Watt's Up

College of Optical Sciences News for January 24, 2008

Next Week's Colloquium

January 31 at 3:30 p.m. in Meinel 307

Speaker:  Ming Wu, University of California at Berkeley

Title:  Optoelectronic Tweezers for Manipulating Cells and Nanowires

Host:  Stanley Pau

Abstract:  Optoelectronic tweezers (OET) is a new optical manipulation technique developed recently at UC Berkeley. Based on light-induced dielectrophoresis, OET can trap and sort colloidal particles and biological cells. It requires 100,000 times less optical power than conventional laser tweezers. As a result, we can use digital light projects to form massively parallel dynamic traps. As many as 31,000 individually addressable traps have been generated over an area of ~ 1 mm x 1 mm.  Recently, we have succeeded in trapping semiconductor and metallic nanowires (~ 100 nm diameter, a few microns in length). Once trapped, we can use the same optical beam to excite and measure the Raman spectra of the trapped single nanowire. Potentially, we can also use trapped nanowire as a SERS probe for in situ Raman characterization. Dynamic manipulation and sorting of biological cells using phototransistor-based OET will also be discussed.

Bio:  Ming Wu is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and Co-Director of Berkeley Sensors and Actuators Center (BSAC). His research interests include MEMS, optoelectronics, and optofluidics. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley in 1985 and 1988, respectively. Before joining the faculty of UC Berkeley, Dr. Wu was a Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, from 1988 to 1992, and Professor of Electrical Engineering at UCLA from 1993 to 2004. In 1997, Dr. Wu co-founded OMM in San Diego, CA, to commercialize MEMS optical switches. He is an IEEE Fellow, a Packard Fellow (1992-7). He was recently awarded  the 2007 Engineering Excellence Award from the Optical Society of America. He has published over 440 technical papers, and holds 16 patents.

ORA's Annual Optical Design Competition

ORA, Optical Research Associates, invites you to participate in its Optical Design Competition, which recognizes excellence in optical design projects completed by students.  Students can enter an optical design class assignment or thesis work that uses CODE V or LightTools.

Awards totalling $4,000 will be granted.  The entry deadline is June 16. Winners will be announced in July.

View the competition rules or frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the ORA Web site.

Eligibility:  To be eligible, you must:  (1) Be currently enrolled in a post-secondary degree program in North America, working toward a bachelor's, master's, or PhD and (2) Your work must have been completed using CODE V® or LightTools® software, and demonstrate knowledge of optics, optical engineering, and optical design software.  All entries completed and turned in to your professor during the current school year are eligible.

You can download a PDF version of ORA's entry form that can be viewed, filled in, and printed using Acrobat Reader. If you don't have a copy of Acrobat Reader, go to the Adobe Web site, where you can download it for free.

For more details, e-mail ORA at service@opticalres.com or call Optical Research Associates at call them at 626-795-9101, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST.

Happy Birthday and Best Wishes for a Wonderful Year

Other Optics Employment Opportunities

Please visit our optics employment Web site at

http://www.optics.arizona.edu/employment/default.htm

Opti 202 Teacher.  Pima Community College.  Teaching position needs to be filled immediately.  Job Description:  Course will be taught at the West Campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 – 2:20 p.m. with a lab on Fridays 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.  Estimated pay would be around $2500-$3000 for the semester.  Education Requirements:  Master’s degree required.  Contact:  Lazaro Hong at 206-6603.

Optical Design Engineer.  The Engineering Connection.  Rochester, New York.  We are looking for an Optical Design Engineer in the Rochester area (or willing to relocate there) with expertise in lens design, electro optics and systems level design.  This Optical Engineer will be responsible for taking the lead in the design and development of new and pre-existing electro-optic products.  He is working with the Managing Director of a start-up business unit backed by a $175MM+ global manufacturer ~ and has been tasked with establishing a presence in the U.S. Defense market. The company will produce electro-optic imaging devices utilized in target recognition and heads up display systems.  We need someone that is familiar with infrared electro-optics, lens design (a “ray bender”), development at the systems level.  This organization is different from the “traditional” angel invested startup in that they are backed by larger organization.  Although titled Optical Design Engineer, it has a high probability this individual will be at a management level in the near future as the company continues to grow.  If interested, please send an email to:  Stephanie Wise, Vice President, The Engineering Connection.  stephanie@engconn.com  Mobile: 330-242-2973.

Engineering Manager.  Headwall Photonics, Inc. Headwall Photonics, located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is a leader in the development and high volume manufacture of spectral imaging systems and spectrometers utilizing original holographic diffraction gratings. Headwall is actively developing new products to expand its portfolio of Hyperspectral, Raman and linear-array spectrometers to fulfill the requirements of mission critical applications in the Analytical, Life Sciences, and Defense and Telecommunications markets.  Headwall's optical skills, design innovations, manufacturing expertise and integration services enable us to be valued as a strategic extension of our customers' solution development teams. Our differentiation is in providing customers with optical modeling and engineering contributions throughout the product life cycle, from product concept and optical design through prototyping, integration and high volume manufacturing for market deployment.  We are currently seeking an Engineering Manager with experience and success in spectrometer design and development to lead the Headwall engineering team and contribute to new product and technology developments.  Job Description:  The Engineering Manager will apply an understanding of market trends, customer requirements, applicable detector array technologies and his optical instrumentation expertise to collaborate with the Sales and Marketing team to evaluate and prioritize new product development opportunities. The Engineering Manager will then sponsor and contribute to the product and process development efforts of the Headwall engineering department.  The Engineering Manager will lead our staff of Optical Scientists, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and laboratory technicians. We are looking for an Engineering Manager with strong management and analytical skills and the ability and desire to engage in lab experimentation and product validations.  The Engineering Manager will also be a visible Headwall Photonics spokesperson, writing technical articles and conducting technical presentations at customer meetings and conferences.  Education, Skills and Experience:  The ideal candidate will have a BS degree in Engineering or Optics and a minimum of 10 years experience in the design, development and integration of spectrometers or spectral imaging systems.  Required: Demonstrated expertise in the integration and calibration of optical instrumentation is required. A working understanding of Gaussian beam propagation, polarization, and diffraction and experience with engineering design and analytical tools. This person must have strong teamwork skills and the capability to collaborate with others in a dynamic environment. Excellent verbal and written communications skills are also required.  Desired: MS or PhD. Author of published technical articles and experience delivering technical presentations.  Qualified candidates: Please contact us at Jobs@headwallphotonics.com or by mail to: Headwall Photonics, Inc.  HR Manager, 601 River Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420.

Senior Display Quality Engineer.  Spudnik, Inc.  Spudnik, Inc. is Start-up Company located in San Jose, CA working on innovative new designs for high-volume consumer products. We offer a full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401K and FSA, as well as an attractive salary/stock plan. This is a full-time (not contract) position.  Job Duties:  Responsible for developing display products that are reliable and cost effective while meeting market needs. Specific duties include: calibrating digital displays using colorimetry and radiometry in order to optimize critical display parameters such as brightness, color, gamma, contrast and sharpness; applying technical expertise in problem solving involving optics components; performing failure analysis at the device and system level; identifying and proposing solutions for sources of digital noise such as macro-blocking, mosquito, and false contouring; optimizing signal levels, color saturation, and noise reduction in analog to digital converters (ADCs); setting up a display quality lab, including setting up signal distribution systems, both analog and digital, for demonstration shoot-outs with competitive products and providing trade show support; and defining tests and FA/troubleshooting procedures.  Job Requirements:  M.S. in Materials Science, Chemical or Optical Engineering, or Physics plus three years of experience in job offered/optical display engineering. Three years of experience must been in development engineering for high-definition display products, and must include three years experience in colorimetry and radiometry, SD/HDTV; electro-optical display characterization.  We look forward to hearing from you.  tkirk@spudnikinc.com  info@spudnikinc.com