This award will expose undergraduate students, chosen from several central Florida institutions, to one year of research experience in the development and applications of lasers. Several internationally recognized faculty in the Center for Research in Electro-Optics and Lasers (CREOL) will act as research supervisors in this project. CREOL is a world-leading center of excellence in optics, laser development and laser-related sciences. The primary emphasis of this effort is to encourage more talented undergraduate students from the central Florida region to pursue graduate studies in the field of optics and lasers.