Ducharme 9451719 Optical technology has become an increasingly important component of the education of every scientist and engineer. This is particularly true for physicists. Moreover, lasers are intrinsically attractive to undergraduates, who are often highly motivated to build and apply them. We intend to capitalize on the laser "magnet" by integrating modern optics and lasers into advanced laboratories in need of intellectual rejuvenation, into the undergraduate research program, and into a proposed new laboratory course which will feature experiments taken from the forefront of optical physics and technology. The program is structured to progressively implement sophisticated uses of lasers and modern optical technologies, using them both as teaching tools and as means of engaging student interest. This project integrates into our advanced undergraduate laboratories the research directions and expertise of three of our newer faculty members, as well as current research interests in other science and engineering departments, and research carried out in several centers established at UNL by the state-funded Nebraska Research Initiative. This program will offer our undergraduates the opportunity to acquire concepts and techniques of optical physics and technology that they will likely use in their careers. The new laboratory course, "Physics of Lasers and Modern Optics," will attract and serve students from other sciences and engineering as well as physics majors.
