REU Site: Nanophotonics, Quantum Photonics, and Vision/Biomedical Optics at the University of Rochester.

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The REU Site: Nanophotonics, Quantum Photonics, and Vision/Biomedical Optics at the University of Rochester will engage participating students in the frontiers of photonics research in nanoscience, bioscience and quantum science while at the same time providing them with experiences to recognize the excellent career opportunities, both academic and industry based, available in photonics. The expected outcomes of the REU are (1) growth in participants’ photonics knowledge and awareness of photonics as a career, (2) increased diversity in the pool of students entering research and careers in photonics, and (3) research productivity that rewards both REU students and faculty/graduate student mentors. It has been widely recognized that understanding and controlling the most elemental unit of light – the photon – is essential to innovating light-based technology as well as evolving critical elements of our nation’s defense and security. The significance of this REU Site is that it responds to this national need and will enhance our nation’s capabilities by training top-quality students to become key contributors in the commercial photonics sector, leaders on the frontiers of fundamental photonic science and engineering, and the very best educators in colleges and universities across the nation. Additionally, this REU will increase diversity in graduate-level photonics research and the workplace by prioritizing members of underrepresented groups, community college students, and students from institutions lacking large STEM research programs, all via pipelines already connected to the University of Rochester and The Institute of Optics.The REU Site: Nanophotonics, Quantum Photonics, and Vision/Biomedical Optics at the University of Rochester will engage participating students in the frontiers of photonics research in nanoscience, bioscience and quantum science while at the same time providing them with experiences to recognize the excellent career opportunities, both academic and industry based, available in photonics. To make the previous possible the REU program will benefit from the existing University of Rochester administrative and student support infrastructure, the Institute of Optics’s strong ties with the local Rochester photonics industry (through the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster), meaningful relationships with both area community colleges and partner undergraduate universities as well as the Institute’s Industrial Associates program and its associated Summer School. The REU site will also advance the knowledge of how best to train and inspire undergraduate researchers. Multiple formative and summative assessments will measure students’ growth during the summer and in subsequent years, and the mentor/student connections will stretch beyond the summer by bringing REU participants back to the University of Rochester to participate in the Institute’s Industrial Associates biannual symposium.This Site is supported in part by funds provided to the National Science Foundation by the Semiconductor Research Corporation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.