CAREER: Research into Self-Aware Optics within a Broad Program for Education

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9502288 Green The program of research is intended to strengthen the country's research infrastructure through the education of M.S. and B.S. level engineers - those engineers who are necessary for day-to-day operation of industrial and research environments - in an emerging field of technology. The proposed research topic, "Self-Aware Optical Elements," will result in advances in technology for optical systems. The unifying feature of the various sub-projects described is that they are all intend, as a whole to advance the state of the art in manufacture of optical components with integrated sensors and actuators. Through the success of this project, optical systems will become more robust because of elements which can measure their own performance. Optical technology will therefore become more readily available bringing the vast powers of optics for signal processing, computing, sensing and communication further from the laboratory table-top realm into everyday use. Resulting advances in MEMS fabrication and device design techniques will be important to the emerging MEMS technology field. Course development efforts will be directed towards the integration of engineering design skills within the framework of laboratory instruction. Early efforts in course development have resulted in an undergraduate laboratory sequence which teaches engineering design as a series of exercises covering fundamental skills necessary for successful projects. Fundamental design skills include communications skills, data interpretation skills, and significant practice in approaching open-ended problems. It is emphasized to students that engineering is a creative discipline, and solutions to difficult problems come from a combination of technical training and ability to anticipate and interpret the vast sea of the unknown. ***