Photonics Summer Camps and Institutes for High School Teachers and Students

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.

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.

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.

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. Two of them have written monographs, documenting their strategies and successes.

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Waco 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 TSTC monograph 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). Examples of comments from participants include:

“..The presenters and presentations were excellent…I will be recommending this venue to my counterparts and my students.” (teacher)

“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)

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's (IUP) Northpointe Regional Two-Year Campus, uses a comprehensive approach with nearby high schools that has four elements. These four elements are provided below and presented, in detail, in the IUP monograph.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

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.

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.

TSTC Waco’s Photonics Summer Institutes for High School Science & Technology Teachers
Authors: Dr. Larry Grulick & John Pedrotti, TSTC; Dan Hull, OP-TEC

Outreach Activities to Enlist High School Students for Electro-Optics Technician Programs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Northpointe Two-Year Campus
Authors: Dr. Feng Zhou, IUP; Dan Hull, OP-TEC

For more information about OP-TEC's free Program Planning Guides and monographs or to request a complimentary bound copy, please click here.

Contact Information:
For more information about the TSTC Summer Institute, please contact john.pedrotti@tstc.edu.
For more information about the IUP outreach activities, please contact fzhou@iup.edu.

Texas State Technical College: An OP-TEC Partner College

OP-TEC is a consortium of two year colleges that have well-established photonics programs. These “Partner Colleges” are the models for OP-TEC curricula; they develop and test instructional modules, guides, innovative courses and teaching strategies; and they provide technical assistance to colleges that are planning and initiating new offerings in photonics.

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Waco, TX, was the first college in the U.S. to initiate education in Laser/Electro-Optics Technology (LEOT) technician education. In 1969, TSTC’s LEOT program became the pilot site for curriculum development, conducted by Technical Education Research Center SW (TERC-SW), under a grant from the U.S. Office of Education. (In 1979, TERC-SW became CORD, the Center for Occupational Research and Development.) TSTC’s LEOT program grew rapidly in the 1970’s, with a national job market for laser technicians, and support from employers such as Sandia, Los Alamos, Texas Instruments and Caterpillar. By 1980, enrollment in TSTC’s LEOT program exceeded 130 students. Over $5 million in lab equipment has been acquired or donated to support the labs.

Today, TSTC Waco offers photonics-related AAS degree programs:

1. Laser Electro-Optics Technology (LEOT) is a 72-hour AAS program, containing eight courses (36 hours) in optics, electro-optics, laser fundamentals, laser systems and applications. Graduates of the LEOT program are qualified to work as R&D technicians in energy, defense and aerospace, as field service techs for laser equipment and for laser systems OEM companies.
2. Nanotechnology is also a 72-hour program, which specializes in nanotechnology instrumentation and measurements. Optics and photonics are an integral part of the curriculum, which provides students access to advanced, industry-standard equipment in lasers and optics, vacuum systems, semiconductor development equipment, scanning electron microscopes, transmission electron microscopes, atomic force microscopes, ellipsometers and laser microscopes.
   
   TSTC is also planning to offer a one-year certificate for Laser Lab Technicians as an “early college” program in the near future.

In addition to its role as an OP-TEC model college and provider of technical assistance, TSTC provides other, unique services to OP-TEC:

• John O. Pedrotti, Program Chair, has designed and built a laser/optics fundamentals lab where he conducts one-week, summer workshops for high school teachers and students. John has developed a detailed syllabus lecture/demonstration notes, lab activities and hand-outs for this workshop—which he is willing to share. He is also developing a report describing planning, recruiting and operating the workshop.
• John has authored an instructional module in nanophotonics and a Program Planning Guide for infusing photonics in nanotechnology.
• Larry Grulick, OP-TEC CoPI, is developing a series of six “Career Videos”, highlighting former photonics students that are successfully employed as technicians. These will be available in summer 2009.
• TSTC’s participation as a Partner College in OP-TEC has provided professional development opportunities for John, a leadership role for TSTC in photonics education and significant enrollment growth in TSTC’s photonics programs through the testing of innovative student recruitment strategies such as summer workshops and focused recruiters.

Are you a graduate of TSTC? Tell me about your experience at TSTC. Where are you working now? How did your education at TSTC prepare you for your career?

Contact info for TSTC:
john.pedrotti@tstc.edu
larry.grulick@systems.tstc.edu
254-867-3901
www.waco.tstc.edu/let/