Session J8: LaserFest: Laser Education and Outreach

Lasers in the Undergraduate Laboratory: Precision Measurement for the Masses

Lasers are essential components of a huge range of modern ultra-precise measurements, from LIGO to laser-cooled atomic clocks to femtosecond frequency comb sources. I will describe some experiments at the undergraduate level that, while they do not match the astonishing precision of these measurements, introduce students to the use of lasers as tools for precision measurement.   

Riding light in the minority communities and how K-12 students can shine in physics

The National Society of Black Physicists, along with the National Society of Hispanic Physicists, has been reaching out to the minority K-12 population by revolutionizing its Science Ambassador program under its Pre-College Program Committee. Since 2005, both societies have been providing unique interactive physics demonstrations to predominantly minority schools to expose them to the exciting world of physics. In a four year span, the population of targeted students went from 25 (2005) to 400 (2009). During the 2009 joint annual meeting, a Physics Day camp was introduced during which eight physics societies combined their efforts to reach to a larger group of students in a short time period. This initiative has now tackled the unique feature to expand nationally by reaching out to the members of all physics societies. While the world of optics has been an integral part of the demonstrations being performed on stage or at individual booths, physics concepts and its applications in medical physics (such as imaging or therapy) is the focus of the 2010 effort as part of LaserFest. This talk will review the impact of this program in the minority community and the importance of physics department at minority institutions in changing the conception of science in K-12 arenas.   

The Laser Teaching Center at Stony Brook

Stony Brook's Laser Teaching Center was built more than ten years ago to serve a clientele ranging from high school (HS) students to graduate students. Its construction in a formerly open hallway area was financed by donations from private corporations and foundations, and it was equipped with similar contributions. It provides a working area for laser and optics-related projects, both individual and group. Its daily operations are overseen by a highly-dedicated Ph.D. who is a department employee. It is populated by HS students doing science fair related research, including the major national contests (in which we have many finalists and semifinalists), undergraduates doing extra-credit course projects and other kinds of research activities, graduate students in a special course called ``Optics Rotation,'' and many others who come to use its facilities. All of its denizens benefit enormously by occasional prestigious visitors. Students are drawn from among our undergraduates and graduate students, NSF's WISE program, special HS summer programs, and direct application from the outside. We have an excellent record of placing our HS students in the highest ranking colleges.   

Feedback from Over 10 Years of Youth Outreach with the Optics Suitcase

Since 1999, more than 225 Optics Suitcases have been assembled and shipped to individuals, OSA and SPIE student chapters, educators at private/public primary/middle/high schools/colleges/universities, companies and national laboratories throughout the USA (29 states + PR) and the world (26 countries - Canada to Cameroon, Ireland to India, Mexico to Malawi, Turkey to Thailand). The Suitcase contains a 40 minute lesson exploring color in white light with three theme packet experiments: Rainbow Peephole-diffraction, Magic Stripes-polarization, and Magic Patch-selective reflection. The packets are given to children after the lesson to take home and share. The goal is to interest youth in technology careers. One of the theme packets is offered upon request in an expanded form as a Liquid Crystal Mood Patch Lesson. Suitcases are sent after receipt of a 1/2 page application submitted on-line to the OSA Foundation. Here we describe the program and review feedback with letters and photos provided by presenters and participants.   

Optical Science Discovery Program: Pre-College Outreach and So Much More

Recruiting and retaining women into the physical sciences is an ongoing struggle for universities, with the gap between men and women in physics remaining strong. Research shows a precipitous drop in female participation in the physical sciences around the 7th grade year of primary education, where girls begin losing interest during middle school, the drain continuing throughout high school with another significant drop at the bachelors level. To combat the loss of women in the physical sciences, the Oregon Center for Optics at the University of Oregon has created the Optical Science Discovery Program (OSDP), a precollege outreach program that targets girls in middle and high school. This program uses optical sciences as the medium through which girls explore experimental science. The program consists of a one-week intensive summer camp, a mentored monthly science club, summer internships and mentoring opportunities for camp alumni. By utilizing media often at the core of teenage life (e.g. Facebook, MySpace) we also aim to interact with program participants in a familiar and informal environment. Mentoring of OSDP activities is carried out by faculty and students of all levels. This in turn allows other education and outreach efforts at the University of Oregon to incorporate OSDP activities into their own, contributing to our broader university goals of surmounting barriers to higher education and creating a more scientifically literate populace. This talk will describe the OSDP program and its incorporation into the broader spectrum of outreach and education efforts.