Electro-optics has a pervasive impact on our daily lives. We see it in TV remote controls, automatic motion detectors, supermarket scanners, compact disks, lasers and laser products, the Hubble Space Telescope, credit card holograms, distance measurement devices, night vision equipment, satellite communications, and many other things.

Electro-Optics is the science and technology concerned with the use of applied electrical fields to generate and detect light...in short, the generation, control, and detection of light! It is very important today, as it has a pervasive impact on our daily lives. It also plays a major role in every major high tech industry in the world.

Electro-Optics is a multidisciplinary field of research that is contributing increasingly to the economic vitality and technological strength of the U.S. Electro-Optics research includes the development of lasers and laser applications in telecommunications, information processing, and material processing; materials and devices with improved or fundamentally new optical properties; optics design and fabrication; non-destructive optical measurements and sensing; scientific high definition imaging of the visible and infrared; image processing; two and three dimensional display technologies; and psychology and physiology of visual perception.

It is clear that electro-optics is widely applied across disciplines; that many federal funding agencies (including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF), and also the several national laboratories under the auspices of these agencies) are heavily involved. A report by a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) has predicted that harnessing the properties of light will lead to a technology revolution having a pervasive impact on life in the near future. Optics has been described as a critical enabler for technology that promises to revolutionize the fields of communications, medicine, energy, efficiency, defense, manufacturing, and the frontiers of science into the next century.

Careers in Electro-Optics

There are many different jobs classifications that students will be eligible for once they graduate from a program in Electro-optics.

"It is estimated that in 10 years, 30% of current electronics applications will be done by photonics (optics)." This estimate was made by the University of Connecticut Photonics Research center in 1996. The electro-optics industry is expected to grow from $34 billion today to $500 billion by 2010. Demand for workers in the electro-optics industry, especially at the technician level, has been acute and evident. Companies like Spectra and Coherent have given $1,000 finder's fee for laser technicians.

Electro-Optics is revolutionizing technology in critical disciplines such as medicine, defense, environmental monitoring, homeland security, & computers. Look at how electro-optics is being integrated into many different areas never before imagined.

Websites Listing Job Information
www.photonicsjobs.com
www.photonics.com
www.workinoptics.com

Electro-Optics Speakers Program Sends Scientists and Engineers into Classroms

Each school year, the employees at the Penn State Electro-Optics Center volunteer some of their time to visit local schools and talk to students about careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. The EOC Speakers Program is composed of scientists, engineers, program managers, researchers, and many others with diverse backgrounds who enjoy the opportunity to speak to students of all ages. Speakers are often invited to be part of a district or school-wide "Career-Day" program. Sometimes a teacher, counselor or administrator may invite a speaker to address a single class, series of classes or other group of interested students. The EOC Speakers Program offers great flexibility in scheduling, presentation styles and topics in order to best meet the needs of the educational community.

Speakers are eager to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about their contributions to the field of electro-optics, show students how electro-optics technology affects our daily lives, and provide useful career information and advice for students. Speakers are often able to bring samples of their work, demonstrations or simple hands-on activities that allow students to interact with and directly participate in the program.

Speakers are provided at no charge. When requesting a speaker, please specify the date, time and location of the event, and a brief description of the event (including the number of presentations requested, the number of students attending, their grade level(s), etc.) Also include the name, telephone number and email address of a point of contact. Speakers should be scheduled as far in advance of the event as possible. This consideration is necessary to give speakers adequate notice and ensure minimum disruption to their work schedules.

For more information about this program or to request a speaker for your school, please contact the EOC Education Programs Coordinator, Patrick Huth. He may be reached by phone at 724-295-7000 or via .