University/industry cooperative teaching laboratory for undergraduate education

Abstract

An undergraduate optics laboratory sponsored by the National Science Foundation of the United States was established to foster a link between local industry and academia. A series of innovative experiments was developed utilizing high-speed data acquisition equipment and signal processing software to demonstrate the fundamentals of diffraction, fiber optics, and physical optics principles. The experiments were performed in two complementary settings. The university experiments concentrated on basic optical principles and experimental techniques. A parallel industrial component was provided by local industry. Students were invited to industrial research laboratories to work on real-life optical problems of current interest. The students were able to see the relevance between fundamental optical principles and real industrial problems, use state-of-the-art equipment, and experience working in an industrial laboratory. Feedback was also solicited from industry management regarding improvements to academic training of students for the work force.