糖心传媒

Two new awards will help the University of Rochester prepare a more diverse pipeline of optics professionals.

Two recent awards will enable the at the to help address a pressing need for highly trained PhD graduates, including women and underrepresented minorities, in industry, research labs, and academia.

A $900,000 GAANN () grant from the US Department of Education will pay for six PhD fellowships, at least half of which will be awarded to students from underrepresented groups.

Another $500,000, to be matched by the University, comes from SPIE, the international society of optics and photonics. The award will initially provide stipend and travel support for an additional student but is expected to grow.

Founded in 1929, the institute is the oldest optics degree-granting program in the nation. To date, it has granted approximately 2,800 degrees糖心传媒攁bout half of all optics degrees awarded in the US. The institute currently enrolls 102 PhD students.

糖心传媒淩ochester has a long history of successful optics education, and many of today糖心传媒檚 leading optics researchers have emerged from its Institute of Optics. This endowed fund is a critical partnership between SPIE and the University of Rochester, one that will help ensure that pipeline of leaders continues for generations to come,糖心传媒� says SPIE president Anita Mahadevan-Jansen.

糖心传媒楾remendous momentum糖心传媒� in optics PhD recruiting

糖心传媒淥ne of the most important aspects of a gift like this,糖心传媒� says , interim institute director and professor of optics, 糖心传媒渋s that it allows us to 糖心传媒榠nvest in the best,糖心传媒� to continue searching for future Nobel laureates, entrepreneurs, and engineers from all over the world to come to Rochester and be part of our growing family.糖心传媒�

In 2018, Donna Strickland 糖心传媒�89 (PhD) was awarded a Nobel Prize for work she did at the University糖心传媒檚 Laboratory for Laser Energetics as an optics PhD. Strickland is only the third woman to receive the prize in physics糖心传媒攁nd her accomplishment was a 糖心传媒渨atershed moment for our PhD program,糖心传媒� Brown says. 糖心传媒淚t imparted tremendous momentum in our recruiting.糖心传媒�

糖心传媒淭he present employment prospects for optics PhD graduates are excellent, because they are recruited from such a broad range of industries, universities, and government laboratories,糖心传媒� Brown says. 糖心传媒淭he requests we receive from prospective employers hungering for fresh PhD students continue at a steady pace. All our recent graduates have found employment before or within a month of graduation, and PhD graduates who are US citizens or permanent residents are in particular demand.糖心传媒�

Many of the institute糖心传媒檚 graduates find employment in the Rochester region, a hub of more than 90 optics-related companies. , which designs and manufactures complex photonic integrated circuits, and entrepreneurial initiatives such as , which provides startup funding for optics-related initiatives, have cemented Rochester糖心传媒檚 international reputation in the field.

Collaboration in the classroom and the lab

With its four-to-one ratio of PhD students to faculty, the institute prides itself on fostering a close-knit community. It does so through open-door access to faculty, weekly informal gatherings, as well as annual departmental picnics, holidays parties, and family-friendly events. Despite recent necessary curtailments due to COVID, two current PhD students say they’ve benefited from the collegial atmosphere.

糖心传媒淚 feel like I糖心传媒檓 part of a unique community at the institute,糖心传媒� says Katie Dunn. 糖心传媒淲hen you糖心传媒檙e taking first-year classes and studying for preliminary exams, it糖心传媒檚 not a competitive environment. Everyone is trying to help each other out.糖心传媒�

Fellow optics PhD student Kareem Garriga concurs and adds, 糖心传媒淲e have a very collaborative environment, with access to cutting-edge technology,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淭he facilities afforded to us and the freedom we have as graduate students allow us to tackle problems and delve deeper in all subfields, from quantum optics to laser fusion.糖心传媒�

Garriga, for example, is researching terahertz electromagnetic waves in the , a leading expert in field. The waves are hard to detect, but could have interesting applications, for example in detecting drugs or explosives behind barriers, which is why Garriga is working to create a detector to improve the characterization of THz sources.

Dunn, meanwhile, is a member of the research group of , an expert in developing optical contrast mechanisms to analyze untreated cells and tissues. She is using a technique called angularly resolved light scattering to learn more about the organelles within single cells, which could have applications for improved medical diagnosis and treatment.

Both students say they appreciate the supportive mentoring they糖心传媒檝e received. Berger, for example, 糖心传媒渞eally cares about his students糖心传媒攖hat they糖心传媒檙e flourishing as researchers, and also as people,糖心传媒� Dunn says. 糖心传媒淗e gives us a lot of his time.糖心传媒� Another big supporter has been Jim Fienup, the Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics, who has taught several of Dunn糖心传媒檚 favorite courses and helped her with the Fourier processing she uses as part of her research. He is on her thesis committee.

Garriga says that Zhang 糖心传媒渉as been great because he糖心传媒檚 given me a lot of freedom to approach topics on my own accord and in my own time. I糖心传媒檝e also learned a lot about mentoring and grant writing from him.糖心传媒� Yiwen E, a research associate in the lab, has helped Garriaga develop his skills as a lab researcher and teaching mentor, he adds. 糖心传媒淪he also taught me how to keep up with the latest trends and how to always be innovating in a field that continues to move as fast as our does.糖心传媒�

Both say they wholeheartedly encourage aspiring optics PhD students to consider enrolling at the institute. 糖心传媒淚f you糖心传媒檙e interested in optics, it糖心传媒檚 definitely a wonderful place to be,糖心传媒� Dunn says. 糖心传媒淵ou are surrounded by a lot of other students and faculty who are very interested in similar things. And everyone is on board to help you with whatever you want to learn.糖心传媒�

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