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PHOTON2 Showcase Workshop |
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Curriculum Materials | Lab Kit | Careers in Photonics | Photonics Applets & Tutorials | Photonics Societies & Organizations | Project Principals | Conference Papers | Newsletter | Showcase Workshop | Distance Learning Course
Showcase Workshop
The capstone activity of the project was to host a Showcase workshop. The Showcase workshop was held in collaboration with the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE), from August 14 – 17, 2006 in San Diego, California. The conference was attended by more than 5,500 engineers and designers, corporate managers, application and product developers, project managers and technical managers to learn a about the latest trends and commercial developments in optical engineering, remote sensing, materials and devices, signal and image processing, illumination engineering, nanotechnology, and X-ray optical technologies.
Participants had the opportunity to visit more than 230 exhibitors in the convention exhibit hall. Many valuable connections were made to establish collaborative relationship between the PHOTON2 educators and companies working in the optics/photonics industry.
Twenty PHOTON2 teachers/faculty from across the US came together to share with each other and the attendees of the SPIE Annual Meeting how they have implemented what they learned during Project PHOTON2 and the “Introduction to Photonics” course.
PHOTON2 participants at Showcase workshop
The Showcase workshop started with a reception and dinner on Monday evening, August 14, 2006. In addition to the PHOTON2 educators, guests included SPIE Board President Paul McManamon, SPIE President Eugene Arthurs and members of his staff, members of the PHOTON2 National Visiting Board and National Visiting Committee.
Left to right: SPIE President Paul McManamon, PHOTON2 Principal Investigator Fenna Hanes, SPIE Executive Director Eugene Arthurs
Dinner guest speaker was Kristen M. Kulinowski, Executive Director for Public Policy of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) and Faculty at Rice University. Her state-of-the-art talk was titled Nanotechnology: Managing Potential Risks in a Climate of Uncertainty. The presentation may not be reproduced or redistributed without attribution to Dr. Kulinowski.
Guest speaker Kristen Kulinowski, Rice University
Click here to download a copy of Dr. Kulinowski's presentation in PDF format. The presentation may be used after receiving permission from the author. She can be contacted at kk@rice.edu.
Each Showcase participant presented a poster session that describes his/her work.
In background: David Miller, NH Community Technical College at Pease. In foreground: Tom Merrell, Kingswood High School/Region 9; Negussie Tirfessa, Manchester Community College; Alfredo Carbonel, Kauai High School; Innocent Usoh, Nashville State Community College
Karen Schmidt, H. H. Ellis Regional Vocational Technical School; Nick Massa, Central Connecticut State University and PHOTON2 Co-Principal Investigator; Donna Goyette, H. H. Ellis Regional Vocational Technical School
In blue shirts, Edd Spidell, Cranston Area Career and Technical Center and Dave Miller, NH Community Technical College at Pease talking with conference attendees.
Participants also met in breakout sessions to discuss implementation issues.
SPIE Student Service Coordinator Dirk Fabian presenting to PHOTON2 participants
PHOTON2 participants in breakout session
A highlight of the workshop was a field trip to the Palomar Observatory. The Palomar Observatory is located in north San Diego County, California. It is a world-class center of astronomical research that is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology. The observatory is home to five telescopes that are nightly used for a wide variety of astronomical research programs. The research is conducted by Caltech's faculty, post-doctoral fellows and students, and by researchers at Caltech's collaborating institutions.
For a tour of the Palomar Observatory, courtesy of PHOTON2 teacher Donna Goyette, H.H. Ellis High School, Conn., please click here.
Showcase Photo Extravaganza
To cap off the Showcase workshop a photo contest was held. Guidelines stated that photos could be taken on any kind of camera. Participants were encouraged to use their imagination and knowledge of optic since the photos should illustrate some optics or vision principle, for example, rainbows, halos, oil slicks, soap bubbles, and reflections. Subjects could be natural or contrived.
The photos were judged by a group of six members of the PHOTON2 National Visiting Board and National Advisory Committee. To view the winning photos, please click here. Double-click on the photos to see captions that explain the optics/vision principle illustrated.
Participant Poster Sessions
Each participating Alliance represented at the conference prepared a poster presentation. Co-Principal Investigator Nick Massa interviewed the participants on videotape. To view the interviews click on the name of the participant's school:
- Adrian Sebborn, Southwest Regional Career Development Center, Bennington, VT
- Donna Goyette, H.H. Ellis Regional Technical High School, Danielson, CT
- Negussie Tirfessa, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT
- Yolanda Fernandez-Carr, Sunnyside School District, Tucson, AZ with Chien-Wei Han, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ
- David Miller, New Hampshire Community Technical College at Pease
- Ed Spidell, Cranston Area Career and Technical Center, Cranston, RI
- Innocent Usoh, Nashville State Community College, Nashville, TN
- Ken Franson, Kingswood Regional High School, Wolfeboro, NH
For further information contact Principal Investigator Fenna Hanes at fhanes@nebhe.org or 617-357-9620 x129.
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