Dear Industrial Affiliate Member,

It’s finally Summer in Tucson and boy is it hot!  The campus has been buzzing with new students attending orientation and preparing for their next journey after high school graduation.  However, the College of Optical Sciences (OSC) is keeping very busy. 

The college will be buzzing again with activity at the start of the Fall Semester (August 2008).  Look for upcoming events posted in our Watt’s Up weekly e-newsletter and in our monthly Industrial Affiliate e-update.   

INDUSTRIAL AFFILIATES

• New Fall Industrial Affiliates Workshop:  Due to your important feedback from our Annual Workshop, we are adding another Industrial Affiliates workshop on October 8-9, 2008.  This workshop’s primary focus will be more student/Industrial Affiliate interaction.  We hope to provide several venues for our Affiliates to get to know the OSC students.  The agenda is currently being prepared by Carl Maes and the Academic Programs team.  If you have any ideas or requests, please feel free to contact Carl at carl.maes@optics.arizona.edu. 

• Student Overview: The Student Overview is being developed to help our Industrial Affiliates get better acquainted with our students, their employability, study tracks, willingness to relocate, and much more beneficial information.  By August, 2008, the Student Overview will be available to our Industrial Affiliate members via a password protected link on our website.  It will also be available as a hardcopy as you approach the time of the October workshop so you can more efficiently plan your student meetings/interviews.  This document will be updated constantly and its main purpose is to help you in your hiring/recruiting processes. 

• Distance Learning:  The distance learning program brings the College of Optical Sciences' two greatest strengths -- its outstanding teaching faculty and its leading-edge video technology -- to students worldwide.  The mission of the distance learning program is to bring the highest quality optics classes to working adults in ways that complement their educational level, their professional experience, and their current responsibilities.

The college has successfully offered its distance courses to individuals worldwide and to working professionals via courses tailored specifically to employees at companies such as Lockheed Martin, Aerospace, and Raytheon.  Changchun University of Science and Technology in the Peoples' Republic of China has established a program offering College of Optical Sciences distance learning classes to Changchun University students.

If you have questions about the Certificate Program, MS Distance Program or taking classes as a non-degree graduate student, email the Graduate Student Academic Advisor Gail Varin at gail@optics.arizona.edu or call 520.626.0888.  You can read more on our website:  http://www.optics.arizona.edu/Academics/videoclasses.htm

FACULTY/PERSONNEL

• Looking for Project Sponsors:  The UA College of Engineering Multidisciplinary Sr. Design Course (ENGR 498) is soliciting project sponsors for the 2008 -2009 academic year.  Sponsors are asked to contribute $5,000 to support the course.  Half of this is available for the students to purchase materials; the other half goes to support the mentoring staff that is hired to work with the student teams.  Senior undergraduates from all of the engineering disciplines (except Aeronautical Engineering) at UA participate in the course.  Projects should be scoped so that a team of 4 - 6 students can complete the project in two semesters with a budget under $3,000.  Intellectual property rights usually remain with the sponsor, so your IP interests are protected.

Those interested in further information should contact Prof. Scott Tyo (tyo@optics.arizona.edu) or Dr. Martha Ostheimer (ostheime@email.arizona.edu).

• “Optics: Lighting the Way to the Future!” The College of Optical Sciences staff and faculty hosted its annual Arizona Youth University Optical Sciences Camp, June 9-13.  This year, 19 of the 20 slots were filled by high school students interested in learning about Optical Sciences.  Here are some of the quotes directly from the kids who attended:

·         “This camp was very interesting.  I loved every single part.  It was challenging and pulled our minds apart.  But, they explained everything.”

·         “It was great experience!”

·         “It was very interesting.”

·         “Fun!  Great experience.”

·         “It was a really neat program and I really enjoyed it.”

·         “An excellent learning experience and a neat introduction to engineering.”

·         “It was awesome and refreshing.”

·         “One word:  AWESOME!”

MISCELLANEOUS

• Looking for Equipment:  The College is in need of some Terahertz detectors.  If your company is able to provide these items, please contact Eustace L. Dereniak, Professor at eustace@U.arizona.edu or Will Rivera at wrivera@optics.arizona.edu

·         Most of the information included in this e-mail can also be found in our weekly e-newsletter, Watt’s Up. For more information on receiving Watt’s Up, please contact Cathy Alexander at cathyalexander@optics.arizona.edu

If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions regarding information provided in this e-mail, please feel free to contact Allison Huff at Allison@optics.arizona.edu or 520-626-6737

For more information about Monthly Updates, please contact:

Allison MacPherson, Development Coordinator

520-626-6737  allison@optics.arizona.edu