Curriculum, Program, and Infrastructure Development for Bachelor of Science in Optical Science and Engineering

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

PROPOSAL NO.: 0230150 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Osinski, Marek INSTITUTION NAME: University of New Mexico TITLE: Curriculum, Program, and Infrastructure Development for Bachelor of Science in Optical Science and Engineering NSF RECEIVED DATE: 06/03/2002 ABSTRACT The faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (EECE) in the School of Engineering, the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Educational Specialties in the College of Arts and Science, and the Department of Individual, Family, and Community Education in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico (UNM) propose to jointly develop a comprehensive plan for a new B.S. degree in Optical Science and Engineering, with emphasis on education in the field of photonics, accompanied by teacher training and enhancement of K-12 optics education initially at the high- and middle-school levels, and eventually reaching down to the elementary school level in the implementation stage of this program. The program will also have an important objective of supporting optically enabled aspects of microsystems, nanoscience, and other emerging fields. Specifically, the plan will incorporate development of a new college degree curriculum, proposing creation of new laboratories, development of courses training K-12 teachers in optical science and engineering, creation of outreach programs, identification and activation of sources of support for minority students, and involvement of local and national industry and government laboratories. Through the incorporation of current pedagogical learning theories concerning instructional design and assessment, the proposed new degree curriculum will support a new model that will be available for use by other engineering programs at UNM's School of Engineering and nationwide. Most importantly, the proposed degree will bridge the last remaining gap in the unique hierarchy of photonics educational programs in New Mexico, starting with the Photonics Academy at West Mesa High School supported by the Sandia National Laboratories that feeds into the Photonics Technology Associate Degree program at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, and ending with the M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Optical Science and Engineering offered at UNM. The comprehensive line-up of educational and career options in optics and photonics that would be enabled by the proposed B.S. degree will permit New Mexico industry to fill its photonics-centered positions at all levels, from the technician to the advanced researcher, from a workforce trained locally. The proposed degree will, more generally, help meet the emerging workforce and educational needs of the entire US industry. The main goal of the proposed program is to create a unique and highly desired cadre of optics personnel who, because of their broad, advanced, interdisciplinary, and industrially relevant education and training, will be able to lead the State of New Mexico and the Nation into the optics- and photonics-engaged 21 st century.