Optical Science and Engineering Curriculum at NJIT

Abstract

AbstractApplied optics is an enabling technology for engineers and scientists, while becoming more widespread as an interdisciplinary tool for teaching, research, and industry. New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) currently offers its Optical Science and Engineering (OPSE) curriculum created by an interdisciplinary team of research faculty with a Combined Research‐Curriculum Development (CRCD) grant from the National Science Foundation. The OPSE teaching laboratory is also open to precollege students and high school science teachers through out*reach programs. Composed of two upper level undergraduate courses and one graduate level course, the OPSE curriculum teaches fundamental and applied optics to an interdisciplinary student audience. The courses combine lecture and experiments in which students are challenged to learn and apply optics within their own fields as well as others. These courses form a unified sequence with their own, stand‐alone designation (OPSE) within the NJIT registration scheme. They are often taken as technical electives, though the undergraduate pair is required for Applied Physics and Engineering Science students minoring in optics. Enrollment is distributed among Applied Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer and Information Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Biology majors. The OPSE curriculum continues to receive excellent support from local industry as well as the NJIT community. Laboratory manuals, course notes, and outlines are distributed on the Internet at www.njit.eduDirectoryCentersOPSE.