Gregory Forcherio

Naval operations in visually-degraded environments requires new approaches to the design of infrared electro-optic imagers, with particular emphasis on economical materials and/or architectures that potentiate room temperature operation with access to alternative sensing modalities and/or embedded processing. This talk with overview disruptive efforts at Crane to (i) develop smarter optics (e.g., with dielectric metasurfaces), (ii) search for Si-compatible focal plane array (FPA) materials for uncooled mid-wave sensing (e.g., with doped CdO or SiGeSn), and (iii) build multi-physics modeling & simulation infrastructure for rapid virtual prototyping and assessment of their imaging performance. Opportunities for faculty and student engagement with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane will be highlighted. 

Curtis Volin

Trapped-ions are a leading candidate for the implementation of quantum computers and other quantum applications including atomic sensors and secure communications. In trapped-ion systems, most of the control operations performed on the ions are implemented using very precise light fields. As the development of trapped-ion quantum computers transitions from research-scale demonstrations to highly engineered commercial systems, the implementation of scalable optomechanical subsystems becomes uniquely challenging. In this talk I will review the mechanisms by which ions are controlled using optical fields, with emphasis on optomechanical challenges faced in the industry.