This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9793, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and Conference Committee listing.

The ETOP (Education and Training in Optics and Photonics) meetings have been held for 26 years on a biennial basis since 1988 when the first conference was held in San Diego, California. Since that time it has been organized by various groups and held at multiple venues throughout the world. In this paper we provide a comprehensive survey of the meeting: it’s history, locations and participants, and will provide comprehensive data on the meetings held to date. This is the first attempt at providing quantitative metrics for this international meeting that addresses optics and photonics education at all levels (K-12, undergraduate, graduate and vocational education). It is anticipated that this data can help to inform decisions for future ETOP meetings and can guide the collection of additional data.

The Abbe School of Photonics (ASP) provides and coordinates the optics and photonics education of graduate and doctoral students at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. The internationalized Master’s degree program is the key activity in training students in the optical sciences. The program is designed to provide them with the skills necessary to fill challenging positions in industry and academia. Here, an essential factor is ASP’s close collaboration with more than 20 German photonics companies. To sustain these partners’ future economic development, the availability of highly qualified employees is constantly required. Accordingly, these industrial partners, the European Union, the local state and the federal German government are strongly involved in the sustainable development of ASP’s curriculum by both conceptual and financial engagements. The main goal is to promote the students’ academic careers and job experience in the photonics industry as well as in academia. To open up the program to students from all over the world, all ASP lectures and courses are taught in English. Since 2009, more than 250 graduate students from more than 40 different countries have been enrolled at the School. Almost 90% of them of non-German nationality, fulfilling the essential ASP philosophy to locally establish an international education program. ASP’s qualification strategy is fully research-oriented and based on the principles of academic freedom, competitive research conditions and internationalization at all levels. The education program is complemented by a structured doctoral student support and a prestigious guest professorship program.

Theoretical details about optics and photonics are not common knowledge nowadays. Physicists are keen to scientifically explain ‘light,’ which has a huge impact on our lives. It is necessary to examine it from multiple perspectives and to make the knowledge accessible to the public in an interdisciplinary, scientifically well-grounded and appealing medial way. To allow an information exchange on a global scale, our project “Invisible Light” establishes a worldwide accessible platform. Its contents will not be created by a single instance, but user-generated, with the help of the global community. The article describes the infotainment portal “Invisible Light,” which stores scientific articles about light and photonics and makes them accessible worldwide. All articles are tagged with geo-coordinates, so they can be clearly identified and localized. A smartphone application is used for visualization, transmitting the information to users in real time by means of an augmented reality application. Scientific information is made accessible for a broad audience and in an attractive manner.

Modern tendencies of higher education require development of master programs providing achievement of learning outcomes corresponding to quickly variable job market needs. ITMO University represented by Applied and Computer Optics Department and Optical Design and Testing Laboratory jointly with Warsaw University of Technology represented by the Institute of Micromechanics and Photonics at The Faculty of Mechatronics have developed a novel international master double-degree program “Optical Design” accumulating the expertise of both universities including experienced teaching staff, educational technologies, and experimental resources. The program presents studies targeting research and professional activities in high-tech fields connected with optical and optoelectronics devices, optical engineering, numerical methods and computer technologies. This master program deals with the design of optical systems of various types, assemblies and layouts using computer modeling means; investigation of light distribution phenomena; image modeling and formation; development of optical methods for image analysis and optical metrology including optical testing, materials characterization, NDT and industrial control and monitoring. The goal of this program is training a graduate capable to solve a wide range of research and engineering tasks in optical design and metrology leading to modern manufacturing and innovation. Variability of the program structure provides its flexibility and adoption according to current job market demands and personal learning paths for each student. In addition considerable proportion of internship and research expands practical skills. Some special features of the “Optical Design” program which implements the best practices of both Universities, the challenges and lessons learnt during its realization are presented in the paper.

The United Nations have declared 2015 as the International Year of Light (IYL2015) and light-based technologies [1]. As a main result, the public interest is focused on both the achievements and the new frontiers of optics and photonics. This opens up new perspectives in the teaching and training of optics and photonics. In the first part of the paper, the author presents the numerous anniversaries occurring in the International Year of Light 2015 together with their importance to the development of science and technology. In the second part, we report on an interactive video projection at the opening ceremony of the IYL2015 in Paris on January 19-20, 2015. Students of Offenburg University have established an interactive video projection which visualizes Twitter and Facebook messages posted with the hashtag #iyl2015 in a mapping technique. Thus, the worldwide community can be interactively part of the opening ceremony. Finally, upcoming global community projects related to optics and astronomy events are presented.

We report on the organization and realization of the Joint International Physics Summer School - Optics" devoted to High-School students. The idea of the School is to teach Physics through high-level experimental activities, suitably supported by introductory lectures and complemented by data analysis. The School is also open to the participation of a number of teachers, as an opportunity of refreshing their knowledge and increasing their experimental skills. Students and teachers are directly involved in the experimental activities. The aim of the activity is to stimulate students curiosity and interest and help them decide whether a future job career in Science could be suited for them. The School is organized in two weeks: the first in June-July in Como (Italy) at the Department of Science and High Technology and the second at the end of August in Olomouc (Czech Republic) at the Joint Laboratory of Optics. Two editions of the Summer School took place in 2013 and 2014 (overall 40 students and 3 teachers from Italy, 9 students from Czech Republic) and the third one will be in 2015. The first week of the School is devoted to introductory lectures (theoretical and experimental) to consolidate students' and teachers' knowledge of basic optics. The second week is devoted to several advanced experiments in linear, nonlinear, classical and quantum optics, performed in research laboratories. During the last day of the School, students are required to give a presentation of the results obtained during the experimental sessions.

The increased demand for highly educated and trained workers in optics and photonics is evident in many countries. Colleges and universities that provide this education can benefit greatly from support by non-profit National Education Centers of Excellence that conduct research in workforce needs, design curricula, develop industry-validated teaching materials, train new faculty and establish models for laser/optics laboratories. In 2006, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established OP-TEC, the National Center for Optics and Photonics Education, which encourages and supports U.S. colleges to educate and train an adequate supply of high quality technicians to meet the workforce demand by companies, institutions and government agencies. In 2013 and 2014 NSF awarded grants to establish regional photonics centers in the southeast U.S. (LASER-TEC) and the Midwest (MPEC). These Centers work cooperatively with OP-TEC, sharing resources, teaching materials and best practices for colleges with photonics technician education programs. This successful “center organization plan” that has evolved could be adopted in other countries, and international cooperation could be established between similar Centers of Education in Photonics education.

There has been a huge increase in the use of high technology in education. In this paper we discuss some aspects of technology that have major applications in STEM education, namely, (a) virtual reality systems, (b) personal electronic response systems aka “clickers”, (c) flipped classrooms, (d) mobile learning “m-Learning”, (e) massive open online courses “MOOCS”, (f) internet-of-things and (g) cloud computing.

Modern simulation of solid state lasers and amplifiers is a multi-physics problem. It requires the simulation of light with different techniques, as well as coupling of optical effects with other physical effects like deformation and stress inside a laser crystal. We present and overview simulation techniques which are necessary for an accurate modelling of solid state laser. These include ray tracing for modeling of pump light, Gauss mode analysis for stability calculations of a laser cavity, and vectorial beam propagation method for the amplifier simulation. It is also necessary to perform mechanical or rate equations simulations. Structural mechanics simulation is required for the calculation of thermal lens and thermally induced birefringence effects inside a laser crystal. Coupling Gauss mode analysis and rate equations leads to the dynamic mode analysis (DMA), which is used to calculate output power and beam quality of a laser. Furthermore, we present a mode amplification method, which allows us to simulate spectral narrowing in laser amplifiers and power and beam quality calculation. The above mentioned simulation techniques have been integrated into laser simulation software package ASLD. We have used highly efficient algorithms and modern software techniques, together with a user friendly GUI. This enables users to efficiently simulate complex resonator and amplifier designs and save their development time and costs. Furthermore, ASLD can be used for educational purpose at universities and research institutes.

In many scientific studies lens experiments are part of the curriculum. The conducted experiments are meant to give the students a basic understanding for the laws of optics and its applications. Most of the experiments need special hardware like e.g. an optical bench, light sources, apertures and different lens types. Therefore it is not possible for the students to conduct any of the experiments outside of the university’s laboratory. Simple optical software simulators enabling the students to virtually perform lens experiments already exist, but are mostly desktop or web browser based. Augmented Reality (AR) is a special case of mediated and mixed reality concepts, where computers are used to add, subtract or modify one’s perception of reality. As a result of the success and widespread availability of handheld mobile devices, like e.g. tablet computers and smartphones, mobile augmented reality applications are easy to use. Augmented reality can be easily used to visualize a simulated optical bench. The students can interactively modify properties like e.g. lens type, lens curvature, lens diameter, lens refractive index and the positions of the instruments in space. Light rays can be visualized and promote an additional understanding of the laws of optics. An AR application like this is ideally suited to prepare the actual laboratory sessions and/or recap the teaching content. The authors will present their experience with handheld augmented reality applications and their possibilities for light and optic experiments without the needs for specialized optical hardware.

Two web-based educational tools have been developed for the Puerto Photonics Institute by undergraduate students of Computer Science at Universidad Metropolitana. These show how light propagates, refracts, and is reflected from different media. The first is a ray-tracing application to visually represent the propagation of light as a ray through diverse media. Beams can interact with multiple quadratic surfaces defined by the user. The second tool analytically and graphically studies the behavior of electromagnetic waves as they propagate through space and through an interface between two dielectric media. The animated simulation allows users to manipulate model parameters and acquire an intuitive understanding of how electromagnetic p- and s-waves propagate in a homogeneous medium and are modified as they are refracted and reflected at the material interface. Some interesting particular cases that can be modelled are: normal incidence, critical angle, Brewster angle, and absorptive/amplifying media. The development of these programs has brought research into the undergraduate curriculum for Computer Science students, who were introduced to the concepts of geometric and wave optics by taking a course in optics and through mentoring. These projects also address the gap of inadequate or overly costly software in these areas. These programs will be used in our Technical Certificate Program in Optics and Photonics and in our undergraduate optics courses, as well as being available as tools on our website.

In this talk, we are going to present our new try to set up National Optical Education Small Private Online Course (SPOC) system, which relates about 15 universities who has optical engineering education around China. The SPOC system is guided by the National Teaching Steering Committee, and is designed to enhance the sharing the best teaching and training resources in the advanced university to the other universities all over the China.

Python is an easy open source software that can be used to simulate various optical phenomena. We have developed a suite of programs, covering both geometrical and physical optics. These simulations follow the experimental modules used in the ALOP (Active Learning in Optics and Photonics) UNESCO program in the sense that they complement it and help with student prediction of results. We present these programs and the student reactions to these simulations.

We present a purposeful initiative to open new grounds for teaching Geometrical Optics. It is based on the creation of an innovative education networking involving academic staff from three Spanish universities linked together around Optics. Nowadays, students demand online resources such as innovative multimedia tools for complementing the understanding of their studies. Geometrical Optics relies on basics of light phenomena like reflection and refraction and the use of simple optical elements such as mirrors, prisms, lenses, and fibers. The mathematical treatment is simple and the equations are not too complicated. But from our long time experience in teaching to undergraduate students, we realize that important concepts are missed by these students because they do not work ray tracing as they should do. Moreover, Geometrical Optics laboratory is crucial by providing many short Optics experiments and thus stimulating students interest in the study of such a topic. Multimedia applications help teachers to cover those student demands. In that sense, our educational networking shares and develops online materials based on 1) video-tutorials of laboratory experiences and of ray tracing exercises, 2) different online platforms for student self-examinations and 3) computer assisted geometrical optics exercises. That will result in interesting educational synergies and promote student autonomy for learning Optics.

Experiments in optics are essential for learning and understanding physical phenomena. The problem with these experiments is that they are generally time consuming for both their construction and their maintenance, potentially dangerous through the use of laser sources, and often expensive due to high technology optical components. We propose to simulate such experiments by way of hybrid systems that exploit both spatial augmented reality and tangible interaction. In particular, we focus on one of the most popular optical experiments: the Michelson interferometer. In our approach, we target a highly interactive system where students are able to interact in real time with the Augmented Michelson Interferometer (AMI) to observe, test hypotheses and then to enhance their comprehension. Compared to a fully digital simulation, we are investigating an approach that benefits from both physical and virtual elements, and where the students experiment by manipulating 3D-printed physical replicas of optical components (e.g. lenses and mirrors). Our objective is twofold. First, we want to ensure that the students will learn with our simulator the same concepts and skills that they learn with traditional methods. Second, we hypothesis that such a system opens new opportunities to teach optics in a way that was not possible before, by manipulating concepts beyond the limits of observable physical phenomena. To reach this goal, we have built a complementary team composed of experts in the field of optics, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, sensors and actuators, and education science.

Geometric optics is at the heart of optics teaching. Some of us may remember using pins and string to test the simple lens equation at school. Matters get more complex at undergraduate/postgraduate levels as we are introduced to paraxial rays, real rays, wavefronts, aberration theory and much more. Software is essential for the later stages, and the right software can profitably be used even at school. We present two free PC programs, which have been widely used in optics teaching, and have been further developed in close cooperation with lecturers/professors in order to address the current content of the curricula for optics, photonics and lasers in higher education. PreDesigner is a single thin lens modeller. It illustrates the simple lens law with construction rays and then allows the user to include field size and aperture. Sliders can be used to adjust key values with instant graphical feedback. This tool thus represents a helpful teaching medium for the visualization of basic interrelations in optics. WinLens3DBasic can model multiple thin or thick lenses with real glasses. It shows the system focii, principal planes, nodal points, gives paraxial ray trace values, details the Seidel aberrations, offers real ray tracing and many forms of analysis. It is simple to reverse lenses and model tilts and decenters. This tool therefore provides a good base for learning lens design fundamentals. Much work has been put into offering these features in ways that are easy to use, and offer opportunities to enhance the student’s background understanding.

The simulation of optical systems with both, refractive and diffractive components is very challenging and can neither be solved by a classical ray tracing approach nor by a general rigorous Maxwell solver. That is why the concept of field tracing has been introduced which is a generalization of ray tracing: harmonic fields are traced through the optical system instead of ray bundles. This allows the smooth combination of different modeling techniques in different subdomains of the system called unified optical modeling. The techniques can be adapted locally to minimize the numerical effort whereas the accuracy is as high as needed. In this paper we apply field tracing techniques for the simulation of an eyepiece containing a diffractive lens for minimizing the lateral color. The results presented include higher diffraction orders appearing due to the grating-like structure of the diffractive lens.

Lens design is a cornerstone of optical engineering education. At Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, our implementation begins with a review of paraxial optics and system layout before moving into a theoretical treatment of monochromatic and chromatic aberration theory and image quality; small design problems presented along the way provide context and exposure to lens design software (Code V and Zemax). At the undergraduate level, pedagogical methods which focus on open-ended design/synthesis are especially important as these skills are still developing in students. To this end, a series of three design projects were recently introduced. The first project is the design of a fast photographic zoom lens. Constraints are provided for sensor format, overall length, allowable glasses, maximum number of elements, maximum distortion, and the required image quality. In the second design project, students are tasked with the design of a reflective spectrometer system utilizing off-the-shelf optics from a provided list. Design specifications are placed on the wavelength span, resolution bandwidth, input format, and module footprint. The third design project places students in the position of selecting the best design for manufacture based on the results of an inverse sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo tolerance analysis. The results are weighed against the expected manufacturing cost. This paper details the implementation of these projects, including lessons learned, assessment methodology, and student outcomes. Anecdotally, students who successfully complete all three projects demonstrate deeper understanding of lens design and several specific topics (optimization, multiconfiguration systems, coordinate breaks, diffractive optics, and tolerancing).

We provide an overview of the development and current structure for cultivating the success of graduate student in Optical Engineering at Beijing University of Technology. Using the educational environment for graduate students in Advanced Laser Manufacturing as an example, we present the environment, the curriculum and some specific programs which demonstrate a multifaceted strategy combining production, study and research, including international cooperation, applications engineering and technology-based research. The programs are tightly linked to the national economic goals and specifically to development of the manufacturing industry which has a critical need for highly skilled and motivated graduates.

In the framework of the experiment platform LEnsE (Laboratoire d’Enseignement Expérimental) of the Institut d’Optique Graduate School in Palaiseau, we present a new lab work dedicated to Master-­‐II-­‐level students. This lab work is integrated in the formation in the field of ultrashort-­‐pulse lasers and its objective is to train students to this specific technology. The varied topics include generation, measurement and basic control of ultrashort pulses. Key concepts are studied, such as the time-­‐frequency duality, nonlinear effects, the group velocity dispersion (GVD) and more generally managing spectral and temporal phase. The lab work is based on a totally accessible Ti:sapphire laser (Mira 800 from Coherent). It is used to understand crucial concepts in the generation process such as GVD and self-­‐phase-­‐modulation in the solitonic regime and Kerr lens mode-­‐locking. Because the pulse measurement is a crucial issue to address in ultrafast optics, the lab work also studies different apparatus commonly used to fully characterize fs pulse train: photodiode, spectrometer, and more specifically second-­‐order autocorrelator. The autocorrelation concept is detailed using a homemade accessible apparatus. For a simple manipulation of femtosecond pulses, we propose to realize a spectral-­‐phase control with high-­‐dispersive glass to temporally stretch the pulses. GTI mirrors then re-­‐compress them. The three pillars generation-­‐measurement-­‐control will be described with a practical approach at the conference.

Due to the acousto-optic (AO) effect, the refractive index of an optical interaction medium is perturbed by an acoustic wave induced in the medium that builds up a phase grating that will diffract the incident light beam if the condition of constructive interference is satisfied. All parameters, such as magnitude, period or phase of the grating can be controlled that allows the construction of useful devices (modulators, switches, one or multi-dimensional deflectors, spectrum analyzers, tunable filters, frequency shifters, etc.) The research and training of acousto-optics have a long-term tradition at our department. In this presentation, we introduce the related laboratory exercises fitted into an e-learning frame. The BSc level exercise utilizes a laser source and an AO cell to demonstrate the effect and principal AO functions explaining signal processing terms such as amplitude or frequency modulation, modulation depth and Fourier transformation ending up in building a free space sound transmitting and demodulation system. The setup for MSc level utilizes an AO filter with mono- and polychromatic light sources to learn about spectral analysis and synthesis. Smart phones can be used to generate signal inputs or outputs for both setups as well as to help students’ preparation and reporting.

We have recently started investigating quantum optics for our advanced laboratory and quantum mechanics classes. For a small department, the expenses of much of the apparatus is daunting. As such, we look for places where we can reduce the costs while still providing benefits for our students. One of the places where there can be some cost savings are in the coincidence counter. The coincidence counter is a critical piece of the investigation, and while not the most expensive component, cost savings are still available. We have developed a low-cost coincidence counter (less than $50) based on a Cypress Programmable System on a Chip (PSoC). The PSoC is quite flexible. It has a microcontroller as well as FPGA like capabilities which enable us to build the coincidence detection and the counter. The design process and several investigations will be presented.

Optics is one of the most important basic courses for college students majoring in Applied Physics in university, which can supply the essential theoretical foundation for the subsequent courses such as Information Optics and Electrodynamics etc.. So Optics course plays a supporting effect in the knowledge frame of the college students. Optics course has its own feature, for one thing, many optical contents cannot be understood directly and easily, for another the optical phenomenon or experiments are interesting and can be displayed intuitively. Considering the above feature, the diversiform teaching patterns are developed to improve the teaching effect. To motivate their interest, students have the chance to visit optical laboratory for both teaching demonstration and science research, and voluntary demonstration of teaching apparatus in class are another approach. Furthermore, digital simulation and experimental design according to the classical knowledge are introduced to the optics course, so students can comprehend and verify the optical principle. Students are encouraged to propose new ideas, and these ideas can be achieved with the help of teachers and the funds support from our university. Besides, some talent students will be invited to join a research group composing by graduate students and teachers. In this group, the students have the chance to touch frontier topics in optics. The diversification of teaching patterns can supply a developing space with the rising gradient for students, which can inspire the interest, open their minds and make them apply flexibly by the participatory and inquiry.

Monitors are in the center of media productions and hold an important function as the main visual interface. Tablets and smartphones are becoming more and more important work tools in the media industry. As an extension to our lecture contents an intensive discussion of different display technologies and its applications is taking place now. The established LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology and the promising OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology are in the focus.

The classic LCD is currently the most important display technology. The paper will present how the students should develop sense for display technologies besides the theoretical scientific basics. The workshop focuses increasingly on the technical aspects of the display technology and has the goal of deepening the students understanding of the functionality by building simple Liquid Crystal Displays by themselves.

The authors will present their experience in the field of display technologies. A mixture of theoretical and practical lectures has the goal of a deeper understanding in the field of digital color representation and display technologies. The design and development of a suitable learning environment with the required infrastructure is crucial. The main focus of this paper is on the hands-on optics workshop “Liquid Crystal Display in the do-it-yourself”.

A large part of photonics research and development, as well as commercial applications such as optical data transmission or infrared thermal imaging, occurs in the infrared spectral range between 0.8 μm and 15 μm. However, relatively little material is so far available for experimentally teaching the physics and optics of this spectral range. We report a respective new approach in the near infrared (NIR) range between 0.8 μm and 1.7 μm that allows visualization of a number of fascinating physics phenomena. First, we use the near-infrared sensitivity of silicon-based detectors in rather inexpensive video cameras and digital single-lens reflex cameras by removing the infrared-blocking filter and replacing it with a visible-radiation blocking filter. Second, we utilize modern NIR cameras based on InGaAs detectors. With both camera types we illustrate and explain a number of physics concepts that are especially suitable for curricula in optics and photonics. Examples include the strangely bright appearance of vegetation, contrast enhancement between clouds and sky, the initially surprising differences of optical material properties between the VIS and NIR range, the possibilities of visualizing buried hidden structures and texts, and recent medical applications to locate blood vessels below the skin.

Students experience the entire process of designing, fabricating and testing thin films during their capstone course. The films are fabricated by the ionic-self assembled monolayer (ISAM) technique, which is suited to a short class and is relatively rapid, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. The materials used are polymers, nanoparticles, and small organic molecules that, in various combinations, can create films with nanometer thickness and with specific properties. These films have various potential applications such as pH optical sensors or antibacterial coatings. This type of project offers students an opportunity to go beyond the standard lecture and labs and to experience firsthand the design and fabrication processes. They learn new techniques and procedures, as well as familiarize themselves with new instruments and optical equipment. For example, students learn how to characterize the films by using UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry and in the process learn how the instruments operate. This work compliments a previous exercise that we introduced where students use MATHCAD to numerically model the transmission and reflection of light from thin films.

Since about five years, Lighting has become a partly required and partly elective course within the Energy program of the Master of Engineering Technology at KU Leuven. While the theoretical part of the course is lectured to the entire audience, an increased emphasis has been placed on an individual evaluation of the students for the laboratory module. In order to admit several students simultaneously to the laboratory, multiple constructions of the same laboratory setup are requested. Therefore, cheap alternatives to the scientific metrology instrumentation, which still guarantee that the students get acquainted with optical metrology techniques and general radiometric and photometric quantities, are needed. In this paper, the design of an inexpensive integrating sphere setup is presented, enabling the optical characterization of light sources. Instead of using an expensive sphere with magnesium oxide or barium sulfate coating, a cheap polystyrene sphere is employed. In combination with a low-cost USB spectroradiometer, the system enables the direct measurement of the spectral radiant power of a light source. In addition, the luminous flux, luminous efficacy, colour coordinates, colour temperature, and colour rendering index can be determined. The equipment used, the experimental procedure, as well as some typical measurement results are presented.

Polarization is an important concept of electromagnetism, and polarizers were traditionally applied to demonstrate this concept in a laboratory. We set up a optical system with the optical component “axis finder” to visualize the polarization direction immediately. The light phenomena, such as birefringence, circular polarization, and Brewster’s angle, can be examined polarization visually. In addition, the principle of different waveplate and optical axis can be presented in a straightforward approach. By means of image analysis, the great precision of polarizing direction can be measured up to 0.01 degree.

Modulated polarized light is applied to a few optical devices, like Liquid-crystal display. It is marvelous to trace the light polarization between the backlight module, polarizer, and panel. As seeing is believing, the visualized electrical field allows educators to teach polarization in a smooth and strikingly manifest manner. Without any polarizer and analyzer, we examine the rotary power of different concentration syrup, presenting the relationship with polarization change. We also demonstrate the wide application of polarization light in modern life, and examine the principle through this visualized electrical field system.

Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) is a powerful active optical component to change the optical wavefront by electrical signal and had been widely investigated for many applications. We use LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) which has high reflectivity and spatial resolution as main component of SLM educational kit, and present a series of experiment to let students know the background theory of SLM. Our course mainly has three parts, the first part is the principle of LCoS SLM which has polarization, jones matrix, and uniaxial crystal theory. The second part is wave optics which can see interference, diffraction, and dispersion phenomenon. The last part is Fourier optics which has the concept of spatial frequency, spectrum, Fresnel diffraction, and Fraunhofer diffraction. This educational kit also includes software that produces some basic diffraction grating which dynamically response to parameter changing and customized user’s own diffraction grating by macro commands. In this paper we will describe the background theory, experiments design, and result of experiments to show what students can learn from the SLM educational kit.

In the Optics of University Physics, two most important concepts are interference and diffraction, which reflect the wave nature of the light. The corresponding content is relatively abundant, such as Young’s Double-slit Interference, One-slit Diffraction, Grating Diffraction. But they are not easy for undergraduates to comprehend. So in order to show the two phenomenon visually, the related demonstrative experiment equipment are well-developed, but they are independent with each other. The students can accept them separately, but in the same time ignore the connection between them two. Actually, interference and diffraction are consistent in essence from the view of coherent superposition and redistribution of the light intensity. The difference only depends on the specific parameters. The objective of our paper is to analyze the condition for two slits to produce interference and diffraction phenomenon. Also, apply the knowledge of Fourier Optics to analyze the Fresnel diffraction. This would be a good example for the theory of grand unification in physics. Firstly, the intensity distribution is deduced for two-slit interference, one-slit Fraunhofer diffraction, two-slit Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction applying complex-amplitude integration method. In the same time, the simulated experimental results by MATLAB are shown. Secondly, the experimental results are given to verify the analysis. Finally, a new idea is presented to realize an equipment of demonstrative experiment for teaching.

Many academic subjects that were taught previously in the framework of theoretical physics moved to engineering. These include courses in electromagnetics, statics and dynamics, heat and mass transfer, mechanics of solids, nuclear power, and courses that branch from these, like fiber optic communications thermodynamics. However, the mathematical foundation in engineering education has remained substantially unchanged during this transition period, typically peaking at the level of linear algebra, vector calculus and integral transforms. As a result many undergraduate engineering courses are built in such a way as to avoid tensor analysis and tensor calculus, as if such mathematical constructs are beyond the capacity of the undergraduate student to understand. We show that this not the case.

In this experiment, we wrap a single-mode optical fiber around various sizes of cylindrical acrylic tubes, forming a series of manually controllable birefringent optical fibers. We launch linearly polarized external-cavity feedback wavelength-tunable visible diode laser light into the stressed birefringent fiber and capture simultaneously the fiber cross-sectional images of two orthogonally polarized modes under various wavelengths by a Wollaston prism polarizer. Through image analysis, we can obtain the two orthogonally polarized light intensities and calculate the phase difference of the two orthogonally polarized modes in the fiber core. By examining the variations of the phase difference with the optical wavelength, we can thus obtain the refractive-index difference of the birefringent fiber. Then by successively changing the size of the acrylic tube, we demonstrate that the refractive-index difference of a coiled fiber varies with its bending radius in a square inverse law. This experiment can reveal precisely the variations in the birefringence of a coiled fiber by a home-made wavelength-tunable diode laser and a mode-image analysis method, providing an advanced teaching kit in the optics laboratory.

So often in classes that teach the non-science major students are “dog and pony” shows. The students watch demonstrations, they take notes, they supposedly “absorb” the information only to forget it after the next examination. These types of classes serve only as attempts to transfer information. But what if we give the students a toolbox that provides them with the ability to make their own observations about how light works. Then, the students are empowered to plan their experiments, manipulate the simple apparatus, make their own observations, and draw their own conclusions; more closely paralleling how scientists function. To succeed at this endeavor, we carefully designed a low cost toolbox for the students. Investigations include: Additive color mixing, digital colors and filters, shadows with colors, LED spectrum and spectra, light’s path, Polarization, Luminescence and Brightness, and simple optical instrumentation such as spectrometers. We created activities that give the students direction, but allow them freedom to explore and discover. Online forums/class discussion are also used to enhance their comprehension of their projects. Using this philosophy, we have had great success in both online and face to face classes.

The paper presents an approach to a cost-efficient modularly built non-dispersive optical IR-gas sensor (NDIR) based on a construction kit. The modularity of the approach offers several advantages: First of all it allows for an adaptation of the performance of the gas sensor to individual specifications by choosing the suitable modular components. The sensitivity of the sensor e.g. can be altered by selecting a source which emits a favorable wavelength spectrum with respect to the absorption spectrum of the gas to be measured or by tuning the measuring distance (ray path inside the medium to be measured). Furthermore the developed approach is very well suited to be used in teaching. Together with students a construction kit on basis of an optical free space system was developed and partly implemented to be further used as a teaching and training aid for bachelor and master students at our institute. The components of the construction kit are interchangeable and freely fixable on a base plate. The components are classified into five groups: sources, reflectors, detectors, gas feed, and analysis cell.

Source, detector, and the positions of the components are fundamental to experiment and test different configurations and beam paths. The reflectors are implemented by an aluminum coated adhesive foil, mounted onto a support structure fabricated by additive manufacturing. This approach allows derivation of the reflecting surface geometry from the optical design tool and generating the 3D-printing files by applying related design rules. The rapid fabrication process and the adjustment of the modules on the base plate allow rapid, almost LEGO®-like, experimental assessment of design ideas.

Subject of this paper is modeling, design, and optimization of the reflective optical components, as well as of the optical subsystem. The realization of a sample set-up used as a teaching aid and the optical measurement of the beam path in comparison to the simulation results are shown as well.

Optics’ teaching is commonly based on the use of lessons including several mathematical tools. For example, ray tracing can be described through matrix algebra, and interference and polarization can be supported by the use of complex numbers. Thus, the numerous mathematical descriptions included in the optics’ lessons represent a real difficulty for students having insufficient skills in mathematics. Moreover, despite of very impressive optical effects one can observe in real life, e.g. rainbows, their description in optics’ courses is often considered as too academic and boring, and finally not really exciting.

In this context, we have invented a new type of comics dedicated to optics’ learning. Based on a dialogue between two imaginary characters, one considered as the young student and the other one as the old teacher, we have chosen to reduce the role of mathematics and to mix realistic and unrealistic elements in the drawing to complete the explanations faster. Starting from reflection and refraction, the Snell’s laws then allow for describing natural phenomena such as mirage and rainbow as well as technical points such as light propagation into an optical fiber and the measurement of the refraction index.

The first volume presented here will be evaluated during the fall semester 2015 in different high schools and at university through a linked survey and the students will also get access to an online version while the following parts are in preparation.

We describe a simple realization of Fizeau’s “aether-drag” experiment. Using an inexpensive setup, we measure the phase shift induced by moving water in a laser interferometer and find good agreement with the relativistic composition of velocities law or, in the terms of 19th century physics, with Fresnel’s partial-drag theory.

This appealing experiment, particularly suited for an undergraduate laboratory project, not only allows a quantitative measurement of a relativistic effect on a macroscopic system but also constitutes a practical application of important concepts of optics, data acquisition and processing, and fluid mechanics.

Based on the spectral combination function of grating and the bi-grating diffraction imaging effect, ZWP Grating Diffraction Imaging Instrument has been designed and developed, and some new experiment courses about grating diffraction have been set up for college students using the instrument. The new grating experiments are aimed to help students understand the comprehensive knowledge of grating diffraction. Also, it is a good training to improve student’s hands-on abilities. The instrument has been used by more and more universities.

An accurate characterization of optical elements is one of the pivotal skills to be learnt in the context of undergraduate optics lab work or that of continuing education. We will show an experimental apparatus designed to measure the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of a camera lens. The educational scope of this apparatus ranges from the study of the aberrations of the lens and its suitability for use with a given sensor, to the design of the test bench itself. A first, purely visual observation allows the trainees to single-out the aberrations exhibited by an objective. The presence of the spherical and chromatic aberrations on the axis of the objective is thus identified, and a first estimate of the cut-off frequency of this objective can be given. There, the importance of the geometrical extent of the source and the impact of the optical elements of the test bench on the measurement can also be assessed. The second part of the experiment makes use of a CMOS camera to measure the Linear Spread Function (LSF) of the camera lens and the MTF is then retrieved by Fourier transform. The experimental setup consists of a fine slit as a source, a collimator, the studied objective exhibiting conspicuous aberrations and a microscope objective to re-image the LSF either for direct observation with an eye-piece or for analysis with the camera. The latter is performed with a home-developed Matlab software.

The main proposal of this work is to show the importance of using simulation tools to project optical networks. The simulation method supports the investigation of several system and network parameters, such as bit error rate, blocking probability as well as physical layer issues, such as attenuation, dispersion, and nonlinearities, as these are all important to evaluate and validate the operability of optical networks. The work was divided into two parts: firstly, physical layer preplanning was proposed for the distribution of amplifiers and compensating for the attenuation and dispersion effects in span transmission; in this part, we also analyzed the quality of the transmitted signal. In the second part, an analysis of the transport layer was completed, proposing wavelength distribution planning, according to the total utilization of each link. The main network parameters used to evaluate the transport and physical layer design were delay (latency), blocking probability, and bit error rate (BER). This work was carried out with commercially available simulation tools.

We demonstrate a very simple experimental setup that allows our students to study and fully characterize an industrial CMOS Image Sensor. In 2014, 95% of produced cameras are CMOS image sensors (Complementary Metal Oxyd Semiconductor) and only 5% are still CCD sensors (Charge‐ Coupled Device). The main difference between CMOS and CCD is that each CMOS sensor pixel has its own readout circuit (voltage‐photoelectron conversion and amplification) directly adjacent to the photosensitive area. CMOS image sensors are not only cheaper, because simpler to manufacture, they have a lower power consumption than CCD sensors. They also allow image processing at the pixel level (zones of interest (ROI), Binning, filtering, etc ...). However, compare to CCD sensor, CMOS sensors often demonstrate a lower dynamic, a larger read‐out noise and a larger non uniformity of the spatial response. In overall, it is very important to understand every characteristic of an image sensor and be able to measure it in a simple way. Our system consist in a small integrating sphere illuminated by a white LED, a standard calibrated photodiode (or a light power meter) and a small monochromator (or several colored LED). Control of the camera parameters, Image acquisition and data processing are achieved with a single Matlab homemade software.

In this work we present a simple and low cost setup that allows obtaining the light spectra and measuring the wavelength of its features. It is based on a cheap transmission diffraction grating, an ordinary digital camera and using Tracker software to increase measuring accuracy. This equipment can easily be found in most schools. The experimental setup is easy to implement (the typical setup for a pocket spectroscope) replacing the eye with the camera. The calibration is done using a light source with a well-known spectrum. The acquired images are analyzed with Tracker (freeware software frequently used for motion studies). With this system, we have analyzed several light sources. As an example, the analysis of the spectra obtained with compact fluorescent lamp allowed to recognize the spectrum of mercury in the lamp, as expected. This spectral analysis is therefore useful in schools, among other topics, to enable the recognition of chemical elements through spectroscopy, and to alert students to the different spectra of illuminating light sources used in houses and public places.

Raman Spectroscopy is an important characterization technique in analytical chemistry and in solid state physics. This contribution describes the redesign of a Raman experiment for the Advanced Physics Lab and shows ex-perimental results acquired with this new setup. Solid and liquid samples are irradiated by a frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser in backscattering geometry. The emission is focused onto the fibre end face of an USB spec-trometer. Stokes and Anti-Stokes emission lines are observed simultaneously and their polarisation is analysed. The students start with the spectral calibration of the spectrometer and check its linearity. They optimize their first Raman spectrum of solid sulfur according to these results and evaluate the intensity ratio of the corre-sponding Stokes and Anti-Stokes lines for a temperature measurement of the sample. The students explain the spectral differences of a series of chlorine-substituted hydrocarbons by the changes in the molecular structures and symmetries. Finally they determine the concentration of an unknown water-ethanol solution. This contri-bution discusses also safety concerns regarding the used hydrocarbons and shows alternative samples. Raman Spectroscopy is an important characterization technique in analytical chemistry and in solid state physics. This contribution describes the redesign of a Raman experiment for the Advanced Physics Lab and shows experimen-tal results acquired with this new setup. Solid and liquid samples are irradiated by a frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser in backscattering geometry. The emission is focused onto the fibre end face of an USB spectrometer. Stokes and Anti-Stokes emission lines are observed simultaneously and their polarisation is analysed. The students start with the spectral calibration of the spectrometer and check its linearity. They optimize their first Raman spec-trum of solid sulfur according to these results and evaluate the intensity ratio of the corresponding Stokes and Anti-Stokes lines for a temperature measurement of the sample. The students explain the spectral differences of a series of chlorine-substituted hydrocarbons by the changes in the molecular structures and symmetries. Finally they determine the concentration of an unknown water-ethanol solution. This contribution discusses also safety concerns regarding the used hydrocarbons and shows alternative samples.

A laboratory exercise has been developed in the frames of a new course called “Advanced undergraduate laboratory in femtosecond optics”, which aims to study the dependence of the dispersion of a prism pair on the positions of the prisms. For the dispersion measurement we chose a relatively simple technique, called white light spectral interferometry. The prism pair consisting of two identical fused silica prisms was placed in the sample arm of a Michelson-interferometer illuminated with a tungsten halogen lamp. The interferograms were observed with a low resolution spectrometer in order to have a wide detection range (200-1100 nm). Measurements were performed by adjusting the optical path length in the second prism. The data was evaluated with the cosine-function fit method. Using the formalism of Fork the phase derivatives were theoretically calculated as well. The dependence of the dispersion coefficients on the displacement of the second prism agree well with the measurements. Using white light is advantageous as its broad wavelength range facilitates the retrieval of the spectral phase with high precision in a wide range. Furthermore, white light sources are relatively low-cost and safe in contrast to ultrashort laser sources.

The details of design and implementation of incoherent digital holographic experiments based on LabVIEW are demonstrated in this work in order to offer a teaching modal by making full use of LabVIEW as an educational tool. Digital incoherent holography enables holograms to be recorded from incoherent light with just a digital camera and spatial light modulator ，and three-dimensional properties of the specimen are revealed after the hologram is reconstructed in the computer. The experiment of phase shifting incoherent digital holography is designed and implemented based on the principle of Fresnel incoherent correlation holography. An automatic control application is developed based on LabVIEW, which combines the functions of major experimental hardware control and digital reconstruction of the holograms. The basic functions of the system are completed and a user-friendly interface is provided for easy operation. The students are encouraged and stimulated to learn and practice the basic principle of incoherent digital holography and other related optics-based technologies during the programming of the application and implementation of the system.

The availability of hand held lasers, commonly termed “laser pointers” is easy and wide spread, through commercial web sites and brick & mortar stores. The output of these hand held devices ranges from 1-5 milliWatts (mW) the legal laser pointer output limit, to 5000mW (5Watts). This is thousand times the maximum limit for pointers. Sadly the abuse of these devices is also wide spread. Over the last few years over 3000 aircraft are exposed to laser hits per year. While these aircraft exposures are of no danger to the aircraft frame but they can cause pilot distractions with the potential to cause a serve accident. The presentation will discuss the problem review visual effects, the regulatory response and how educators need to be aware of the problem and can take steps to educate students in the hope of having an effect.

For 40 years, the FernUniversität in Hagen has been devoted strictly to distance teaching. Ten years ago, an MSc program in Electrical Engineering was started, consisting of different directions of emphasis. One of them is a full 3-4 semester program on Photonics. Here, we report about the concept, the tools, the status and the experiences during recent years with this program.

Nature provides many beautiful optical phenomena that can be used to teach optical principles. Here we describe an interdisciplinary education project based on a simple computer model of the colors observed in the famous thermal pools of Yellowstone National Park in the northwestern United States. The primary wavelength-dependent parameters that determine the widely varying pool colors are the reflectance of the rocks or the microbial mats growing on the rocks beneath the water (the microbial mat color depends on water temperature) and optical absorption and scattering in the water. This paper introduces a teaching module based on a one-dimensional computer model that starts with measured reflectance spectra of the microbial mats and modifies the spectra with depth-dependent absorption and scattering in the water. This module is designed to be incorporated into a graduate course on remote sensing systems, in a section covering the propagation of light through air and water, although it could be adapted to a general university optics course. The module presents the basic 1-D radiative transfer equation relevant to this problem, and allows them to build their own simple model. Students can then simulate the colors that would be observed for different variations of the microbial mat reflectance spectrum, skylight spectrum, and water depth.

Photosynthesis is a process that converts carbon-dioxide into organic compounds, especially into sugars, using the energy of sunlight. The absorbed light energy is used mainly for photosynthesis initiated at the reaction centers of chlorophyll-protein complexes, but part of it is lost as heat and chlorophyll fluorescence. Therefore, the measurement of the latter can be used to estimate the photosynthetic activity. The basic method, when illuminating intact leaves with strong light after a dark adaptation of at least 20 minutes resulting in a transient change of fluorescence emission of the fluorophore chlorophyll-a called ‘Kautsky effect’, is demonstrated by an imaging setup. The experimental kit includes a high radiant blue LED and a CCD camera (or a human eye) equipped with a red transmittance filter to detect the changing fluorescence radiation. However, for the measurement of several fluorescence parameters, describing the plant physiological processes in detail, the variation of several excitation light sources and an adequate detection method are needed. Several fluorescence induction protocols (e.g. traditional Kautsky, pulse amplitude modulated and excitation kinetic), are realized in the Intelligent FluoroSensor instrument. Using it, students are able to measure different plant fluorescence induction curves, quantitatively determine characteristic parameters and qualitatively interpret the measured signals.

On the 20th of December 2013, The United Nations (UN) General Assembly 68th Session proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015). The proclamation of an International Year focusing on the light science and applications recognizes the importance of light in the society, which plays a vital role in our daily lives, being visible in a widespread number of different areas, as for instance, in technology, education, energy, art, agriculture, health, among many others. In this work, the members of the Image Processing Laboratory from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), analyze the concept of readapting some experiments in optics -usually conducted in different courses at the UAB physics degree- into the artistic context of the MACBA (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona). This project, called SummerLight, takes place within the framework of the IYL, as part of the activities devised to promote the visibility of light. The readapted experiments are expected to teach and improve the knowledge of high school students with respect to different important physical phenomena related to the wave nature of light as polarization, interferences and diffraction. This study analyzes the suitability of the proposed experiments in terms of student optical skills improvement. In addition, its contextualization into an artistic scenario is also discussed.

In the state of Connecticut, classroom teachers are required to teach life, physical and earth science content aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and/or state science standards. In this paper, we will present the results of a year-long effort to improve the teaching and understanding of one small strand in the standards: reflection of light.

Student research laboratory for optical engineering is comfortable place for student's scientific and educational activity. The main ideas of laboratory, process of creation of laboratory and also activity of laboratory are described in this article. At ITMO University in 2013-2014 were formed a lot of research laboratories. SNLO is a student research (scientific) laboratory formed by the Department of Applied and computer optics of the University ITMO (Information Technologies of Mechanics and Optics). Activity of laboratory is career guidance of entrants and students in the field of optical engineering. Student research laboratory for optical engineering is a place where student can work in the interesting and entertaining scientific atmosphere.

Usually mathematical abstractions are used as examples in teaching of general courses as well as in special courses such as numerical recipes. Using of examples from physics (or optics in particular) makes the course more interesting and understandable for students in optical engineering. In Applied and Computer Optics Department of ITMO University the course “Numerical Recipes in Optics” is studied via practical usage of optical image modeling and quality analysis. It helps to make studying of numerical recipes (such as numerical integration, approximation, fast Fourier transform etc.) more useful. Moreover it gives deeper understanding in mathematical models of physical processes. The most interesting exercises corresponding to different numerical recipes are presented in the paper.

All-Russian competition in optics and optical engineering has been carrying out for several years. Leading Russian universities and institutes that teach in different areas of optics take part in this event. One of the main features of this event is that participants may be students of all years (except post-graduate students), and the exercises of the competition include many tasks involving different optical disciplines (applied optics, lasers, optical devices and instruments, geometric optics, etc.).

One of the main requirements of the Education Ministry to such events is that the competition must include both practical and theoretical parts. Practical part usually includes several tasks, and each task is a demonstration of an optical phenomenon or an optical instrument or device and involves questions concerning the demonstrated experiment. Theoretical part is a set of tasks and questions that should be solved and answered in written form. Organization committee and judges which are the members of teaching staff of different universities prepare complex theoretical tasks and arrange a set of practical questions. Nevertheless the set of task may include simple questions which can be solved using basic knowledge of optics, observation and erudition. Thus, such competitions help to discover the most talented and motivated students which have great potential.

In the report the problems of organization and carrying out of such competition in optics are discussed. Examples of tasks which were used in different years and also retrospective of the competition are presented.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) recently revised their published list of programspecific criteria. Beginning during the 2014-15 cycle, all engineering programs which include “optical” and “photonic” in their titles must meet new specific criteria to receive ABET accreditation. One portion of the wording under the curriculum section states “The curriculum must prepare students to have knowledge of and appropriate laboratory experience in: geometrical optics, physical optics, optical materials, and optical and/or photonic devices and systems.” Last year, the Rose-Hulman optical engineering curriculum committee revised our baccalaureate degree program. A portion of this effort sought to improve alignment to the ABET program-specific criteria. Here we review the outcomes of this effort, including our documented continuous improvement process, the realignment of our existing courses along the four tracks laid out by ABET, and the introduction of new undergraduate courses to improve student learning.

The advanced photonics laboratory is a biannual course offered to graduate students, after they have taken a few basic courses in optics and photonics. The course contents include experiments involving different areas in optics and photonics. Learning outcome includes theoretical formulation in optical phenomena and adoption of its instruments. Students are encouraged to explore experimental parameters, observe the effect on measured quantities, correlate them to theoretical predictions and finally explain any discrepancies. The methodology encourages students to question both theoretical models and experimental techniques.

In 1964, J. Bell introduced an inequality that stated a mathematical bound for any physical system that holds both locality and realism; if we violate this inequality, it is clear that we have to reconsider the previous statement. In our work, we report an experimental activity with photons suitable for undergraduate students that makes them question these naïve ideas of nature’s behavior. With a pre-aligned setup, our students tested and violated Bell’s inequality in a two-hour laboratory session, using two distant photons entangled in polarization. In addition, complementing an educational approach to this phenomenon, the usually called S function, that quantifies correlations, was mapped using different detection angles in one of the two locations. In particular, a more complete picture of the S function, allow us to identify the initial state of light. We show in this work that it is possible for undergraduate students to question some of our common sense ideas of nature using experiments with photons.

We present a comprehensive student exercise in partial polarization. Students are first introduced to the concept of partial polarization using Fresnel Equations. Next, MATHCAD is used to compute and graph the reflectance for dielectrics materials. The students then design and construct a simple, easy to use collimated light source for their experiment, which is performed on an optical breadboard using optical components typically found in an optics lab above the introductory level. The students obtain reflection data that is compared with their model by a nonlinear least square fit using EXCEL. Sources of error and uncertainty are discussed and students present a final written report. In this one exercise students learn how an experiment is constructed “from the ground up”. They gain practical experience on data modeling and analysis, working with optical equipment, machining and construction, and preparing a final presentation.

The Spanish University System in the framework of the European studies under the Bologna process presents a huge number of Master courses. This fact has yielded the creation of an official procedure of “accreditation” of this kind of degrees. In this work, we present and discuss data collected from the official accreditation process recently carried out for the Masters on “Photonics and Laser Technologies”, coordinated by the University of Vigo (UVigo) and involving three Universities: Vigo (UVIGO), Santiago de Compostela (USC) and A Coruña (UdC) in the autonomous region of Galicia (Spain) where the accreditation is made by the Agency for the Quality of the University Galician System (ACSUG). The data collected play a fundamental role in the accreditation process in order to make future decisions about the studies offered in the Galician University System.

When designing laboratory courses in a Physics Major we consider a range of objectives: teaching Physics; developing lab competencies; instrument control and data acquisition; learning about measurement errors and error propagation; an introduction to project management; team work skills and scientific writing. But nowadays we face pressure to decrease laboratory hours due to the cost involved. Many universities are replacing lab classes for simulation activities, hiring PhD. and master students to give first year lab classes, and reducing lab hours. This leads to formatted lab scripts and poor autonomy of the students, and failure to enhance creativity and autonomy. In this paper we present our eight year experience with a laboratory course that is mandatory in the third year of Physics and Physical Engineering degrees. Since the students had previously two standard laboratory courses, we focused on teaching instrumentation and giving students autonomy. The course is divided in two parts: one third is dedicated to learn computer controlled instrumentation and data acquisition (based in LabView); the final 2/3 is dedicated to a group project. In this project, the team (2 or 3 students) must develop a project and present it in a typical conference format at the end of the semester. The project assignments are usually not very detailed (about two or three lines long), giving only general guidelines pointing to a successful project (students often recycle objectives putting forward a very personal project); all of them require assembling some hardware. Due to our background, about one third of the projects are related to Optics.

Spectroscopy can be historically traced down to the study of the dispersion of light by a glass prism. In the early 19th century, inspired by Newton’s experiment, Fraunhofer creates a device where an illuminated slit and a lens are placed before the prism; such a device is later transformed, by Kirchoff and Bunsen, into a much handier and more precise observation and measurement instrument, the spectroscope.

In the 1930’s, the Physics Laboratory of the Faculty of Science of the University of Porto would buy, from Adam Hilger, Ltd., London, a constant deviation spectrometer. The ultimate purpose was to set up a spectroscopy laboratory for teaching and research. This model’s robust construction (the telescope and the collimator are rigidly fixed) makes it adequate for student’s practice.

To sweep across the spectrum, all it takes is to rotate the high quality, constant deviation prism – known as Pellin‐Broca prism. Spectra in the 390‐900 nm interval are observed, either directly, or through photographic recording, or even by using a thermopile and associated galvanometer, when working in the infra‐red range. The wavelength of the line under observation is read straight on a drum, which is fixed to the prism’s rotation mechanism.

Details of the construction and operation of this spectrometer are explored, against the background of present day spectrometers, automatic and computerized, thereby offering a deeper understanding of spectroscopic analysis: for instance, the use of the raies ultimes powder, a mixture of 50 chemical elements whose emission spectra provide a way of calibrating the instrument.

In this paper, the simulation experiments both of Abbe-Porter spatial filtering and of optical processing of image addition and subtraction with a grating filter are designed and performed. We realize the design and operation of optical information processing simulation experiments based on information optics theory and the experimental principle by using MATLAB programing language. The spatial filtering of Fourier spectrum, one of the main concepts in information optics, is intuitively described via the simulation experiments, and the experiment process is demonstrated step by step. The results show that the simulation experiments are really helpful for the filter's design and the image processing. These developed virtual experiments have been used in experimental teaching for undergraduate students majored in optics or optical engineering, which effectively assist students to understand concept and principle of optical information processing.

All National or Regional Centers funded by the National Science Foundation for photonics education and training in the United States have undergone a rigorous attempt to estimate the demand for workers in the regions they serve. We present the procedure for establishing a sample frame, data collection mechanisms, and estimations from analyses that were used in the United States, as well as the results from these analyses. We also provide a template that may be used to replicate the procedures.

The paper describes how the pedagogy of project based learning (PBL) was integrated into the Optical System Design course at School of Opto-electronics of Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China. The course teaching philosophy, implementation methodologies, examples and experiences were discussed.

Modern higher education could not function without a close connection of universities and industry’s leading manufacturers. The article discusses collaboration between Applied and computer optics department of ITMO University with industry leaders. Features collaboration, problems and results of its implementation are presented in the article.

Swissmem, the Swiss association of mechanical and electrical engineering industries, founded a new photonics group in 2013. This reflects the importance of this key technology for Switzerland. Swissmem requested from the Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences to introduce a new bachelor program to fulfill the increasing demand of the Swiss industry of young academics in the field of photonics. Optech Consulting is investigating the Swiss photonics market since many years on behalf of Swissphotonics, the Swiss national thematic network for photonics. The study concluded that the total production volume of the Swiss photonics industry in the year 2013 was 3 billion Swiss francs and a slight growth is expected for 2014.

The University of Applied Science HTW Chur is located in the Eastern part of Switzerland. This area of the Rhine valley is a technology cluster of innovative companies in the field of optics and electronics. The industry is growing and the R&D departments of the worldwide active companies are lacking well-educated photonics engineers.

The HTW Chur is dedicated to establish the first Swiss bachelor in Photonics. Supported by strong industrial players and an excellent network, the HTW Chur developed different job descriptions and a complete curriculum, which reflect the needs of the Swiss photonics industry. Almost 60% of the ECTS of this national degree program are assigned to photonics specific courses and the practical projects are organized in close collaboration with the photonics industry. Curriculum, job descriptions and the industrial needs will be discussed in detail in this paper.

Principle and Design of Optoelectronic Instruments (PDOI) is a comprehensive engineering course set in the fourth year in School of Optoelectronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, China. After three years of study, the students have acquired basic knowledge in optics, mechanics, electronics, and computer science. They are ready to make a comprehensive application of the knowledge they have learnt in something really important. Like most engineering courses, PDOI needs practical section to help students understand how theories work in engineering. Thanks to the China International Exhibition of Lasers, Optoelectronics and Photonics which is held annually in Beijing, it offers a good opportunity for undergraduates to see advanced instruments with their own eyes. It is a wonderful extracurricular practice for PDOI. In this paper, we will introduce the exhibition-involved curriculum design and give the initial results.

In thirty-five years, more than thirty optics-related companies have been established in the small Rocky Mountain town of Bozeman, Montana, USA. This situation offers a rare opportunity to examine the parallel growth of optics education and industry in a location that until recently was home to very few, if any, high-technology companies. The growth of optics education and research at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman was both a cause and a result of the parallel growth of surrounding optics-related companies. The earliest academic optics activities at MSU were in both applied optical measurements and basic optical sciences, especially laser crystal spectroscopy and laser physics, and our first optics companies were in similar fields. In fact, one of the first companies was started by an MSU graduate who grew the crystal for the world’s first ruby laser built by Dr. Theodore Maiman. After the start of this growth in the 1980s, the next several decades brought synergistic broadening of optics activities to a wide range of applications, from remote sensing to medical imaging. This paper outlines the events that initiated this development and the ongoing activities that continue to promote this synergistic growth of optics in both academia and industry.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach in which students learn course content by using a structured approach to collaboratively solving complex real-world problems. PBL addresses widespread industry concern that graduates of technician and engineering programs often have difficulty applying their technical knowledge to novel situations and working effectively in teams. Over the past 9 years, the PBL Projects of the New England Board of Higher Education (Boston, MA) have developed instructional strategies and materials that research shows address industry concerns by improving student learning, retention, critical thinking and problem-solving skills as well as the transfer of knowledge to new situations.

In this paper we present a retrospective of the PBL Projects, three National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education (NSF-ATE) projects that developed twenty interdisciplinary multi-media PBL case studies called "Challenges" in the topic areas of optics/photonics, sustainable technology and advanced manufacturing, provided faculty professional development in the use of PBL in the classroom to teachers across the U.S. and abroad, and conducted research on the efficacy of the PBL method. We will describe the resources built into the Challenges to scaffold the development of students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills and the support provided to instructors who wish to create a student-centered classroom by incorporating PBL. Finally, we will discuss plans for next steps and examine strategies for taking PBL to the next level through actual industry-based problem solving experiences.

The authors have recently been involved with ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) and multiple professional societies, educational institutions and industry to develop program criteria for the accreditation of optical and photonic engineering programs at the undergraduate and masters level. These collaborative efforts have resulted in the first published criteria for university programs in optics and photonics. We will discuss the motivation for seeking membership in ABET, who ABET is and what it does, the process used to develop program criteria and the value of accreditation to both students and industry. This presentation will also include a segment addressing the steps involved for those optics and photonics engineering programs seeking ABET accreditation and resources that are available to assist them.

ABET has a long history of global engagement with the overarching goal of promoting and improving the quality of technical education worldwide. We will also discuss ABET’s international activities and how they support ABET’s mission of providing world leadership in assuring quality in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology education.

Evaluation of student learning through assessment of communication skills is a generally important component of undergraduate education and particularly so for promotion of interdisciplinary research conducted by future scientists. To better build these skills we aim to quantify the effectiveness of feedback on student writing of technical reports in an upper-division physics lab course. In one implementation, feedback utilization - in the form of observing commented technical reports, attending office hours or emailing rough drafts of their reports was monitored then correlated with improvement in student writing. The improvement in student writing is quantified as the single-student normalized gain. A slight positive relationship was found between the number of times a student utilized feedback and the improvement in student writing. A subsequent study involved correlation of two complimentary assessments of student work. In the first assessment students received consistent feedback throughout the semester on all sections of a technical report in the form of highlighted bullet points in a detailed rubric. In the second assessment method students received varying amounts of feedback for each section of the technical paper throughout the semester with a focus on one section each week and follow-up feedback on previously covered sections. This approach provides focused feedback that can be scalable to larger classes. The number of highlighted bullet points in the rubric clearly decreases as a function of the focused feedback implementation. From this we conclude that student writing improves with the focused feedback method.

At the end of master program it is necessary to measure students’ knowledge and competences. Master thesis is the one way, but it measure deep knowledge in quite narrow area. Another way of measure is additional final examination that includes topics from the most important courses. In Applied and Computer Optics Department of ITMO University such examination includes theoretical questions and practical tasks from several courses in one examination. Theoretical section of examination is written and second section is practical. Practical section takes place in laboratory with real equipment or with computer simulation. In the paper examples of tasks for master programs, and results of examination are presented.

We report on a lecture course model that we established three semesters ago in order to strengthen practice-orientated teaching in optics and photonics: In the frame of the lecture “Advanced Laser Treatment”, which is a mandatory course of our university’s master degree curriculum, students now have the possibility to experience a researcher’s every-day tasks. In small groups, the attendees work on a self-contained topic which is defined by the lecturers. The work load and content is in the scale of a small work package of a usual research project. It includes the initial research on the state of the art, the experimentation using different laser sources, and the subsequent evaluation of the obtained results. On the basis of this work, the students then prepare a draft of a scientific paper and finally present their results and findings orally in a conference-like exam. This lecture course model has turned out to be an appropriate teaching method for practice-orientated subjects. It was observed that the students are much more motivated and work more independently than during a classical lecture with a certain amount of lab work. Having sole responsibility supports to identify with their project. Further, this lecture course model helps to develop scientific work skills, attain first experience in every-day research tasks and encourages creativity. In some cases, the paper drafts written by the students can even be published, representing a valuable starting point for their future professional career.

In arranging events in Wales to celebrate the International Year of Light emphasis has been placed on activities which allow the participation of the broadest possible cross-section of the public. This paper will offer a summary of events undertaken and a perspective on those planned for the remainder of the year. Plans for legacy activities will also be outlined.

A wide variety of optics concepts can be taught using the overall perspective of “colors of nature” as a guiding and unifying theme. This approach is attractive and interesting with a wide appeal to children, nature enthusiasts, photographers, and artists. This approach also encourages a deep understanding of the natural world and the role of coloration in biology, remote sensing, the aurora, mineralogy, meteorology, in human-made objects, and astronomy, to name a few. Third, using this theme promotes a close look at optical phenomena at all size scales–from the microscopic (e.g. silica spheres in opals) to the mid-scale (the aurora), to the largest scale (astronomical phenomena such as gaseous emission nebula). Fourth, the natural and human-constructed world provides accessible and beautiful examples of complex phenomena such as interference, diffraction, atomic and molecular emissions, Rayleigh and Mie scattering, illumination engineering, and fluorescence. These areas can be explored successfully in the context of “colors of nature”. Finally, using the “colors of nature” also promotes an understanding of technology, from flashlights to streetlights, from telescopes and binoculars, to spectrometers and digital cameras. For examples something as simple as how to set the white balance on a digital camera to get a realistic looking photograph can lead to a lengthy exploration of spectrally selective surfaces and their reflectance, the nature of different illumination sources, the meaning of color temperature, and role of calibration in a digital image. We have used this approach of teaching using the colors of nature as an organizing theme in our NSF-funded project “Project STEAM: Integrating Art with Science to Build Science Identities Among Girls” (colorsofnature.org).

While optics and photonics are exciting disciplines with much research, industrial, and economic potential in the 21st century, this appreciation is only shared by a limited number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experts, and there is a recognized STEM skills shortage. To widen the pool of talent, it is essential to expose students to optics and photonics throughout their education and particularly starting at a young age. The Lightwave programme, consisting of an interactive collection of photonics demonstrations and experiments targeted for primary school students, was thus created to facilitate this endeavor. The programme is run by doctoral students forming a team of “Lightwave ambassadors”. All the demonstrations that comprise Lightwave can be easily integrated into a physics curriculum, enabling educators to generate more student interest and enhance the image of science through an interactive pedagogy. We provide a description of the programme at its initial inception, and report on the recent additions and updates that have brought about its success, moving from a purely outreach driven focus to engaging pupils with our own research. We also discuss our approach to ensuring that our team of ambassadors are from diverse backgrounds and use both male and female students as role models. Finally, we reflect on how evaluation methods to obtain feedback from our activities are key to Lightwave's sustainability and in improving the perception of optics and photonics.

We designed and built a low-cost imaging spectrometer using an in-house grating and a webcam and demonstrated its applications for active learning in science with experiments ranging from understanding light spectra from various sources to detecting adulteration in edible oils. The experiments were designed and run in an elementary school in Waterloo, Ontario with young students from grade 4 to grade 8. The performance of the spectrometer is benchmarked to commercial spectrometers and showed excellent correlation for wavelengths between 450 nm to 650 nm. The spectral range can be improved by removing infra-red filters integrated in webcams.

As the only photonics center in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Photonics Institute (PRPI) has developed education and outreach projects, partnering with other institutions and private companies to optimize the use of available resources. We present our experience, challenges, rewards, and results for the following projects: - Tours: K-12 students visit our facilities in a science tour including a presentation on the Arecibo Observatory (AO) and the Digital Planet Geodome. We present optics demonstrations and other information. In the first three months we hosted fifteen schools impacting over 1,400 students. - Outreach: We have newly active outreach and recruiting activities for Puerto Rico (PR) schools. - Teachers: With the PR Math-Science Partnership (MSP) Program, we have given a full-day workshop on optics and photonics experiments for 5th-12th grade teachers, and a master class at the annual MSP Congress. We have impacted over 500 teachers through these initiatives. - Continuing Education: We have given continuing education courses in addition to the MSP workshops. - General Public: We partner with museums in PR, the University of Turabo, and the AO Visitor Center to build optics exhibits, many developed by students. - Video: PRPI is promoting the 2015 International Year of Light, creating: 1. A short video with students and faculty from the Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) Schools of Communication and Business Administration; 2. A longer video with the production company Geoambiente. - Apps: Our website will include ray tracing and wave propagation applications, developed by UMET Computer Science students. - Capstone: Engineering students at the School of Engineering at Universidad del Turabo are developing laser pattern generators.

France is among the few countries that have integrated astronomy in primary school levels. However, for fifteen years, a lot of studies have shown that children have difficulties in understanding elementary astronomic phenomena such as day/night alternation, seasons or moon phases’ evolution. To understand these phenomena, learners have to mentally construct 3D perceptions of aster motions and to understand how light propagates from an allocentric point of view. Therefore, 4-5 grades children (8 to 11 years old), who are developing their spatial cognition, have many difficulties to assimilate geometric optical problems that are linked to astronomy. To make astronomical learning more efficient for young pupils, we have designed an Augmented Inquiry-Based Learning Environment (AIBLE): HELIOS. Because manipulations in astronomy are intrinsically not possible, we propose to manipulate the underlying model. With HELIOS, virtual replicas of the Sun, Moon and Earth are directly manipulated from tangible manipulations. This digital support combines the possibilities of Augmented Reality (AR) while maintaining intuitive interactions following the principles of didactic of sciences. Light properties are taken into account and shadows of Earth and Moon are directly produced by an omnidirectional light source associated to the virtual Sun. This AR environment provides users with experiences they would otherwise not be able to experiment in the physical world. Our main goal is that students can take active control of their learning, express and support their ideas, make predictions and hypotheses, and test them by conducting investigations.

With the aim of making optics reachable to all audiences, regardless of their age or area of study, we have decided to select, build and test a set of four experiments based on optical phenomena. An important factor in our approach is that the experiments should be used by any non-experienced exhibitor to amaze the audience and to arise in them interest in optics. Ease of setup is therefore desired. Requirements such as durability, repeatability and reduced cost are welcome as well. Taking advantage of the low prices of laser pointers, we focused on experiments which use this nowadays accessible element. The experiments that integrate our selection, costing less than USD75, are: a water stream optical fiber, curved light beams on a honey-water mixture, an optical music transmitter-receiver, and holographic film projections. Among the covered concepts are reflection and refraction of light, color, optical communications, optical interference and modern everyday life’s applications. We have presented these setups in activities at our university to a wide range of educational levels, from 12-year old students, passing by last year high school students on a career day event, not leaving behind undergraduate students of any discipline. Moved by the positive response of the audience, we plan to expand its application to continuing education courses and kids’ science fairs. We proved that having low-cost setups, useful when teaching science in developing countries, can help to broaden the target audience.

This paper presents a methodological approach to the teaching of geometrical optics based on a review and preliminary analysis of the concepts of elementary geometry. The previous review of geometry elements necessary and sufficient for the construction of the images given by reflection and refraction at plane surfaces, allows the students the interpretation, representation and description of these images with a higher level of conceptualization of physical phenomena, the levels obtained by the conventional ways of teaching, because the student focuses his attention on the physical phenomenon, without worrying at the same time to understand the geometrical tool. The methodological approach was performed with thirty students from a basic secondary school in Bogota-Colombia and, based on some geometry workshops, the students acquired the foundations of geometry giving meaning to geometric constructions of phenomena of reflection and refraction at plane surfaces and subsequently the development of workshops on tracing rays and some laboratory practices, the phenomena of geometrical optics was expanded. This was carried out using the Active Learning Methodology and Solving Problem Methodology. The efficiency of the proposal was measured by comparing the results of a diagnostic test and an output test, where the progress by the students was demonstrated.

Lightwave, as a kind of electromagnetic wave, possesses a frequency much higher than the response frequency of the current photodetectors, so the complex amplitude of the lightwave cannot be measured directly due to the loss of the phase information. Some invisible optical concepts such as phase, wavefront etc. are difficult to understand for the undergraduate students. To make the wavefront of the light wave visible, a digital holographic teaching apparatus, as a kind of comprehensive experimental platform, is developed by our teachers and students under the support of Daheng Science & Technology company. Digital holography (DH) can retrieve the quantitative amplitude and phase information of the object wavefront, which makes the wavefront display possible. In the teaching apparatus, the digital hologram is recorded by the off-axis lensless Fourier transform (LFT) digital holographic system, and the reconstruction of the hologram is achieved by the inverse Fourier Transform. The system is controlled by the Labview software. Except the quantitative amplitude and phase information, the spectrum of the hologram in the spatial-frequency domain etc. can also be visualized in the user interface of the apparatus. This can help students intuitively comprehend many optical content including phase, optical interference, diffraction, optical Fourier transform and diffraction propagation calculation et al., which has the characteristics of being open, flexible and systematic. Furthermore, the analytical and manipulative ability of students can be effectively advanced, and students can also generally understand the actual demand, work pattern and product sales of the company.