </strong><br />Early use of the Internet depended on “dial-up access” using telephone lines, which was limited to a bit rate less than 56 kbit/second. This allowed computers to “talk to each other” and exchange and access text information. But shortly, computers were developed that could process information faster; higher-speed transmission lines were needed.<br /><br />In the 1990’s broadband Internet access, using co-ax cable and twisted pair wires, expanded the bit rate up to 256 kbit/second, and served the business community well by speeding up transmission times and enabling higher data rates and larger data files, like pictures and video transmission.<br /><br />To expand the use of the Internet to more users, and to allow rapid transmission over longer (intercontinental) distances, fiber optics cabling has been installed for transoceanic Internet cables, across large land distances and in urban areas where business use is very dense. The use of fiber optics means that we are transmitting information over optical (laser diode) beams where the carrier frequencies are many orders of magnitude greater than the radio frequencies sent over copper wire. Over the last decade, the use of laser transmitters, optical receivers and fiber optics transmission cables ushered in photonics technology to enhance Internet and telecommunications services.<br /><br />Cell phones required wireless transmission over radio and microwave frequencies. Their wide-spread use required transmission towers positioned every 10-50 miles apart throughout the land; the cell phone towers “talked to each other” around the world by connecting through synchronous, orbiting satellites. Computers also began communicating “wirelessly” by tying into the communication towers and satellites.<br /><br /><strong>Digital Communications has become more complex and more crowded: We’re outgrowing our infrastructure</strong><br />Smart phones (such as iPhones and BlackBerries) combine cell phones with computer access to the Internet, requiring broadband access. Today, according to the <a href="http://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunications Union</a>, 60 out of every 100 people in the world own and/or are using cell phones and smart phones; and more than 85 percent of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase.<br /><br />Over the last 3 years, the surge of computer and smart phone use for social networking (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), as well as video streaming and video conferencing, has placed an enormous demand on broadband access that can only be met by greatly increasing the bit rates to 1-10 megabit/second. This can be accomplished by changing our entire digital infrastructure for distance transmission as well as local area networks (LANs).<br /><br /><em>Note: Distance transmission provides Internet service to a building or communication tower, and LANs distributes the Internet service to users within the facility. In a home or small office LANs are relatively simple, but still must be fast. In large corporations, college/universities, and Internet businesses, such as Google, LANs support the use of huge megaservers.</em> </span><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 81px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425530601179125938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7A4tAq-ue43oqdILa9yQMeil7Pgr_q0HL2qLNqFPN0wfX9F2PoRGl3i8kYHnOlg6IgTiZwfPxanifUn5nahZ5Pq8Zny0JqUUQNxIBmR53xkbDtgDsqvgQu5coywc5sN_3jkp-r8kwI5c/s400/middle.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Photonics technologies will provide the tools and techniques to reconfigure our digital infrastructure</strong><br />Fiber optics networks, carrying optical signals generated by laser diodes, are the technology tools that will allow us to reconfigure the digital network. In 2009, the <a href="http://www.fcc.gov/">US Federal Communications Commission (FCC)</a> defined "Basic Broadband" as data transmission speeds exceeding 768 kilobits per second (Kbps), in at least one direction: downstream (from the Internet to the user’s computer) or upstream (from the user’s computer to the Internet). The trend is to raise the threshold of the broadband definition as the marketplace rolls out faster services. Broadband penetration is now treated as a key economic indicator.<br /><br />As the bandwidth delivered to end users increases, the market expects that video on-demand services streamed over the Internet will become more popular, though at the present time such services generally require specialized networks. The data rates on most broadband services still do not suffice to provide good quality video, as MPEG-2 video requires about 6 Mbit/s for good results. Adequate video for some purposes becomes possible at lower data rates, with rates of 768 kbit/s and 384 kbit/s used for some video conferencing applications, and rates as low as 100 kbit/s used for videophones using H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. The MPEG-4 format delivers high-quality video at 2 Mbit/s, at the low end of cable modem performance.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Technology applications change the landscape<br /></strong>Because of falling costs to acquire the equipment, businesses may have dozens or even hundreds of video cameras on their premises, carrying video on the LAN. The combination of lower prices and technology advancements enhances security and enables fewer people to keep track of assets that may be scattered far and wide.<br /><br />Telepresence, the latest generation of video conferencing that uses large flat screens and high-definition video to replicate face-to-face meetings, is gaining traction.<br /><br />As these trends grow, new bandwidth-hungry applications appear. Enterprise bandwidth demand escalates month after month and requires upgrades in electronic apparatus and larger copper cables. Information technology (IT) managers scratch their heads wondering how to accommodate these requirements. It won’t be done with copper. We need massive shifts to fiber delivery systems, using laser diode transmitters and other photonics components, especially in outlying rural areas.<br /><br /><strong>Verizon Conducts World's First 10 Gigabit-per-Second Fiber-to-the-Premises Field Test Waltham, Mass. – December 16, 2009</strong><br />Last month, Verizon became the first telecommunications company in the world to successfully field-test a passive optical network system known as XG-PON that can transmit data at 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) downstream and 2.4 Gbps upstream, four times as fast as the current top transmission speeds supporting the company's all-fiber FiOS network. Additional demonstrations of this nature are expected by Verizon and other companies in early 2010.<br /><br /><strong>Photonics is the key to the future in broadband access</strong><br />A few weeks ago, the Federal government announced that it will hand out the first $182 million of a $7.2 billion pot of stimulus money that will go toward building high-speed Internet networks and encouraging more Americans to use them.<br /><br />The money is being targeted for "last-mile" connections that link homes, businesses and other end users to the Internet; "middle-mile" connections that link communities to the Internet backbone; computing centers in libraries, colleges and other public facilities; and adoption programs that teach people how to use the Internet and encourage them to sign up for broadband services. By March 2010, additional stimulus funds will be released to build our country’s broadband access.<br /><br />The need is evident, the technology has been proven and stimulus funds are being applied. It is quite possible - even likely - that 2010 will be the year of massive development for broadband infrastructure. And photonics components will pave the way.<br /><br /><strong><em>What’s your perspective on this? Am I too optimistic? Have I understated the case? Will U.S. photonics suppliers be the main beneficiaries in this market? Are we ready? Will we need even more photonics techs? How about retraining needs?</em></strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>Leave your comments here or <a href="mailto:hull@op-tec.org">contact me by e-mail!</a></em></strong></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-81268899901733756882009-12-11T13:41:00.014-06:002009-12-11T17:10:12.344-06:00Photonics Colleges Receive “High School Pipeline” Grants<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 176px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414115841875636546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgls4voIEauzwUt_VLd7TjNCWfrX5WV5P5SXnanoHy4IW1AiZUrBj2Lk4hUpqu-RZ7iaeQxoHjfsJQaza2Azte5OErIB7gL4weyRYYfP9AWo-Gi72qxRSHs3e8B77SrM1Nr3zheAc_rKe8/s400/top+graphic+copy.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">Many colleges that offer educational programs in emerging technical fields are making innovative changes in their curricula and student recruiting strategies. Their goal is to increase the number of students who enroll in and complete their programs, and to make their curriculum content more relevant to changes in employer requirements for technicians. This is especially true for colleges with photonics programs. </span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Photonics specialties are being designed to build on a “systems-oriented” technical core that is capable of supporting related technologies such as robotics, telecommunication, microelectronics, and biomedical equipment. These revitalized programs have a broader student appeal than more narrowly focused programs because they prepare students to pursue interesting, rewarding careers in multiple advanced technologies. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Targeted recruiting efforts to build the “high school pipeline” have been created using cost-effective strategies designed to inform teachers and students about career opportunities in photonics and related fields and the requirements for entering and succeeding in postsecondary photonics education programs. In many cases, students can begin those programs while they are still in high school through dual-credit courses.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;">In the last three years, several of OP-TEC’s Partner Colleges have incorporated both of these strategies - resulting in an impressive 15-50% increase in student enrollment over the last two years. The colleges have documented their methodologies and achievements in <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/programplanning.php">monographs</a> that have become models for photonics program improvement. Other photonics colleges have begun to adopt these “best practices,” hoping to realize similar improvements.<br /><br />Two colleges that are rebuilding their photonics technician programs in an impressive manner are <a href="http://www.cnm.edu/">Central New Mexico Community College</a> (CNMCC) and <a href="http://www.monroecc.edu/">Monroe Community College</a> (MCC). Over the last several years the well-established optics and photonics programs at these institutions have experienced severe declines in enrollment due to faculty retirement and an obvious need to update their curricula and labs. Early this year, these two colleges, with new faculty and significant support from regional photonics employer clusters, engaged in program improvement initiatives that resulted in a redesigned curriculum core that supports OP-TEC photonics infusion courses. The colleges have also engaged in partnerships with nearby high schools to develop dual-credit courses in photonics.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />This week OP-TEC will award $15,000 matching grants to each college to increase its enrollment through “high school pipeline” efforts.</span></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 176px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414117508333572082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxjR-6baR9joUlqaXvCksP7KaGnQerWqTcEe4JKfv_FPkKUpROfAzplE0AAHdnQNhcQcfG3w4V0K7Lccm403JKR29IB80sbKBlu3qhyVcgPFMwQhkSyVejVVqANu99xIJAPU3_GfBrSE/s400/cnm+copy.jpg" /> <ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">CNMCC will use its grant to hire a dedicated high school recruiter who will meet with students, parents, and teachers at nearby high schools to inform them of career opportunities for photonics technicians and opportunities to enroll in CNMCC’s photonics program, even while still in high school. This effort is patterned after the model developed by <a href="http://www.irsc.edu/">Indian River State College</a>. The <a href="http://www.nmoia.org/">New Mexico Optics Industry Association</a> is sponsoring high school dual-credit photonics courses in an effort to jump-start the process. In the summer of 2010, CNMCC will also conduct two week-long “boot camps” for secondary students who are interested in photonics, using the model developed by the Northpointe two-year campus of <a href="http://www.iup.edu/">Indiana University of Pennsylvania</a> (an OP-TEC Partner College).</span></li></ul><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 176px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414118029921076258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zsrS2TzQ-3JTMnPHKnqR5MJm5ZhJl9F8XpjuNYX604g-rOKeNDZJnSqE3mTPLQhqGPjJIokqnzSX01pCGU9ZQyfwIX_nlsWpgxpC0hLZ-Ehpbe5N9yphM6C1W7py4s_r4eSekTlJAiE/s400/mcc+copy.jpg" /> <ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">MCC will use its grant to fund two four-day training programs for high school science and math teachers that will take place in the summer of 2010. The teachers will be introduced to a variety of fundamental concepts pertinent to optics and photonics. They will also participate in lab experiments that apply the concepts. The objective is for the teachers to be able to replicate those experiments in their classrooms. Through the OP-TEC grant, MCC will provide supplies for the labs of the participating high school teachers. MCC is supporting the high school outreach efforts through the <a href="http://www.newyorkphotonics.org/">NY/Rochester Photonics Industry Cluster</a> and several high school intermediary organizations. </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Increasing the number of completers of postsecondary photonics technician programs is vital to the security and economic competitiveness of our country. The demand for photonics technicians by our nation’s employers far exceeds the supply currently being produced by our colleges. Early this year, OP-TEC commissioned a <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/2009survey">national study</a> by the University of North Texas (UNT) to determine the number of new photonics technicians needed by U.S. employers. The study concluded that 2100 new photonics technicians will be needed in 2010 and that 5900 more will be needed over the next five years. Last year, OP-TEC surveyed U.S. two-year colleges to assess our nation’s ability to produce new technicians. The results of this survey showed that the U.S. has 28 photonics colleges with a combined enrollment of 780 photonics students and about 230 completers each year. Obviously, the gap between supply and demand - 2100 needed versus 230 supplied - is large. OP-TEC is attempting to close this gap in three ways: </span><br /></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Starting new photonics education programs (Three colleges began offering photonics for the first time this fall.) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Increasing student enrollment in and completion of existing photonics education programs through the “HS pipeline” initiative </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Helping colleges provide photonics education for employed technicians</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>For more information about the OP-TEC/UNT study, or to download the report, please visit <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/2009survey">http://www.op-tec.org/2009survey</a>.</em></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-77164819753515186832009-12-02T10:30:00.013-06:002009-12-02T11:39:36.857-06:00Laser and Optics Applications Modules<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oFTPIqc60L16kzshYZFuOrw_4nc-ZBD27r35UMUsAXCf8dWSOI-c9dUIse7rbjxLD1CwCjy862R_6G8u5suOJycQnVlCnbJTnLbex3JDtUt8AIHmdS3Kn8A-blPedUDMTcXV2schLx8/s1600-h/DSCN0126master.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 151px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410686292123418770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oFTPIqc60L16kzshYZFuOrw_4nc-ZBD27r35UMUsAXCf8dWSOI-c9dUIse7rbjxLD1CwCjy862R_6G8u5suOJycQnVlCnbJTnLbex3JDtUt8AIHmdS3Kn8A-blPedUDMTcXV2schLx8/s400/DSCN0126master.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">The applications of lasers, optics and fiber optics in energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, medicine, defense, environmental control and consumer products have expanded enormously in the last decade - and new applications (such as displays and solid-state lighting) are emerging daily. For this reason, Photonics (lasers, optics and fiber optics) is regarded as a critical “enabling technology”. And because of this role, the need for new photonics technicians has grown to an annual rate of more than 2,100 jobs in 2009. (<a href="http://www.op-tec.org/2009survey">OP-TEC Industry Survey</a>)<br /><br />Some of these jobs are being filled by recent graduates of the 30+ photonics colleges in the U.S. Others are being filled by the infusion of photonics education/training in these photonics-enabled fields. Some colleges that offer technician programs in these other fields are adding photonics education to their existing curricula. Others are restructuring their technical curricula into an “electronics systems core” with specialties in emerging fields like photonics. And many colleges are beginning to offer photonics courses to employed technicians that have been reassigned to jobs using photonics equipment and processes.<br /><br />OP-TEC has responded to these educational needs in photonics by creating flexible curriculum and teaching modules that can be used to adapt programs and courses to the variety of education and training requirements needed by industry. These modules are configured in two categories: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Two Foundation Courses in Photonics: “The Basics”</strong></span> <ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Fundamentals of Light and Lasers (six modules)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Elements of Photonics (six modules) </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Nineteen Application Modules in Lasers, Optics, Electro-Optics and Fiber Optics: "The Photonics Enabled Technologies (PET)"</strong><br /><br /><strong>Applications in Manufacturing:</strong> </span><br /></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Laser Welding & Surface Treatment</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Laser Material Removal: Drilling, Cutting & Marking </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Lasers in Testing & Measurement: Alignment, Profiling and Position Sensing </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Lasers in Testing: Interferometric Methods and Nondestructive Testing </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Applications in Defense and Homeland Security:</strong> </span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Lasers in Forensic Science & Homeland Security </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Infrared Systems for Homeland Security</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Imaging System Performance for Homeland Security Applications </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Applications in Biomedicine:</strong> </span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Lasers in Medicine & Surgery </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Therapeutic Applications of Lasers </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Diagnostic Applications of Lasers </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Applications in Environmental Monitoring:</strong> </span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Basics of Spectroscopy </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Spectroscopy & Remote Sensing </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Spectroscopy & Pollution Monitoring </span></li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Applications in Optoelectronics:</span></strong> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Photonics in Nanotechnology</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Photonic Principles in Photovoltaic Cell Technology </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Photonics in Nanotechnology Measurements: A Study of Atomic Force Microscopy</span></li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Other Applications:</span></strong> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Principles of Optical Fiber Communications</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Photonic Devices for Imaging, Storage & Display</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Basic Principles & Applications of Holography</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;">These modules, based on <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/Skill.php"><em>The National Photonics Skill Standards for Technicians</em>,</a> have been reviewed by industry experts and tested in classes/labs. They are being used in a variety of technical education curricula to support the photonics content needed in areas that are enabled by photonics. They will also be used by faculty and others to learn about these new applications of photonics in their particular field of interest.<br /><br />OP-TEC will continue to add to these PET modules as the needs arise. In 2010, we will be focusing on energy and solid state lighting applications. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>For more information about <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/laser.php">OP-TEC’s PET modules</a> or to obtain review copies, please <a href="http://www.op-tec.org/laser.php">click here</a> to visit our website. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us at </em></strong><a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org"><strong><em>op-tec@op-tec.org</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-36478724528953911582009-11-02T11:32:00.015-06:002009-11-02T14:42:10.091-06:00What would life be like without lasers? Part C - Using Lasers to Burn and Read CDs and DVDs<span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm">CDs</a> and </span><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/dvd1.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">DVDs</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> are everywhere these days. Whether they are used to hold music, data or computer software, they have become the standard medium for distributing large quantities of information in a reliable package. Compact discs are now easy and cheap to produce. If you have a computer and CD-R drive, you can create your own CDs, including any information you want.<br /><br /><strong>The Disc</strong><br />A CD is a fairly simple piece of plastic, about four one-hundredths (4/100) of an inch (1.2 mm) thick. Most of a CD consists of a piece of clear polycarbonate plastic, shaped like a disc. During manufacture, this plastic is impressed with microscopic bumps arranged as a single, continuous, extremely long spiral track of data. Once the clear piece of polycarbonate is formed, a thin, reflective aluminum layer is sputtered onto the disc, covering the bumps. Then a thin acrylic layer is sprayed over the aluminum to protect it. The label is then printed onto the acrylic. A cross section of a complete CD looks like this:</span> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 396px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 162px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399564649830187986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1ANL5e4eCttd8fEqR8C-dUY01_mw85mO7Mehn9gfk_fA93G5c2EeB2TPTMCIBhMJOVukohG7s9yoVHLcxaun29KbhKICnwm1E4R_ecclHjDNdJasoaboKK3XHp4xWGwTYShvN9jjfpU/s400/cross+section+copy.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>The Spiral</strong> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehjYz6l5JtYtBRC6Re-F5tdVqqRXa5UpzaHbrIM-h4anepcLZObw4taw4wf9ExDsEs61HQBJ_uCaoVs_h04njQPV4sAcGjqaMfwGdp_CAUTXjNgo1_i-IIhUKmZF-vsbVW_1PfkQvNaY/s1600-h/spiralk.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 147px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 156px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399566010586069186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehjYz6l5JtYtBRC6Re-F5tdVqqRXa5UpzaHbrIM-h4anepcLZObw4taw4wf9ExDsEs61HQBJ_uCaoVs_h04njQPV4sAcGjqaMfwGdp_CAUTXjNgo1_i-IIhUKmZF-vsbVW_1PfkQvNaY/s400/spiralk.jpg" /></a><br />A CD has a single spiral track of data, circling from the inside of the disc to the outside. What the picture on the right does not even begin to impress upon you is how incredibly small the data track is -- it is approximately 0.5 microns wide, with 1.6 microns separating one track from the next. (A micron is a millionth of a meter.) And the bumps are even more miniscule...</span><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>The Bumps</strong><br />The elongated bumps that make up the track are each 0.5 microns wide, a minimum of 0.83 microns long and 125 nanometers high. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) Looking through the polycarbonate layer at the bumps, they look something like this:</span><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 272px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 77px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399566486762887666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnhOpZ-gRcFGkGr1hKZMJ0Dz4JyDrxddSCnKyQqeAiJo8AAHkPpE3d0PIYRJiV56C0Q4EGQzjU9dxPUeXvVtCPsmbIiyerJ20vpVPFS1fWCNPAHoAHcjm9dJ9rsWMlt7CPUWVt-gy3O0/s400/bumpcopy.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">The bumps are arranged in a spiral path, starting at the center of the disc. The CD player spins the disc while the laser assembly moves outward from the center of the CD.<br /><br /><strong>CD Player Components</strong><br />The CD player has the job of finding and reading the data stored as bumps on the CD. Considering how small the bumps are, the CD player is an exceptionally precise piece of equipment. The drive consists of three fundamental components:</span> </div><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">A drive motor spins the disc. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">A </span><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/laser.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">laser</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and a lens system focus in on and read the bumps. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">A tracking mechanism moves the laser assembly so that the laser's beam can follow the spiral track.</span> </li></ul><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 394px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 270px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399567478608634530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllLKrBXAgU2HDazR9DZPgI-upKlkc2VLdAJRunSQHgZIqwTRFlyU4Rx8RIx-WQKuTSQ0re3mqILf1NjDiPbqKcTbyvJE4Evg3ZLmopFYv6L6rzNahg3aknJvk1e6JcB8QiWq9uyFvkJE/s400/cd+copy.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">You will often read about "pits" on a CD instead of bumps. They appear as pits on the aluminum side, but on the side the laser reads from, they are bumps.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The incredibly small dimensions of the bumps make the spiral track on a CD extremely long. If you could lift the data track off a CD and stretch it out into a straight line, it would be 0.5 microns wide and almost 3.5 miles (5 km) long! To read something this small you need an incredibly precise disc-reading mechanism. The key element in this mechanism is the pinpoint beam of a laser.<br /><br />The fundamental job of the CD player is to focus the laser on the track of bumps. The laser beam passes through the polycarbonate layer, reflects off the aluminum layer and hits an opto-electronic device that detects changes in </span><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/light.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">light</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. The bumps reflect light differently than the "lands" (the rest of the aluminum layer), and the opto-electronic sensor detects that change in reflectivity. The electronics in the drive interpret the changes in reflectivity in order to read the </span><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/bytes.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">bits</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> that make up the </span><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/bytes.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">bytes</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><center><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage=" http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="440" src="http://static.howstuffworks.com/flash/cd-read.swf"></embed></center><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">The hardest part is keeping the laser beam centered on the data track. This centering is the job of the tracking system. The tracking system, as it plays the CD, has to continually move the laser outward. As the laser moves outward from the center of the disc, the bumps move past the laser faster. Therefore, as the laser moves outward, the spindle motor must slow the speed of the CD. That way, the bumps travel past the laser at a constant speed, and the data comes off the disc at a constant rate.<br /><br />CDs store music and other files in digital form -- that is, the information on the disc is represented by a series of 1s and 0s. In conventional CDs, these 1s and 0s are represented by millions of tiny bumps and flat areas on the disc's reflective surface.<br /><br />To read this information, the CD player passes a </span><a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/laser.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">laser beam</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> over the track. When the laser passes over a flat area in the track, the beam is reflected directly to an optical sensor on the laser assembly. The CD player interprets this as a 1. When the beam passes over a bump, the light is bounced away from the optical sensor. The CD player recognizes this as a 0.<br /><br />The advent of CD burners marked a huge cultural shift. The technology made it feasible for the average person to gather songs and make their own CDs. Today, writable CD drives (CD burners) are standard equipment in new PCs, and more and more audio enthusiasts are adding separate CD burners to their stereo systems.<br /><br />CD burners darken microscopic areas of CD-R discs to record a digital pattern of reflective and non-reflective areas that can be read by a standard CD player. Since the data must be accurately encoded on such a small scale, the burning system must be extremely precise.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />In addition to the standard read laser, a CD burner has a write laser. The write laser is more powerful than the read laser, so it interacts with the disc differently: It alters the surface instead of just bouncing light off it. Read lasers are not intense enough to darken the dye material, so simply playing a CD-R in a CD drive will not destroy any encoded information. </span></div><p align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><strong>Questions or comments? </strong></em><a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org"><em><strong>E-mail us</strong></em></a><em><strong>!<br /><br /></strong></em><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>References:<br /></strong><br />Brain, Marshall. "How CDs Work." 01 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. <</span><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">> 02 November 2009.<br /><br />Harris, Tom. "How CD Burners Work." 01 August 2001. HowStuffWorks.com. <</span><a href="http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cd-burner.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cd-burner.htm</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">> 02 November 2009.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-80487729815120899812009-10-20T13:20:00.012-05:002009-10-26T10:25:36.863-05:00What would life be like without lasers? Part B - Lasers and Fiber Optics in High-Speed Internet & Smart Phones<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394752191694577970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8OsxsbQgcuPTI-DLyxcxL1upZgdpX1707JX9OjRaykromcEQ2MrkKApePnQDCmpCx_C3t5gDVgrVE8dx3hZXgBxrhT9Zvqta2dFYsYpoLaM0rBeT8H90Sp15hk5r2gQtM_9zL2-pfic/s200/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Internet, fax machines, smart phones, and other mobile devices are a way of life in modern society. All these technologies rely on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasers">lasers</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber_optics">fiber optics</a>.<br /><br />The properties of laser beams that allow them to be excellent carriers of high-data-rate signals (like high-speed Internet) are: 1) they are extremely high-frequency (0.3 GHz) carriers; and, 2) they have the coherence properties of radio or microwave radiation. These properties allow laser beams to carry many concurrent high-frequency signals.<br /><br />Laser beams travel through the air in straight lines except when they are bent by lenses or prisms or reflected by mirrors. Optical fibers permit the transmission, or “piping,” of laser beams in flexible cables that can be wrapped around corners or laid on the ocean floor. An optical fiber is a fine glass or plastic strand that carries light internally along its length. Fiber-optic cables, which consist of bundles of optical fibers, are used to transmit laser beams in high-data-rate (high-bandwidth) optical communication. Optical fibers prevent the laser signals from being blocked or scattered by clouds or other particles in the atmosphere or by electromagnetic interference. This means that laser beams can travel over long distances without significant distortion or attenuation.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394770034113328194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXRnUeIYiElxfsaTMr4JMX0jrAgLvOxJM7rS3tNz9ioHtCIRQ4ApJ_D3a4v2w17QT9xjp2LVoId6D-juL5QmH7GVHiTBWV0z_k3bvjmYGRWYhoKZ6mqtyROac8BDtM4WVDO1VaJlLyd8/s320/Untitled-fiber+dia+copy.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394770615941805938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTt5LYuIo3o6BeLGn0KO3fKWri8knVaco3LgQHHpld97Mnyo31hsNFBjYRjNBDN0MY1TRTmId5nVxvqcnAeTvRSFGFmbX-YHApKVkwR6htsIZSKvVDFUFAOT0CPf9_u66u7cY3blWl34/s400/Untitled-2+copy_cable.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:arial;">Fiber-optic cables can support Internet systems with up to 3 trillion bits per second at transfer rates as high as 111 gigabits per second (Gb/s), although 10 or 40 Gb/s is typical. The fibers used in long-distance telecommunication applications are always glass because glass causes only minimal attenuation. Both multi-mode and single-mode fibers are used, with multi-mode fiber used mostly for short distances (up to 600 yards) and single-mode fiber used for longer distances. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The process of communicating using fiber optics involves five basic steps: Creating the optical signal by modulating the laser output beam, relaying the modulated laser signal along the fiber, ensuring that the signal does not become too distorted or weak, receiving the optical signal, and converting the signal into an electrical signal.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber">Optical fibers</a> are widely used to transmit telephone signals, Internet communication, and cable television signals. Due to much lower <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuation">attenuation </a>and <a title="Interference" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference">interference</a>, optical fiber has significant advantages over electrical transmission in long-distance and high-demand applications. Because of these <a title="Fiber-optic communication" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber-optic_communication#Comparison_with_electrical_transmission">advantages</a>, optical fibers have largely replaced copper wire in <a title="Core network" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_network">core communication networks</a> in the developed world. For example, many landline cell tower connections are made over optical fiber.<br /><br />As one of the most talked about technological breakthroughs of the last few decades, laser/fiber-optic Internet carries a big name and responsibility in today’s world. Through the use of lasers and fiber optics, the computer and the Internet have evolved into realities that not too long ago were considered purely imaginary. Computers that used to take up entire rooms can now fit in a person’s back pocket. The Internet, which was created to help secure U.S. military networks, has now united the world with information.<br /><br />With lasers and fiber optics, the frustrating days of slow Internet connections are forever in the past. Some people argue that wireless Internet is still faster than fiber-optic Internet, but that is not true. Laser/fiber-optic Internet is nearly a million times faster than wireless. A fiber-optic Internet cable can carry up to around three trillion bits per second. At that rate, the Library of Congress could be downloaded to your computer within a minute, compared to about eighty years for a dial-up connection (<a href="http://fiberopticsvp.com/">Fiberoptics VP</a>).<br /><br />The first transatlantic fiber-optic cable was installed in 1988, using glass fibers so transparent that repeaters (to regenerate and recondition the signal) were needed only about every 40 miles. In 1997, the Fiber Optics Link Around the World (FLAG) became the longest single-cable network in the world, providing infrastructure for the next-generation Internet. The 17,500-mile cable begins in England and runs through the Strait of Gibraltar to Palermo, Sicily, before crossing the Mediterranean to Egypt. It then goes to Dubai and UAR before crossing the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Andaman Sea, through Thailand, and across the China Sea to Hong Kong and Japan (<a href="http://www.nae.edu/">National Academy of Engineering</a>).<br /><br />Transistors get a lot of attention in the digital world, but the backstage heroes are lasers. Red lasers brought us compact discs and cheap long-distance communication. Blue lasers, which cram even more data into a small spot, became a hit around 1999 and have made possible Blu-ray DVDs (<a href="http://search.forbes.com/search/colArchiveSearch?author=elizabeth+and+corcoran&aname=Elizabeth+Corcoran">Elizabeth Corcoran</a>, <em>Forbes Magazine</em>, June 08, 2009).<br /><br />Gordon Snyder, Director of the NSF/ATE <a href="http://www.ictcenter.org/">ICT Center</a>, says, “The entire landline infrastructure is being replaced with fiber.” More valuable comments about this from Gordon can be found at the following blogspots:<br /><a href="http://ictcenter.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-verizon-is-sunsetting-public.html">http://ictcenter.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-verizon-is-sunsetting-public.html</a><br /><a href="http://ictcenter.blogspot.com/2009/09/verizon-no-longer-concerned-with-tele.html">http://ictcenter.blogspot.com/2009/09/verizon-no-longer-concerned-with-tele.html</a><br /><br /><strong><em>Questions or comments? Post your comments here or </em></strong><a href="mailto:hull-blog@cord.org"><strong><em>e-mail me</em></strong></a><strong><em>!</em></strong></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-21256017248289030552009-09-24T09:45:00.025-05:002009-09-24T10:37:45.571-05:00What if there were no lasers today?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8iiUhU-fCdh1RoEDx-ilnBXOL6P0asnLEv4uE8Eq6r2huF-OjDV8cibREBt_0uQ9NA492qKNkbWc5Ol9sIF7sGDpXz9TGnyfTnxDV4ce8wHg6gpP2IcuZ846WFiHrjI4oWS_Ci9R-Tg/s1600-h/LAser.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385053404364180034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8iiUhU-fCdh1RoEDx-ilnBXOL6P0asnLEv4uE8Eq6r2huF-OjDV8cibREBt_0uQ9NA492qKNkbWc5Ol9sIF7sGDpXz9TGnyfTnxDV4ce8wHg6gpP2IcuZ846WFiHrjI4oWS_Ci9R-Tg/s200/LAser.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>When you hear the word, “laser” what are you reminded of? Luke Skywalker? Star Wars? High-tech wars between spacecraft?</em></strong><br /><br />Well, those concepts make good movies and TV shows, but they don’t make very good sense - in a practical way. In the last 40+ years, we have created a wide range of lasers (some whose output you can’t even see) and we’ve learned how to control them and use them to make our life better and to do things we’ve never been able to do with any other device - incredible breakthroughs in medicine, communications, manufacturing, entertainment and lots more. Unless we happen to be involved in the development of some application of the laser we probably don’t even know they are being used - right before our eyes!<br /><br />Lasers now come in a variety of configurations and output wavelengths (colors), in continuous and pulsed beams, and at high and low power levels. We can often find a “laser solution” to a particular problem by selecting a laser with an output that suits our needs best. The unique properties of lasers that make them useful are: </span><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><strong>Monochromatic</strong> - </em>Most lasers emit a beam of light at a very pure color (or wavelength). This means that the beam will be selectively transmitted, absorbed or reflected when other beams of light are not affected the same way. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><strong>Collimated </strong>- </em>A laser ray can be made to remain a very narrow beam that will travel long distances without spreading out much. A laser beam can be sent all the way to the moon and spread so little that it still makes a powerful spot when it hits something.</span> </li><br /><li><span style="font-family:arial;">A powerful <em><strong>Source of Heat</strong></em> that can be directed and pin pointed to an exact spot where it may melt or vaporize the target material, and yet leave the surrounding material unaffected. </span><br /></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><strong>Coherent </strong>- </em>Because laser light is much better organized than ordinary light, lasers have the same “information-carrying” properties that radio waves have, except the laser is working at much, much higher frequencies. This allows huge amounts of information, and many, many channels to be sent over a laser beam. Sometimes the laser beam is sent in the air; and sometimes it is “piped” in tiny plastic or glass strands called “fiber optics”.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>So what are some common uses of lasers that we use every day? Here are a few:</em></strong> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>Supermarket Checkout Systems</em></strong> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzl83D6MY5Jj8sA1_L9e6LgrMgDaCO_rhDDkGW3TdJYffics4uHN7PUTR7yy4gkYDnI4-ADPa7-wqjTpPVA4yfmzPMPMvi5Wb0erwk4FYW0MsVjipNLsAxGfucLKo85N0EbGEz_w2jrk/s1600-h/scanner.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385051117253901666" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 94px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzl83D6MY5Jj8sA1_L9e6LgrMgDaCO_rhDDkGW3TdJYffics4uHN7PUTR7yy4gkYDnI4-ADPa7-wqjTpPVA4yfmzPMPMvi5Wb0erwk4FYW0MsVjipNLsAxGfucLKo85N0EbGEz_w2jrk/s400/scanner.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A low-power laser beam is scanned across the “bar codes” that are attached to products we buy. When we check out at a superstore, we just place the product with its bar code face down on the window of the scanner, the laser beam sweeps across the bar code and the reflected laser beam is read as a code that identifies the product. This uses the <em>collimated and</em> <em>monochromatic</em> characteristics of the laser.</span> </p><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>LASIK Eye Surgery</em></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UtTk2fgpDb27vuKOuMd3vgat8L7CxgeO97oRSyLsDhVqaYnDpOAPE9UCu1rvv1XTuZrnJrhb2KXlPgZbcXNqS2sCyD5IoGHZvD4qByHIbzyWGX29_KtzxOQjqqlWJUJ5cshH-mkXIzM/s1600-h/eye.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385051550881186306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 143px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 107px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UtTk2fgpDb27vuKOuMd3vgat8L7CxgeO97oRSyLsDhVqaYnDpOAPE9UCu1rvv1XTuZrnJrhb2KXlPgZbcXNqS2sCyD5IoGHZvD4qByHIbzyWGX29_KtzxOQjqqlWJUJ5cshH-mkXIzM/s400/eye.jpg" border="0" /></a>LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is a surgical procedure that uses a laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism. In LASIK, a thin flap in the cornea is c<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihL9SUv_sVrVhyt3cqgpkPoWnsNSyRXyyWromJY1VB_obGnyc55sOvkHcN7iihQg2RaGNve3p29_ea3lHf4QUUNyCMHI_76IUkplgfw0_XpknsNdD9LnWUJBOd1XYEagfDmWBiQNDGJD0/s1600-h/eye.jpg"></a>reated using a femtosecond laser. The surgeon folds back the flap, and then removes some corneal tissue underneath using an </span><a href="http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasik_laser.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">excimer laser</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">. The flap is then laid back in place, covering the area where the corneal tissue was removed. With </span><a href="http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/myopia.htm"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">nearsighted</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> people, the goal of LASIK is to flatten the too-steep cornea; with </span><a href="http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/hyperopia.htm"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">farsighted</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> people, a steeper cornea is desired. LASIK can also correct </span><a href="http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/astigmatism.htm"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">astigmatism</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> by smoothing an irregular cornea into a more normal shape. This application uses the <em>collimated, monochromatic and heat</em> properties of the laser. <em>(Unfortunately, laser pioneers are too old to be considered good candidates for LASIK.)</em></span> <p></p><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385055489061743218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikH2nUoZyallIcAipsTU-P_oMZhTO6ciFQgw5rp6E4xgykcN_nXciI9bT2wl-zi_BVs9zQ01se9MSoYTlcxqTTGwXZaIvVd-yO51zViaaKQMEzDTGbLADNFvlxQ6XAwHs2mO3vroQ3QC0/s200/paper.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>Laser Printers & Copiers</em></strong><br />The physical phenomenon at work in a laser printer is </span><a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/vdg1.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">static </a><a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/vdg1.htm">electricity</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">the same energy that makes clothes in the </span><a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/dryer.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">dryer</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> stick together. A laser printer uses this phenomenon as a sort of "temporary glue" to hold toner on a photoconductive drum. The laser "writes" the print information on a photoconductive revolving drum, which then transfers it to a sheet of paper. This uses the <em>collimated and heat</em> properties of the laser. The information is then sealed to the paper with heat from a fuser, producing a very high-resolution copy.<br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">(From </span></em></span><a href="http://computer.howstuffworks.com/laser-printer.htm"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">www.howstuffworks.com/laserprinter.htm</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> )</span></em> <em><br /></em><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />There are more laser applications to talk about (internet, displays, entertainment, pointers, and defense/homeland security equipment); but, those will have to wait until there’s another blog posting. </span></div><div><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><em>Questions or comments? Post your comments here or <a href="mailto:hull-blog@cord.org">e-mail me</a>!</em></strong></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-11503923391827693012009-08-24T11:24:00.009-05:002009-08-25T14:01:43.558-05:00Technical Challenges During the Emergence of the Laser - 1960’s<div align="center"><a href="http://www.op-tec.org/082409blogimage.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373573377590792642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 333px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMn0Y2nQj3Y0uw3N0KIwbQCmCds0vSu1G1AmIIM2xxcrrOlwZWP27_MhLz0EcrUlpvk1DYvE5sswHBQkD85pn7Xql-orLPOgeNjr-K2YIY7Q74MtTqLIedbZ6i4YBGjlHZ3XSR_ey13dc/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Q-Switched Ruby Laser with "Rat’s Nest" Calorimeter - 1962<br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><a href="http://www.op-tec.org/082409blogimage.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to view the image above in a larger format.<span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"></span></span><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, scientists accomplished the extraordinary feats of predicting, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">discovering and making the first lasers operational. Throughout the 1960s, scientists continued to lead in discovering new solid, gas and liquid materials that could be used as the active medium in lasers, providing new output wavelengths, higher energy and/or pulsed power outputs and greater efficiencies.<br /><br />By 1961, electrical and mechanical engineers also joined laser R&D staffs in the development and refinement of laser systems and related equipment. We were faced with technical challenges for which we were not prepared in our education and/or prior experience. Some of the challenges we faced were:</span><br /></div><div align="left"><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Engineers and physicists did not usually work together or even speak the same technical language. We learned to work in teams and to develop mutual respect for each other - because we needed each other’s unique experience and expertise.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">There were no textbooks and few journal articles about lasers; we had to learn about them as we worked on them. We were discovering new phenomena and revising existing theories.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">In the 1960’s, most engineers’ knowledge of optics was limited to what they learned in a few weeks of study in sophomore physics. Many of us had to learn more depth in geometrical optics from a book by Jenkins & White; wave (or physical) optics from a book by Strong.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Light was traditionally measured in photometric units (lumens, foot candles, angstroms etc). We had to transition to radiometric units (joules, watts, nanometers etc).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Safety aspects of laser beams was neither known nor respected. Laser safety became an R&D field of its own. Laser safety goggles had not been invented.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">There was no instrument used to measure the energy in an optical pulse (i.e. output of a pulsed laser.) Robert M. Baker, a Fellow Electronics Engineer at the Westinghouse Defense Center, devised and tested a “rats nest” calorimeter, composed of tens of meters of coated, fine copper wire, tangled and placed in a small beaker. The pulsed laser beam was directed into the “rats nest”; the change in electrical resistance, due to the heat rise in the copper, was measured; the temperature rise in the wire was calculated and related to the laser pulse energy absorbed by the “rats nest”.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">The physics of “negative absorption” or “optical gain” could only be understood through an understanding of modern physics and quantum mechanics. Some of us had “lightly” learned these fields in graduate studies; others had to struggle through these topics in other ways.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Operation of solid lasers, like ruby, required fluent knowledge and facility in cryogenics and high voltage power supplies and capacitor banks. Most engineers had to learn these practices “on the job”.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">As new applications of lasers were proposed in fields such as defense, materials processing, medical therapeutics, communications, remote sensing and others, engineers were required to devise, revise and adapt equipment to accommodate laser and optical components, devices and systems.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">We learned, by mistakes, that a high power, pulsed ruby laser cannot be focused with an achromat lens without destroying the cement that joins the components of the lens together. Achromat lenses were not needed for monochromatic laser light.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">We also learned that most anti-reflective coatings, needed on gas laser tubes and the ends of solid laser rods, were also vulnerable to damage by the laser radiation. We solved this problem by positioning the end of the laser rods and the windows at Brewster’s angle to minimize reflections; thereby eliminating the need for AR coatings.</span></li></ul></div><p align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">This list is far from comprehensive, but it’s what first came to mind and it’s long enough for this blog posting. <strong><em>Perhaps you were also working on lasers in the 1960’s. </em></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>I would invite you to comment on other challenges that you faced.</em></strong></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Visit <a href="http://www.laserfest.org/">http://www.laserfest.org/</a> to learn more about the 50th anniversary celebration of the laser!</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-54301134552999815212009-08-13T12:13:00.007-05:002009-08-13T12:41:29.172-05:00Celebrating 50 years of the Laser in 2010<a href="http://www.laserfest.org/index.cfm"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369503453277202594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 213px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjPp_dt-TgQtL1IntW3LwwK_9cWIrKZIEW5nprB0TAWt-J1l2ectGI-Jovu0_6nOwktuhSs4zL3wyeP0w6cSub6e8W8lZY9butiu4wvpRTj2I-NoymEgfChY-UfSsO7hiTJCMIWgmMog/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">A little more than 48 years ago, when I was a fledgling young electrical engineer at the Westinghouse Defense Center in Baltimore, I had a fortunate occasion that transformed my career into one of the most exciting experiences I could expect in my life. I was developing and testing some electronic timing/counting circuits for airborne radar systems; I was bored to death and wondering why I had dragged my young wife up to Baltimore from Texas to live in this “foreign land”, away from friends, relatives and Mexican food.<br /><br />My engineering manager approached me just before lunch one day in June 1961, and showed me a copy of the latest issue of Scientific American magazine. He said, “Here, read this article about a helium-neon laser that had been created at Bell Labs. We want to build the second one, and I want to know if you would like to have this assignment.” I read the article, struggled through the quantum mechanics, modern physics and optics, and couldn’t imagine any practical applications for this curious device. But I also couldn’t think of anything else that I wanted to do, so I returned from lunch and responded with “why not”?<br /><br />We had the HeNe lasing @ 1.153 microns (with a flat mirror Fabry-Perot etalon cavity) before the end of the year. Then we set out to build a ruby laser like Ted Maiman had demonstrated at Hughes. When we got it to operate (with a pulse energy output of about two joules), we focused the beam, with a one-inch focal length lens, on a razor blade, and blew a hole in it. Now we knew the potential application; we had the ultimate weapon to “blow ICBM’s out of the sky” and save the USA from nuclear weapon destruction! The Department of Defense also caught the laser fever; within months, R&D $$ for laser development began to flow like a river. We tried to make more powerful lasers by discovering other materials that would lase (someone even reported that they had made jello to lase.) We built ruby laser oscillator/amplifiers to raise the output power and sent them to military labs for more testing.<br /><br />I not only shot more razor blades, I shot other, more exotic materials; calculated the volume of material removed and measured the impulse generated by the rapid “blow-off” at the material’s surface. In 1963 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the United Nations, beat his shoe on the podium, and showed a hand ruler that had a small hole in it made from a ruby laser. He declared that the USSR had the ultimate weapon that would allow them to control the world. By that time, I had determined that it might be more effective to “throw the laser at the ICBM” than it would be to try to shoot it out of the sky. Laser weapons’ research continued, and some useful devices have no doubt been developed that have made our military more efficient and our country safer.<br /><br />But many more unique, useful laser applications have been developed in medicine, surgery, telecommunications, manufacturing, homeland security, lighting, displays and nanotechnology, to name a few. Lasers (today, a part of photonics) is an enabling technology that has provided new solutions to difficult problems, made our country a safer place to live and improved our quality of life. I’m so glad that I am a part of this scientific achievement. I’m an engineer and an educator; I didn’t discover the laser, but I am proud to have been part of its development; I’ve contributed to new applications; and I’ve been working for the last 35 years to build the laser (photonics) technician workforce - a critical element in this exciting and useful field.<br /><br />Next year, the <a href="http://www.aps.org/">American Physical Society</a> (APS), along with other sponsors, like OP-TEC, is leading a national celebration to commemorate the 50th year of the laser. This celebration is called LaserFest.<br /><br /><strong><em>Check out the plans, information, history and opportunities to participate in LaserFest by visiting the APS web site at </em></strong></span><a href="http://www.laserfest.org/index.cfm"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>www.laserfest.org</em></strong></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>.</em></strong><br /><br />For the next several weeks I will be writing about LaserFest and some of my early memories of the emergence of the laser, including some early pioneer colleagues, technologies that had to be created/changed to support laser development, the transition from “laser systems development” to “laser applications development”, and the need/response for laser technicians. </span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-86479329304955297752009-08-03T09:21:00.005-05:002009-08-03T09:31:33.189-05:00The Photonics College Network Was Launched!<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hTZND2_KZfXB-35qwGmxoH1UlqRxtQZ4uucITFZu8NTfukH6ZJLfCwUQn3Ugm3Mqc5pBEU8HMcGmqZUc63YQNyhCZWpUHPvxZCGoRAy7nEFyVjXRLqhjn0w9VmlYXkBH-HA1-P-potA/s1600-h/group+photo+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365744231980710034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 207px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hTZND2_KZfXB-35qwGmxoH1UlqRxtQZ4uucITFZu8NTfukH6ZJLfCwUQn3Ugm3Mqc5pBEU8HMcGmqZUc63YQNyhCZWpUHPvxZCGoRAy7nEFyVjXRLqhjn0w9VmlYXkBH-HA1-P-potA/s400/group+photo+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">The OP-TEC Photonics College Network (OPCN) was initiated last week, at the <a href="http://www.highimpact-tec.org/">HI-TEC Conference</a> in Scottsdale, Arizona. Twenty-three faculty members and administrators were present, representing 18 of the nation’s 29 photonics colleges. Two additional faculty members also attended, representing two other colleges that are planning to start new photonics programs in the near future.<br /><br />The OPCN met for five hours over two evenings, and accomplished the following:</span><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">In a “networking session”, members exchanged contact information, program descriptions and student recruitment brochures.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Members asked OP-TEC to create and maintain an OPCN community web site, open only to members, for the purpose of sharing successful strategies and engaging in discussions on issues and problems related to photonics technician education.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Members agreed to participate in conducting Regional Needs Assessments of photonics technician job opportunities.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Members agreed to participate in quarterly teleconferences, beginning in September 2009.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Members requested OP-TEC to develop and conduct monthly webinars on photonics education innovations and technical updates. These 1-hour webinars will be led by OPCN members, OP-TEC center staff and technical experts. Topics will be agreed upon in the next six weeks, and the webinars will begin in the fall of 2009.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;">OP-TEC announced that matching mini grants would be awarded in 2009-2010, on a competitive basis, for selected OPCN members to initiate proven strategies to increase photonics student enrollment/retention at OPCN colleges.<br /><br />Dr. Fred Seeber, Professor Emeritus at Camden County College, provided a seminar to the OPCN members on Laser Safety, highlighting the recently released ANSI Z136.5 Safe Use of Lasers in Educational Institutions. Copies of the new ANSI Standard were given to each OPCN member in attendance.<br /><br />The following colleges were represented at the meetings: Bellingham Technical College; Camden County College; Central Carolina Community College; Central New Mexico Community College; College of Lake County; Delaware Technical College; Idaho State University (2-yr program); Indian Hills Community College; Indian River State College; Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2-yr Northpointe Campus); Irvine Valley College/CACT; Ivy Tech Community College; Monroe Community College; Northwest Vista Community College; Pima Community College; Sinclair Community College; Texas State Technical College; TriCounty Technical College; Valencia Community College; and, Wallace State Community College.<br /><br /><strong><em>Membership in OPCN is available, without charge, to other two-year colleges offering photonics education. If you would like additional information about OPCN, please contact us at </em></strong><a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org"><strong><em>op-tec@op-tec.org</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-6434928104629673012009-07-09T13:46:00.008-05:002009-07-09T14:02:40.475-05:00Retraining for Photonics Technicians<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisr27zFQ-dK-aBlP0qtPKARjGf9P1bYr5Y5U8UJILvi9ZhgOsurh_Y3GKydz7AYKD0hjZ7xJlr7YJTe5WUINZdUp2prFvsE4M1baTosHKuh-f4HnSyaylZI83meNdiU0rnW9DBmI4uJ3w/s1600-h/header+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356536323780335634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 208px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisr27zFQ-dK-aBlP0qtPKARjGf9P1bYr5Y5U8UJILvi9ZhgOsurh_Y3GKydz7AYKD0hjZ7xJlr7YJTe5WUINZdUp2prFvsE4M1baTosHKuh-f4HnSyaylZI83meNdiU0rnW9DBmI4uJ3w/s320/header+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Many U.S. employers of photonics technicians are hiring workers that are underprepared for their jobs. Some of these techs are educated/trained in other technical fields; some have only a high school education, or some post secondary education in an unrelated field. A recent study conducted for OP-TEC reveals that employers are hiring 400-600 unprepared photonics techs each year. Employers don’t want to do this, but they’re doing it to survive; they need to fill staffing slots to meet their commitments and our colleges aren’t turning out enough photonics grads.<br /><br />We need 2200 new photonics techs this year, but our colleges are only producing about 250 completers. OP-TEC is working with our U.S. colleges to start more photonics AAS degree programs and to increase the enrollment and completion rates of existing programs. But it will take years for us to “build our capacity” to have enough completers to fill the annual demand for photonics techs.<br /><br />In the meantime, employers will continue to “make do” with underprepared workers; and these new or transferred workers will have to “learn on the job”. On the job training (OJT) is important and useful, but it is usually limited to survival training on specific equipment and processes that are peculiar to an employer’s current equipment and work assignments. It rarely includes the basic knowledge and skills that underpin the technology and provide the foundation for survival and/or growth. In the case of photonics, this basic knowledge/skill includes geometric and wave optics, laser operation and output characteristics - and laser safety.<br /><br />So, what can be done “in the meantime”? If photonics techs need some education and training in this field, and if they are near one of the colleges in our country that offers photonics courses (see a map of these college locations in my May 6 blog posting), then they should investigate the offerings that are available locally. But this option may not be practical for the following reasons:</span><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">There is not a photonics college within commuting distance.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">You may not have the time available to attend the college 2-3 evenings/week. </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;">To address the need of employed photonics techs for education/training in this field, OP-TEC has developed and tested hybrid online courses in optics and photonics that can be offered by any college that has the appropriate faculty and labs to teach them. The course is hybrid because of the way it is delivered. Students can take the classroom part of the course “online” from their homes, workplace or while they are on the road. Videos of the lab activities are also shown online. Periodically, students come to the college to conduct the hands-on lab activities. This can be once every other two weeks or all at the end of the course, depending on the preference of the students and the college. If sufficient students from one employer constitute a course, the labs could be conducted at the employer worksite.<br /><br />The six modules in the first course cover the following basic topics: </span><br /></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Nature and Properties of Light</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Optical Handling and Positioning</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Laser Safety</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Geometric Optics</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Wave Optics</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Principles of Lasers</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Employers have verified that these topics constitute the “core” of basic photonics. Supplemental math material can also be included for those students who need to brush up on their skills in algebra and trig.<br /><br />In our nation’s present economic condition, with a high jobless rate, the news about available jobs in photonics sounds like a golden opportunity for some unemployed workers to “get back on the payroll” and enter some rewarding careers. But if you’re unprepared for a job, you’ll probably stay at the entry-level job, with little chance for advancement; you might even get laid off when a more qualified person can be hired. So, if you want to have a successful, rewarding career as a photonics technician, it’s important that you build your knowledge and skills in the basics of photonics technology.<br /><br /><strong><em>If you’re interested and need to get connected with a photonics college, <a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org">contact OP-TEC</a>. Or, if you’re an employer looking for a way to upgrade your techs in photonics, we can help you find a college to provide these services. <a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org">Contact us for more information</a>!</em></strong></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-28051024464241783392009-06-04T15:57:00.005-05:002009-06-04T16:41:18.952-05:00OP-TEC Will Prepare You to Teach Optics, Lasers, and Photonics<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8GholYIJUIqRUIcFnILtwWpdG4dqeUjr2SmNCK7db0A5hlX9S1H4POfXjHsU_a0NljZ1J3TiyPMJ4SUT-1nN2FrNizbpBpGKUPlQXt4-DAwjpCqtWRXln4piOzh9TcOuqH1yu3DK-9U/s1600-h/Untitled-1+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343589663094516786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 99px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8GholYIJUIqRUIcFnILtwWpdG4dqeUjr2SmNCK7db0A5hlX9S1H4POfXjHsU_a0NljZ1J3TiyPMJ4SUT-1nN2FrNizbpBpGKUPlQXt4-DAwjpCqtWRXln4piOzh9TcOuqH1yu3DK-9U/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Photonics is an “enabling technology.” This means that optics, lasers, fiber-optics, and other electro-optics devices may introduce new solutions, enhance devices, or improve the performance of processes in fields such as medicine, telecommunications, environmental monitoring, manufacturing/materials processing, defense/homeland security, alternative energy, lighting, displays, and many other areas where today’s students will be tomorrow’s workers. Beginning now and growing rapidly in the future, photonics will be as integral to technology as electronics has been for the past several decades. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><div><br />If you are teaching science or technology in high school, are you introducing optics and photonics to your students and giving them the foundation they will need in this area? Or if you are a college faculty member in a technical field, are you providing the basics of photonics and its applications related to your field, so that your students will enhance their career opportunities and be prepared to grow in their jobs? </div><br /><p>OP-TEC has two courses that secondary and postsecondary educators can use to provide the photonics foundations their students will need. If you’re interested, we can help you get started. </p><ul><li><em><strong><a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/laser.php"><span style="color:#000000;">Course 1: Fundamentals of Light and Lasers</span></a></strong></em></li><li><em><strong><a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/laser.php"><span style="color:#000000;">Course 2: Elements of Photonics</span></a></strong></em></li></ul><p>The courses cover topics in basic light sources and optics, laser principles and laser safety, fiber optics, holography, and laser applications. The courses can be tailored to cover applications in the particular field the student is studying.</p><p>The costs for putting in Course 1 may be a lot less than you think. We have an equipment list for colleges and are developing a lower-cost version for high schools. You may even be able to borrow some of the equipment from your physics labs.<br /><br />For the last two years, OP-TEC has provided hybrid online courses to train high school teachers and college faculty about lasers and optics and how to teach these courses. This spring 22 educators enrolled in training for Course 1. Over a 12-week period, they have studied (with the help of an online moderator) all six modules, engaged in online discussions, worked the problems, and observed streaming videos of the labs, where they recorded data and performed calculations. This month, the completers will travel to a ”photonics college” for three days, where they will work all of the labs, meet with experienced faculty members, and gain information about equipping and setting up a photonics lab. OP-TEC will provide the faculty training course without charge to qualified teachers. Their only costs will be their travel expenses to the “photonics college.” </p><p><em>As a faculty member who had completed OP-TEC's "Faculty Development" course last year for Fundamentals of Light & Lasers, Course 1, I can report that I am delighted with the support of OP-TEC's staff and their college partners! I am working to build our photonics/laser program at my campus. We are adopting the OP-TEC materials for our college and this will be the first semester that we will be using the OP-TEC Course 1 textbook. OP-TEC has been very helpful with helping me develop my course locally. I strongly recommend other faculty who wish to add photonics to their colleges & universities to consider taking the OP-TEC Faculty Development course!” Tom Millen, Assistant Professor, Electronics & Computer Technology, Ivy Tech Community College</em></p><div><strong>OP-TEC will offer both courses in c/y 09-10. So if you are interested, please </strong><a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org"><strong>contact us</strong></a><strong> and let us help you help your students become qualified for the jobs of tomorrow in the emerging field of photonics.</strong></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-5534975614961663162009-05-18T16:59:00.008-05:002009-05-22T14:17:05.476-05:00Photonics Summer Camps and Institutes for High School Teachers and Students<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig6t3Oulr7QRSxHWmum65ljQ8LkW1dcCwfrYyL2e4-64dkhDFEiBJfQNCklsiaI2CAzKiTOdqqT6br-dfVKyOhznU1AgTFCXGpVO7diB_60iGTzmQsLuJZuUmo7HjE1TGxgTteBZpgn0/s1600-h/Untitled-1+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337294772462604754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig6t3Oulr7QRSxHWmum65ljQ8LkW1dcCwfrYyL2e4-64dkhDFEiBJfQNCklsiaI2CAzKiTOdqqT6br-dfVKyOhznU1AgTFCXGpVO7diB_60iGTzmQsLuJZuUmo7HjE1TGxgTteBZpgn0/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Emerging technologies such as photonics and nanotechnology must be experienced to be appreciated. Unfortunately, community and technical college offerings in these fields are some of the best kept secrets in the country. High school teachers, counselors, students - and their parents - need to experience these technologies first hand, and they need to learn about the wonderful, rewarding career opportunities that are available to young people.<br /><br />Visits by college representatives to high schools and “gee whiz” demonstrations may open some doors, but they must be followed up by experiences in the college laboratories where students and their teachers can see how the equipment is being used and to participate in “hands-on” lab activities.<br /><br />The “middle 50%” of our high school achievers are frequently not encouraged to consider careers in emerging technologies. Most of these young people are capable of mastering the math, science and technology that these careers require - and they are more inclined to enjoy and benefit from education when they see that it has a purpose. They deserve these rewarding, challenging jobs that are available to them, and our country deserves the talents that they can provide if they are encouraged and educated.<br /><br />Colleges that offer technician education programs in new and emerging technologies must be engaged in intense, focused outreach efforts to high school students, teachers and counselors to build the “high school pipeline” and strengthen their enrollments. Some of the institutions in OP-TEC’s Photonics College Network (OPCN) have initiated novel and successful outreach efforts to nearby high schools. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Two of them have written monographs, documenting their strategies and successes.</span> <div><br /></div><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><a href="http://www.waco.tstc.edu/let/let_aas/index.php">Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Waco</a></strong> employs a young, marketing-trained recruiter and the regional Tech Prep coordinator to make the initial contact with high schools throughout the state. Interested teachers, students and counselors are invited to attend hands-on, one-week summer institutes in lasers and nanotechnology. The classes are held in the TSTC labs and the attendees reside in on-campus dorms. The <a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/TSTC%20Monograph%20050609%20(mlw).pdf">TSTC monograph</a> contains descriptions of recruitment strategies, format/agenda of the institute, costs, labs/equipment and the participant manual. Enrollment in each year has doubled; this summer (the 3rd) enrollment is expected to be 60 attendees (~3 institutes). </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Examples of comments from participants include:<br /><br /><em>“..The presenters and presentations were excellent…I will be recommending this venue to my counterparts and my students.” (teacher)</em><br /><br /><em>“The LEO program is really awesome. It doesn’t just teach you about lasers, it also teaches responsibilities….I plan on coming back for the week program next year. I also hope to come to TSTC for college after that.” (student)</em></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id=26663"><strong>Indiana University of Pennsylvania's (IUP)</strong><strong> Northpointe Regional</strong> <strong>Two-Year Campus</strong></a>, uses a comprehensive approach with nearby high schools that has four elements. These four elements are provided below and presented, in detail, in the <a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/IUP%20Outreach%202009%20Feb%2006%20(mlw).pdf">IUP monograph</a>. </span></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:Arial;">Presentations in High School Classrooms - Hands-on presentations about lasers and electro-optics to high school 10th and 11th grade science classes reinforce the science principles, show interesting applications and describe career opportunities and educational pathways.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Arial;">On-Campus Electro-Optic Experiences - Half day sessions at the college for 30-40 high school sophomores, juniors, seniors and their teachers, to familiarize them with EO labs and college life @ IUP.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Arial;">Electro-Optics (EO) Summer Camps for Students - One week sessions where students experience laser and optics science/technology and learn about career opportunities from local and regional employers.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Arial;">Workshops for Teachers and Counselors - One-day experiences to participate in laser/electro-optics hardware activities/demonstrations, discuss educational plans and tour local electro-optics industries.</span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Over the last three years the outreach efforts have grown from serving 500 students and teachers in 2005-06, to over 2000 students in 2007-08. They have contributed to significant student interest and enrollment growth.<br /><strong><br />To view, save and/or print these monographs from the OP-TEC website, please click on the title(s) below to access the monograph PDF file.<br /></strong><em><br /><a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/TSTC%20Monograph%20050609%20(mlw).pdf">TSTC Waco’s Photonics Summer Institutes for High School Science & Technology Teachers</a></em><br />Authors: Dr. Larry Grulick & John Pedrotti, TSTC; Dan Hull, OP-TEC<br /><br /><a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/IUP%20Outreach%202009%20Feb%2006%20(mlw).pdf"><em>Outreach Activities to Enlist</em> <em>High School Students for Electro-Optics Technician Programs at Indiana</em> <em>University of Pennsylvania, Northpointe Two-Year Campus</em></a><br />Authors: Dr. Feng Zhou, IUP; Dan Hull, OP-TEC</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong>For more information about OP-TEC's free Program Planning Guides and monographs or to request a complimentary bound copy, please <a href="http://op-tec.org/curriculum/programplanning.php">click here</a>.<br /></strong></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><br />Contact Information:</strong></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><br /></strong>For more information about the TSTC Summer Institute, please contact <a href="mailto:john.pedrotti@tstc.edu">john.pedrotti@tstc.edu</a>.</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br />For more information about the IUP outreach activities, please contact </span><a href="mailto:fzhou@iup.edu"><span style="font-family:Arial;">fzhou@iup.edu</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">.</span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-12848765474930185232009-05-06T09:43:00.007-05:002009-05-06T14:23:46.631-05:00The Photonics College Network<span style="font-family:arial;">Last week I wrote about the rewarding career opportunities for photonics techs that are educated/trained at two year colleges. I also mentioned that there are over 25 community and technical colleges in the U.S. that prepare students for these careers. Most of these colleges have hard-working, competent faculty and excellent facilities. Some have new photonics offerings, some have been in operation for over 30 years - and some are struggling to overcome obstacles, such as low enrollment, retiring faculty or curricula that needs a “new look”. Overall, these colleges currently have about 700 photonics students and 280 completers each year. (Recall that our recent study revealed that U.S. employers need about 2100 new photonic techs this year.)<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4skPnlSCym_HdCzPI2PR8k9drqfkWdNifWVOIzFKUedNgnd-jsMR8gCE5fl0PhLJBKWxUMNoLM9y9R1puAJAe_4tEy4NY82P42OYaCit9Nd_WIzpDsnsqY3qpsj7AZOdxT7t1yjBWX6Y/s1600-h/map_us_outline_b3lue.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4skPnlSCym_HdCzPI2PR8k9drqfkWdNifWVOIzFKUedNgnd-jsMR8gCE5fl0PhLJBKWxUMNoLM9y9R1puAJAe_4tEy4NY82P42OYaCit9Nd_WIzpDsnsqY3qpsj7AZOdxT7t1yjBWX6Y/s400/map_us_outline_b3lue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332793751745640130" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">OP-TEC is working hard to close the gap between supply and demand. We are working with over 200 colleges that are considering or planning new programs in photonics; but new programs take time to develop - this is our long-term strategy. Our short term strategy is to help some of the 30 colleges with existing photonics programs to revitalize and grow. We believe, that with some assistance, the existing programs could significantly increase their output of completers in 2-3 years. (We’ve seen that happen in the last 3 years with our 7 Partner Colleges.) Some of that assistance will come from OP-TEC, but much of the help they need is what they can provide for each other by networking and sharing best practices. To facilitate this OP-TEC is forming the OP-TEC Photonics College Network (OPCN).<br /><br />Membership in OPCN is available for faculty and administrators of two-year colleges that offer courses/programs in optic and photonics. There is no fee to join, but members will benefit - and be a benefit to others, if they are active, in terms of communication, information-sharing and participation in electronic and/or on-site meetings.<br /><br />Potential benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:</span><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Opportunities to network with photonics faculty and administrators of approximately twenty-five U.S. colleges currently or recently offering photonics education.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Access to OPCN e-mail distribution list, member roster, web forum and other networking tools to collaborate and exchange ideas and best practices. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">OP-TEC curriculum designs, teaching modules, planning guides and monographs of best practices in photonics education. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Professional development opportunities and technical assistance through OP-TEC to update, enhance and strengthen photonics programs.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Support and information on how to increase program enrollment.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Identification of state-wide photonics employers and access to needs assessment survey process.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">News updates on emerging trends in photonics applications and educational innovations. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Eligible for OP-TEC Mini-Grants for program improvement.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Information about other potential grant opportunities such as NSF/ATE, DOE and DOL grants. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Opportunities for OP-TEC fellowships to attend conferences or workshops.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Information on lab equipment availability, used equipment donations or auctions and possible exchange program.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Use of and training on OP-TEC’s hybrid, online course for high school dual credit and for retraining employed technicians.</span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:arial;">The inaugural meeting of OPCN will take place July 19-20, in Phoenix, during the pre-conference of the HI-TEC conference. A limited number of Fellowships to attend HI-TEC are available to OPCN members through OP-TEC. To learn more about the HI-TEC conference, visit <a href="http://www.highimpact-tec.org/">http://www.highimpact-tec.org/</a>.<br /><br />The Photonics Colleges represent an enormously important national resource. They are a critical link in providing the competent workforce that U.S. employers will need to remain globally competitive in this emerging technical field.<br /><br /><strong><em>For more information about OPCN or to request a membership application, please contact Donna Flanery at </em></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="mailto:dflanery@op-tec.org"><strong><em>dflanery@op-tec.org</em></strong></a><strong><em> or call 254-741-8338 x394.</em></strong></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-676670611651106460.post-56037410997863699422009-04-20T12:57:00.006-05:002009-04-20T13:06:11.843-05:00Need a Job? Learn to be a Photonics Technician<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_yE3SG_RQSRf5Qig3jqx_w_3uFFi4Bd1REkyddKIR3glkjGsaB_r7LKZADpm46F3Jnxlt4WqbVbTqIemUZyxyIRdY3Nv6JYdsalYF_SflXXo31nF_MJen-KdugUBsFLqtBQSAm4PFi4/s1600-h/header.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326834869913740354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_yE3SG_RQSRf5Qig3jqx_w_3uFFi4Bd1REkyddKIR3glkjGsaB_r7LKZADpm46F3Jnxlt4WqbVbTqIemUZyxyIRdY3Nv6JYdsalYF_SflXXo31nF_MJen-KdugUBsFLqtBQSAm4PFi4/s400/header.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Lots of good people in the U.S. have lost their jobs, or are worried about losing their jobs in the near future. And, many of the jobs that are being eliminated aren’t going to come back after the recession is over because the market is changing and the jobs have become obsolete. It’s time for some people to plan new careers and get the education and training they will need to fulfill their plans. Many high school seniors who planned to attend a university may also be rethinking a more affordable - and possibly more rewarding - education at a community or technical college.<br /><br />So, whether you’ve recently lost a job, or are worried about the security of the job you’re in, or are just beginning to plan for a career, you might want to consider becoming a photonics technician. A national study of U.S. employers, conducted for OP-TEC, has identified more than 2,100 current jobs for photonics techs that need to be filled this year; this need continues to grow over the next five years. Employers polled for this study early this year - in the height of the current recession - said that jobs for photonics techs were available and not being filled. (A report of this jobs study will appear on the OP-TEC website in a few weeks.)<br /><br />Most employers want photonics techs that have been educated and trained at 2-year colleges. Starting salaries for photonics techs range from $40,000 to about $55,000 per year. We currently have about 30 colleges throughout the U.S. that offer education/training in photonics technology - and that number will grow substantially in the next several years, because these colleges just can’t keep up with the demand.<br /><br /><strong><em>There are several avenues to becoming a photonics tech:</em><br /></strong><br /><strong><em>Earn an AAS degree in Photonics</em></strong> - If you are currently (or soon to be) a student in higher education, you can enroll in one of the 30 U.S. colleges that offer photonics education. (Six have recently been highlighted in my blogs; the name and contact information of a college near you can be obtained from <a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org">OP-TEC</a>.) The most important requirements for student success in photonics are a willingness to work hard and the ability to use high school math (algebra, geometry and trig.) If you’re willing to work hard, the college will help you through any math problems you may have. You’ll also get to experience “hands-on learning” in some interesting high-tech labs using lasers and fiber optics, etc.<br /><br /><strong><em>Earn an Advanced Certificate in Photonics</em></strong> - If you already have an AAS degree in an electronics or manufacturing-based technology, you can build on the education you have, and be employed in a photonics-enhanced field by taking several courses in optics, photonics and laser applications. (<a href="http://www.op-tec.org/enabling.pdf">See “Photonics-Enabled Technologies” in the OP-TEC web site</a>.) If you are currently employed, you might want to take these courses in a “hybrid, online” format, to reduce the time you have to spend at the college.<br /><br /><strong><em>Retrain in Photonics to Enter a New Career</em></strong> - If you already have education in mathematics, science and another field of engineering technology (like semiconductor manufacturing), the retraining process may take as little as one semester (or 3-4 courses). These courses may also be available in a hybrid, online format.<br /><br />If you are interested in pursuing a career in Photonics and need to get connected to a college that offers education in this field, <a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org">contact OP-TEC</a> and we’ll “hook you up”. If you’re a faculty or administrator, and are interested in your college offering education in Photonics - OP-TEC can help you. If you are a photonics college & want to quote parts or all of this blog, please feel free to do so.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><em>For more information about OP-TEC, photonics technician careers or colleges offering photonics education, </em></strong><a href="mailto:op-tec@op-tec.org"><strong><em>please contact us</em></strong></a><strong><em>!</em></strong> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1