SCIENCE AND A SYMPHONY - Artistic Laser Light Show With an Orchestral Performance of “Oscillate”

Over 200 central Texas science teachers and other educators were invited guests at a March 20 multimedia concert by the Waco Symphony Orchestra. The event was one of many LaserFest 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.
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.
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.

The laser light show, which was custom-designed as a visual interpretation of Barrett’s music, was provided by Prismatic Magic, a nationally known laser light show company. Prismatic Magic’s president, Dr. Chris Volpe, is a physicist with a specialization in optics and lasers.

Prior to the concert, OP-TEC, Texas State Technical College, Baylor University, and the City of Waco jointly hosted the guest teachers at a reception in Baylor’s new science building.


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, www.op-tec.org/lasershow.

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/