Photonics

Lab on Wheels

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 20:15:03 +0000

Lab on Wheels BBENSON@bridgew.edu Wed, 10/16/2024 - 16:15

Mobile lab brings photonics experience to students

October 17, 2024

Brian Benson, G'23

Photonics is revolutionizing technology, and about 150 students recently got an up-close look at an industry that could influence their careers no matter the degree they pursue.

The glimpse into cutting-edge research came when ɫ��Ƶ hosted a mobile laboratory courtesy of Thorlabs, a prominent manufacturer of photonics equipment.

“It’s essential for people in our community to know what photonics is,” said Dr. Samuel Serna, assistant professor of physics, photonics and optical engineering. “The conversation is happening at the political level and every citizen should be aware.”

ɫ��Ƶ is already a leader in photonics education, having launched a bachelor’s degree in the rapidly growing field several years ago. Photonics uses particles of light called photons to improve technology for consumers and industries such as telecommunications, biomedical sensing and imaging, and autonomous vehicles.

The mobile lab, housed in a 30-foot trailer, offered introductory experiences for ɫ��Ƶ students who are not majoring in photonics as well as students from Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School and Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School.

They explored how light interacts with water and sound and studied how white light is broken down into a spectrum of colors. The high school students also toured Bridgewater's photonics labs, an experience Serna hopes encourages some of them to study at ɫ��Ƶ.

For photonics majors, Thorlabs offered an advanced look at biomedical optics and photonics’ role in enhancing imaging of the human body. This broadened their perspectives on how the principles they study at ɫ��Ƶ can be used in real-world applications, Serna said.

“We wanted to give our students the opportunity to see something different (than what ɫ��Ƶ faculty and students research),” he said.

Janelle Murphy, '27, a photonics and optical engineering and finance major, appreciated the opportunity to talk with professionals in the industry and learn how they use the concepts she studies at Bridgewater State.

"The photonics program at ɫ��Ƶ is amazing," she said. "There are so many connections to industry and academics outside of ɫ��Ƶ. There is really a perfect balance between learning in the classroom, research, and opportunities like seeing the Thorlabs truck where you can explore your passions in what is best for your desires and goals."

Thorlabs representatives left impressed by ɫ��Ƶ’s facilities, which they said were comparable to what they would expect to see in a graduate program. That feedback was especially meaningful, Serna said.

“Thorlabs goes to graduate and undergraduate programs all over the country,” he said. “They have a perspective on what is state of the art.”

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

The photonics program at ɫ��Ƶ is amazing. ... There is really a perfect balance between learning in the classroom, research, and opportunities like seeing the Thorlabs truck where you can explore your passions in what is best for your desires and goals.

Janelle Murphy, '27

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Photonics

Green Science

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 19:22:20 +0000

Green Science BBENSON@bridgew.edu Wed, 04/12/2023 - 15:22

Scientists team up with MIT to research sustainable microchip manufacturing

April 13, 2023

Brian Benson, G'23

When he was younger, Samuel Bechtold, ’24, would often walk Cape Cod beaches picking up trash. Sometimes he’d find cell phone chargers and electronic vaping devices – items that represent the tip of the iceberg in the growing environmental problem of electronic waste.

Now majoring in photonics and optical engineering at ɫ��Ƶ, Bechtold is a research assistant on a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ɫ��Ƶ seeking solutions.

“I’ve always thought about sustainability,” said Bechtold, a former chairperson of the Sierra Club’s Cape Cod chapter. “It’s nice to have a professional outlet here where I can also focus on that.”

The team, which is led by MIT and includes ɫ��Ƶ Assistant Professor Samuel Serna as a co-principal investigator, is researching sustainable microchip manufacturing with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator program. The initiative puts interdisciplinary teams from across the country into a friendly competition to develop solutions to pressing societal problems.

As consumers seek the latest features in their electronic devices, they often throw away old models, contributing to the approximately 50 million (and growing) tons of e-waste generated in the world every year. That annual figure, according to a 2019 United Nations report, is greater than the combined weight of every commercial airplane ever built - and only 20 percent of the e-waste is recycled.

The MIT-ɫ��Ƶ team is working with industry and government stakeholders to find ways to increase energy efficiency and reduce e-waste. Photonics, which uses particles of light called photons to improve technology, can help lower a device’s energy use. The group also aims to explore methods for swapping out chips instead of throwing away an entire phone or computer.

“We want to train engineers to design for upgrades having in mind that it’s not a one-use device,” Dr. Serna said.

Education is an important component of the project. Serna introduces the issue to high school students who visit ɫ��Ƶ. And he will teach a first-year seminar about sustainable microchip manufacturing in the fall. He hopes the course underscores the importance of incorporating sustainability in product design and manufacturing.

“We want to start that at the very beginning so as sophomores, juniors and seniors they have that already engrained,” Serna said.

In addition to completing administrative functions for the project, Bechtold helps MIT students use photonics lab equipment at ɫ��Ƶ to test their devices. He’s also gaining a new perspective on engineering that incorporates his longstanding passion for environmentalism.

“It helps me to have a more holistic approach when I’m designing stuff,” he said. “I’ll look at the materials used in my design and see if I can find alternatives that are more sustainable and have more equitable manufacturing processes.”

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

I’ve always thought about sustainability. It’s nice to have a professional outlet here where I can also focus on that.

Samuel Bechtold, ’24

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Photonics

Sustainability

Photo by Zachary Allen, '24

Tech Team-Up

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 18:17:04 +0000

Tech Team-Up BBENSON@bridgew.edu Mon, 04/04/2022 - 14:17

ɫ��Ƶ and MIT join forces for photonics ‘bootcamp’

April 5, 2022

Brian Benson

Despite being new to the ɫ��Ƶ campus, Peyton Brown, ’24, is already collaborating with students and researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study – and teach – the cutting-edge field of photonics.

“I did not think I’d be doing that my first year at Bridgewater,” said Peyton, a transfer student from Rochester, Michigan. “I didn’t think I’d be getting involved in research and labs so quickly.”

Peyton and Samuel Bechtold, ’23, who are enrolled in ɫ��Ƶ’s new photonics and optical engineering major, helped lead the first collaborative photonics bootcamp hosted at MIT and ɫ��Ƶ. The three-day event brought together faculty and students from several universities and industry representatives looking to network and expand their knowledge of photonics, reputed to be the next wave in technology.

Samuel, who is from Barnstable and transferred to ɫ��Ƶ from Cape Cod Community College because of the photonics program, appreciated the exposure to advanced applications at the bootcamp.

Coming to ɫ��Ƶ was, “a really good opportunity to get into a developing field for engineering,” he said. “It’s been a great experience.”

Photonics uses particles of light called photons to improve technology. The ensuing devices offer advantages over conventional electronics including increased bandwidth, more energy efficiency and less excess heat. Applications span a host of industries from telecommunications to automotive to gaming.

At the bootcamp, participants learned to assemble and test chips, worked with lasers, and attended lectures by leaders in the field. They studied how photonics and electronics can work together.

“It’s really been developed jointly,” said Dr. Anu Agarwal, principal research scientist in MIT’s Materials Research Laboratory. “We had students from MIT and ɫ��Ƶ working closely together to build the curriculum for the bootcamp and decide what experiments to do and what tools were used.”

The bootcamp showcased the state-of-the art technology and lasers that Bridgewater students can access on campus. Dr. Yasaman Sargol, a research and development engineer at Wilmington-based Seurat Technologies, was impressed with what she saw and learned.

“I think it's good to learn from experts in the field and see all the capabilities they have,” said Sargol, whose company is developing 3D printers that use lasers. “Our company is a startup company, so we’re still learning.”

Bringing industry representatives to campus helps them see what ɫ��Ƶ students learn, said Dr. Samuel Serna, an assistant professor of physics, photonics and optical engineering.

“They know they can rely on our students,” Serna said.

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

Coming to ɫ��Ƶ was, “a really good opportunity to get into a developing field for engineering. It’s been a great experience.”

Samuel Bechtold, ’23

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Photonics

Lighting the Way

BBENSON@bridgew.edu — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 13:12:42 +0000

Lighting the Way BBENSON@bridgew.edu Thu, 09/03/2020 - 09:12

University’s burgeoning photonics program awarded equipment

September 3, 2020

Brian Benson

ɫ��Ƶ is one of 12 higher education institutions in the United States receiving scientific equipment through a contest run by Quebec company Gentec Electro-Optics. The equipment will be used by students and faculty in the institution’s emerging photonics and optical engineering program.

ɫ��Ƶ joins the University of Notre Dame, Oregon State, California Polytechnic State and others in receiving a Gentec award. Bridgewater won a laser beam profiler, which measures characteristics of a beam of light. It is a visual tool, making it ideal for teaching students and running demonstrations for youngsters who visit campus during open lab nights.

“This kind of equipment is already standard in the industry,” said Dr. Samuel Serna, an assistant professor of physics.

Gentec sought to support U.S. university optics laboratories so students have access to the same instruments they will use during their careers. It selected winners based upon how each would use the equipment and how many students might benefit.

“I was aware of the call for this prize online and saw it fit perfectly with ɫ��Ƶ’s profile,” Serna said.

Photonics uses light to revolutionize telecommunications, transportation and other industries. ɫ��Ƶ and Stonehill College offer a certificate for future technicians while Bridgewater also has its own undergraduate photonics and optical engineering minor and an optics concentration within the Department of Physics. A major is under development.

The new programs come as photonics moves from specialized laboratories to mainstream manufacturing.

“For that we need not PhDs, but engineers and technicians,” Serna said of meeting workforce demands. “Bridgewater is one of the few schools that fills that slot.”

Meanwhile, photonics laboratory space is under construction on campus and ɫ��Ƶ has joined the Quantum Economic Development Consortium. This group of academic, industry and other stakeholders aims to grow the emerging U.S. quantum-based industry, including closing workforce gaps. Photonics, Serna explained, helps unlock the potential of quantum technology.

“Bridgewater is being recognized nationwide as one of the players interested in photonics technologies,” Serna said.

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

Bridgewater is being recognized nationwide as one of the players interested in photonics technologies.

Dr. Samuel Serna, assistant professor of physics

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Photonics

Powering the Future

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:35:58 +0000

Powering the Future Anonymous Thu, 01/09/2020 - 10:35

More than $2 million in grant money helps place ɫ��Ƶ at the forefront of burgeoning photonics field

November 18, 2019

John Winters

Story Series

Bridgewater Magazine

Aligning a laser can be tricky. Just ask the handful of physics majors who spend large chunks of time in a second-floor laboratory inside the Dana Mohler-Faria Science and Mathematics Center.

Actually, for them, working with lasers, as well as atoms, electrons and photons, is – if not child’s play – pretty much routine.

All the same, gaining experience in these rarified matters will likely lead these students to top graduate schools or careers with well-known engineering firms.

“It’s an insane opportunity,” said Jonathan Trzcinski, ’21, of Randolph. The physics and mathematics major feels he’s getting a jump-start on his career. “At any other school, we wouldn’t be able to do this kind of work until we were graduate students.”

The laser the students were working on involves a series of small mirrors, a couple of monitors and a gas-filled chamber, spread out on a long, rectangular lab table. As the excited students make adjustments and watch the monitors, bandied about are phrases such as “quantum computing” and “laser coding.” Any visitor to the lab would be impressed by the authority with which these young scientists speak. It’s clear they’ve done their homework and logged lots of hours in the lab. “I feel it makes us very promising candidates for graduate school or a top job in the industry,” said John Gilmore, ’20, a physics and computer science major from Franklin.

ɫ��Ƶ has recently received more than $2 million in grant money to help foster the creation of a photonics-based industry in the commonwealth. The university is one of a handful of schools in the state selected to lead this expected revolution. The others are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Stonehill College.

Such a distinction brings a smile to Dr. Kristen Porter-Utley, dean of the Bartlett College of Science & Mathematics. “It shows we’re responding to workforce needs in the area, as well as those of our students,” she said. “Meanwhile, we’re building on the strength that has existed at Bridgewater for a long time now. We’re ahead of the curve, and we’re excited about that.”

Optics is a branch of physics relating to the study, creation, detection and manipulation of light in order to reveal nature from the quantum level to the structure and makeup of the cosmos. Optical engineers use light for applied applications stretching across entire industries, including information technology, metrology, medicine and telecommunication.

In the growing field of photonics, the electrons at the heart of today’s electronics are replaced by quanta of light called photons, promising increased bandwidth and lower power consumption. This has led to the field being hailed as a critical economic and industrial growth area at both the state and federal levels.

The workhorse of optics is the laser. Today, lasers are ubiquitous, found in everything from supermarket scanners to the most precise surgical tools. But at ɫ��Ƶ, principle investigator of the recent grants, Dr.
Ed Deveney, professor of physics, and his students have been developing and using lasers to cool and trap atoms for quantum studies.

The program’s growth over the past two decades attracted Dr. Thaya Paramanathan, who, along with his students, uses lasers to trap and hold onto DNA for cancer and cellular research. More recently, the Department of Physics has brought onboard two of the brightest new faculty members in the field of photonics, Dr. Samuel Serna and Dr. Elif Demirbas.

All this has paved the way for the recent influx of grant money, as well as the first of its kind (once approved) engineering programs at ɫ��Ƶ suggested by Dr. Deveney with Dr. Thomas Kling, who is a co-primary investigator on the grants.

Long Time Coming

Dr. Deveney was keeping an eye on the clock. It was a warm morning in late August, and he was expecting a representative from a local company eager to learn about what’s going on in his laboratory – specifically, the work in photonics and optics.

These visits are something that’s happening more and more these days. Earlier in the year, Draper Laboratory spent a day on campus talking to upperclassmen about job opportunities at the blue-chip engineering firm located in Cambridge. Already, a ɫ��Ƶ graduate is working at Draper and another is an intern.

There’s good reason that an increasing number of area employers are hot to hire future ɫ��Ƶ alumni. Specifically appealing are physics majors who’ve spent time working in one of the university’s five labs where in recent years an increasing focus has been on cutting-edge technologies.

“Massachusetts is rife with jobs in these fields,” said Dr. Deveney. “Our students have started getting jobs. Not just jobs, but exciting jobs.”

These jobs are part of what Dr. Deveney likes to call the Massachusetts light-based economy. Still a nascent industry, optics has attracted the attention and funding of both federal and state governments. The grants earned through ɫ��Ƶ’s efforts include one for $770,000 to train technical workers in the field of photonics, and another for $1.4 million, that will fund capital purchases, ensuring ɫ��Ƶ’s physics labs have the most up-to-date equipment.

To help meet the needs of growing fields such as optics, biophysics and various types of engineering, the Bartlett College of Science & Mathematics has introduced a minor and a concentration in optics. Next year, an undergraduate degree program in optical engineering is expected to begin, pending approval by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. It will include a 15-month, 30-credit certification program with apprenticeships at area tech companies.

Once approved, ɫ��Ƶ’s optics offerings will be the first engineering program available in the state university system – other than Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s energy systems and marine engineering programs.

The move toward engineering-type programs did not happen overnight. The seeds can be found in a copy of the faculty publication, Bridgewater Review, penned by Dr. Deveney in 2000, when he was a bushy-haired, relative newcomer to what was then Bridgewater State College. In those pages, he advocated for an approach he saw work at Amherst College, where he’d previously taught.

“The idea was it’s not just about the classroom experience,” he said, “but what students are doing and how they define themselves outside the class.”

Laboratory experiments, fieldwork and hands-on experience were the watchwords of this new approach. The philosophy aligned well with developments happening across campus at the time, with the increased focus on undergraduate research and other initiatives. “There was a critical mass happening back then throughout the college,” Dr. Deveney said.

The approach, as well as the increased use of lasers and other high-tech instruments, necessitated additional lab space. Eventually, this helped lead to the building of the Dana Mohler-Faria Science and Mathematics Center. This provided five new labs for physics alone. Two new labs dedicated to photonics and optics will soon be available.

Dr. Deveney is especially proud to recount that the cutting-edge devices that propelled ɫ��Ƶ to its place as a burgeoning leader in optics and photonics were all built by students. Among those devices are an external cavity tunable diode laser, optical tweezers (which can isolate DNA molecules) and the most recent laser used in photonics-related experiments.

President Frederick W. Clark Jr. recently cited the work of the Department of Physics in making ɫ��Ƶ “a state and national leader in the exciting field of photonics and optical engineering.”

He went on to say, “The new program will prepare students to contribute to significant advances in areas like telecommunications, data communications,
laser-based radar and sensing.”

Taking a break from aligning the lasers in Dr. Deveney’s lab, Jonathan Trzcinski tried to put into words the feeling he gets from working with atomic particles and pondering the deeper mysteries of quantum physics. “It’s incredibly interesting,” he said. “What we’re doing is studying the very foundations of the universe.”u

It’s exciting to be part of this revolution and exciting Massachusetts can be a leader in this industry [of photonics]. We need a workforce, and our students will be this workforce.

Dr. Ed Deveney

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Fall 2019

Photonics

Photonics programming unveiled

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:35:58 +0000

Photonics programming unveiled Anonymous Thu, 01/09/2020 - 10:35

State grant helps ɫ��Ƶ enter burgeoning field

October 28, 2019

Brian Benson

Story Series

News Feature

The future of technology is arriving at ɫ��Ƶ.

With help from a $1.4 million state grant, ɫ��Ƶ is developing new programming and labs related to integrated photonics, a field that uses light to revolutionize industries such as telecommunications, precision measurements, biomedical sensing and imaging, and autonomous vehicles.

“You’re going to do a lot of great training and workforce development around (these industries) and beyond,” Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in announcing the funding, which is part of a larger grant shared by ɫ��Ƶ and Stonehill College. “It’s really incredible work. Thank you for taking it on.”

The money comes from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative, which supports development of advanced manufacturing technologies. The funding helps the schools start an integrated photonics hub for students training to be technicians and engineers. The hub, known as a Lab for Education and Application Prototypes, or LEAP, will enable students to earn a certificate set to launch next year.

Learn more about Photonics and Optical Engineering at ɫ��Ƶ

Also next year, Bridgewater plans to begin a new major in photonics and optical engineering to build on an existing minor and concentration within the physics major.

“These programs will create opportunities for our students to gain skills and ultimately secure employment in a rapidly growing field,” said ɫ��Ƶ President Frederick W. Clark Jr., ’83.

Photonics has the potential to revolutionize technology the way electronics have. And, partnerships between academia, industry and government such as this one are instrumental in doing so.

“It really takes great leadership and vision and a team of people to make that become a reality, and you’ve got a fantastic team here at Bridgewater State as well as with the collaboration evident today with Stonehill College,” Polito said.

Photonics education, she said, provides a pipeline of talent industry needs and helps keep Massachusetts at the forefront of innovation and economic development.

ɫ��Ƶ alumni praise the forward-thinking approach of their alma mater in pursuing photonics and optical engineering programs.

“It’s definitely going to provide a lot of opportunities for students to find a career path that is sustainable and provides job satisfaction and job security,” said Alexander Medeiros, ’16, who studied physics at ɫ��Ƶ and works for MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. “I see photonics as being an industry much like the consumer electronics industry. Technology is going to be developed over the next couple decades that is going to be central in everyday life.”

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

These programs will create opportunities for our students to gain skills and ultimately secure employment in a rapidly growing field.

President Frederick W. Clark Jr., ’83.

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Photonics

Laying the Groundwork

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:35:58 +0000

Laying the Groundwork Anonymous Thu, 01/09/2020 - 10:35

Students play key role in development of photonics and optical engineering at ɫ��Ƶ

October 29, 2019

Brian Benson

Story Series

News Feature

Upon arriving at Bridgewater State 20 years ago, Dr. Ed Deveney found a college excelling at producing science teachers. But, the physics professor wanted to make his department also known for undergraduate research.

“There was nothing in physics. There was no real research,” said Deveney. “The students jumped right in and made it all happen.”

Petr Liska, ’01, and Scott Dallmeyer kicked off the effort by building a research laser. Over the ensuing years, with assistance from ɫ��Ƶ’s undergraduate research program and grants, numerous students tackled projects in optics. Meanwhile, the university built the Dana Moher-Faria Science and Mathematics Center and its state-of-the-art labs.

Learn more about Photonics and Optical Engineering at ɫ��Ƶ

Now, the Department of Physics is preparing to offer a major in photonics and optical engineering amid other new programs. And, it continues to produce tomorrow’s science teachers, only ones with an even stronger background in physics and research.

“All these students have been just as much a part of this as all of us,” said Deveney, who thanks many others for their contributions including Yale’s Dr. David DeMille. “Everything they have done has created what we are now.”

We asked several to reflect on their Bridgewater experience:

Dr. Dale Smith, ’11

Smith became an undergraduate in his 30s after a career in the U.S. Air Force. A Brockton native, he studied physics and mathematics at Bridgewater.

As a student, he helped build a device used to analyze the structure of the element rubidium. Smith went on to study physics in graduate school at the University of Connecticut, eventually earning a PhD. He hasn’t forgotten his undergraduate days and returned to teach at ɫ��Ƶ last academic year in a temporary position. He was attracted to teach here for the same reasons he values his time as a student.

“Bridgewater prepared me to go to grad school,” he said. “It’s a small department. I like that. I like teaching small classes. I got to know the people in the classes.”

Now an optical engineer at Plymouth Grating Laboratory, Smith works with several fellow Bridgewater graduates. And, his company regularly brings on current students as interns.

ɫ��Ƶ’s latest foray into photonics will enhance ties with industry in a field where the U.S. lags behind other countries.

“It’s definitely important for Bridgewater,” Smith said, “It will help students get jobs when they graduate.”

Tyler Holloway, ‘14

Holloway always had a knack for physics, but he began his undergraduate career studying industrial design at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He realized that wasn’t for him and transferred to ɫ��Ƶ, where he rediscovered his physics passion.

Holloway attended ɫ��Ƶ when the new science and math center opened and helped launch the observatory atop the building. He also joined Deveney’s lab and took part in semester and summer research, including building an optical trap that uses lasers to catch microscopic objects like DNA so they can be studied.

“You could always go talk to one of the professors,” he recalled. “They were always very helpful. It didn’t have to be directly related to the course work.”

Now, Holloway and his colleagues at Forward Photonics design lasers for governmental and industrial applications. Holloway wears many hats at the small business, so he appreciates the broad education he received at Bridgewater.

“I still use the physics every day in my engineering job,” he said. Bridgewater professors “set you up with a lot of tools and definitely encourage curiosity about things outside what we were going over in our normal coursework.”

Alexander Medeiros, ’16

Medeiros came to physics by way of his interest in photography. Understanding physics behind cameras introduced him to optics and he followed that educational path at Bridgewater State.

As a student, Medeiros worked in the observatory and in Deveney’s lab, but his contribution to ɫ��Ƶ’s evolving photonics and optical engineering programming was just beginning.

He landed a job at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory and impressed supervisor Dr. Paul Juodawlkis so much that he wanted to learn about Bridgewater. Juodawlkis and Deveney met and Juodawlkis became an important advocate for physics at ɫ��Ƶ.

Medeiros, who researches and develops integrated photonics technology, credits Bridgewater professors, programs and courses with shaping him.

“Bridgewater was seminal in my training to become a physicist,” he said. “If it weren’t for any one of the experiences I had along the way, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu.

Bridgewater was seminal in my training to become a physicist. If it weren’t for any one of the experiences I had along the way, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

Alexander Medeiros, ’16

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Photonics

Lighting the Future

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:35:58 +0000

Lighting the Future Anonymous Thu, 01/09/2020 - 10:35

High-tech employers excited about photonics programs

October 29, 2019

Heather Harris Michonski

Story Series

News Feature

ɫ��Ƶ is about to offer an exciting new option for physics students that can open doors to potential employment opportunities.

ɫ��Ƶ is already known for its strong physics program, but students majoring in the discipline often find their options are limited upon graduation if they do not want to pursue a terminal degree or work in the research field.

That’s all about to change.

The university is introducing a new photonics program and industry leaders are taking notice.

“Expanding into an engineering direction will greatly benefit Bridgewater’s breadth of offerings for strong math- and science-oriented students,” said Turan Erdogan, president of Plymouth Grating Laboratory Inc. (PGL). "The myriad of companies in Eastern Massachusetts who develop photonics products, like lasers, or just use photonics technologies as tools, will benefit from a source of local talent who graduate ready to hit the ground running.”

Learn more about Photonics and Optical Engineering at ɫ��Ƶ

Currently Bridgewater State offers a concentration in photonics for physics majors and a minor in photonics. Starting next fall, ɫ��Ƶ is gearing up to offer a bachelor’s engineering program in optics and photonics.

“The understanding, teaching, development and application of photonics technologies will better connect ɫ��Ƶ with the high-tech communication, computing, biotech, pharmaceutical and defense industries in Massachusetts and throughout the world,” said Paul W. Juodawlkis, assistant leader at Quantum Information and Integrated Nanosystems Group, MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

For those not in know, photonics is the harnessing and application of light to enable devices and systems in everyday life.

“You are leveraging this fiber-optic backbone every time you use your smartphone to make a call, check your Facebook page, or search for a Mexican restaurant in the local area,” Juodawlkis said. “In the future, photonics will have increasing impact on communications, sensing, manufacturing, energy generation, and information processing through the improvement of photonic components.”

For Bridgewater to be part of this next wave of technology is an asset to both students and industry leaders, local employers said.

Over the years many ɫ��Ƶ students have interned at PGL, with some moving on to join the company as full-time employees. Erdogan said they intend to continue to look at Bridgewater for potential prospects.

“PGL believes we will be able to hire more students in the future, especially when those students have more specific training in optics and photonics,” Erdogan said.

Do you have a ɫ��Ƶ story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu

Expanding into an engineering direction will greatly benefit Bridgewater’s breadth of offerings for strong math- and science-oriented students.

Turan Erdogan, president of Plymouth Grating Laboratory, Inc

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Photonics

Photonics and Optical Engineering Faculty Hired

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:35:58 +0000

Photonics and Optical Engineering Faculty Hired Anonymous Thu, 01/09/2020 - 10:35

Additions needed as first engineering program rolls out

October 29, 2019

Heather Harris Michonski

Story Series

News Feature

ɫ��Ƶ continues taking steps toward the goal of becoming a leader in the expanding field of photonics.

The university is preparing to roll out new photonics and optics programs as it prepares to offer its first engineering degree. To meet the growing needs, the physics department has hired two professors, Samuel Serna Otalvaro and Elif Demirbas.

Learn more about Photonics and Optical Engineering at ɫ��Ƶ

This fall, Demirbas is developing and teaching Introduction to Photonics and Optics Engineering. She is excited to join what she calls, “one of the pioneering institutes in this emerging field.”

“It is fascinating to me that ɫ��Ƶ took the initiative to start a photonics and optics engineering bachelor’s program,” she said. “Bringing this program here shows that Bridgewater is taking the lead in innovation and seeing the future promise photonics holds for the state, industry and community.”

Otalvaro will be teaching Elements of Physics and laboratory, as well as a class on Advanced Optics.

“One of my main motivators here at ɫ��Ƶ is to build the photonics engineering program, so I will be creating and teaching different new courses in engineering, optics and photonics,” he said.

Both agree that ɫ��Ƶ offering this new engineering degree will benefit students tremendously.

“The number of college degrees in engineering is decreasing, causing fierce competition for the relatively small pool of qualified optics technicians and engineers,” Otalvaro said. “Engineers are essential for changing the society. It is then fundamental that everyone in society has the access to be trained in this kind of career path.”

The knowledge and hands-on experience ɫ��Ƶ students gain will help them land internships, and eventually jobs, at photonics and optics-related institutions and companies, Demirbas said.

“Overall Bridgewater State is playing a key role in the photonics ecosystem by educating skilled photonics and optics engineers,” she said.

Tags

Photonics