Workshop: Optics and Photonics Winter School and Workshop, College of Optical Sciences, Tucson AZ, January 4-7, 2017

光学和光子学是一个重要的领域，有一个日益增长的国家需要的劳动力发展。一个挑战是，许多本科学校都专注于传统的科学和工程课程，以至于他们的学生可能没有充分意识到从事光学和光子学职业的机会。这笔资金将用于支持2017年1月4日至7日在亚利桑那州图森市光学科学学院举办的光学与光子学冬季学校和研讨会。光学与光子学冬季学校和工作坊旨在促进、支持和加强美国的光学与光子学教育和研究。光学与光子学冬季学校（1月4日至5日）将向本科生概述光学与光子学的关键和基础领域，以及它们与特定研究领域的密切关系，希望鼓励更多的本科生在这些领域从事职业。光学与光子学研讨会（1月6日至7日）将为本科生和教职员工提供一个论坛，让他们分享和/或学习在本科院校进行的光学科学研究和教育活动，并拓宽他们对该领域就业机会的认识。我们要求国家科学基金会提供部分资助，金额为1.5万美元。光学和光子学冬季学校和工作坊的预期影响落在几个领域。首先，该活动将促进和加强本科阶段的光学和光子学教育，从而鼓励更多的学生在这一领域从事职业，并使光学项目中研究生阶段教育的优势变得透明。其次，研讨会为来自主要本科研究所（PUI）的教师和学生提供了与类似本科研究所的同事以及来自较大研究生院和光子学行业的与会者建立联系的机会。因此，北大师生将成为光学领域更有效的大使，并更好地鼓励追求研究生水平的光学和光子学教育。这最终导致了光学和光子学领域更强大、技能更高的劳动力，以满足我们社会的技术和科学需求。在NSF的支持下，首届光学和光子学冬季学校和研讨会于2016年1月8日至14日举行。与会者的反馈非常积极。对于2017年的光学和光子学冬季学校和研讨会，将成立一个外部咨询委员会，由参加2016年首届活动的PUI教师组成。这将使更广泛的社区的人们能够敏锐地意识到本科阶段光学教育的挑战和需求，并在这些社区中有额外的联系。当地组织者和外部咨询委员会将共同寻找一个多样化的PUI教师群体参加2017年的研讨会，基于：i)在本科水平的光学教育方面的经验和专业知识，和/或ii)有兴趣在其本国机构改进或引入光学和光子学教育。将作出特别努力，确保妇女和（或）少数民族人数较多的pui参与。被提名的学生将从受邀的教师群体中征集，并通过直接广告和广泛的pui推广。本次提案的pi将作为组委会，负责教育和科学项目，并负责选择将提供资金支持的核心参与者群体。这将再次通过COS网页公开宣传。

Optics & photonics are important areas in which there is a growing national need for work-force development. A challenge is that many undergraduate schools are focused on traditional science and engineering curricula, to the extent that their students may not be fully aware of the opportunities for pursuing a career in optics & photonics. This grant will provide support for an Optics & Photonics Winter School and Workshop to be held at the College of Optical Sciences in Tucson, AZ from January 4-7, 2017. The Optics & Photonics Winter School and Workshop will be aimed at promoting, supporting, and strengthening optics & photonics education and research in the United States. The Optics & Photonics Winter School (January 4-5) will give undergraduate students an overview of key and foundational areas of optics and photonics, and how they are intimately related to specific fields of research, in hopes of encouraging more undergraduate students to pursue a career in those fields. The Optics & Photonics Workshop (January 6-7) will provide a forum for undergraduate students and faculty members to share and/or learn of research and educational activities in optical sciences taking place at undergraduate institutions as well as broaden their awareness of career opportunities in the field. We request partial support from the NSF in the amount of $15k. The expected impact of Optics & Photonics Winter School and Workshop falls in several areas. First and foremost, the event will promote and enhance optics and photonics education at the undergraduate level, thus encouraging more students to pursue a career in this area and making transparent the advantages of a graduate level education in an optics program. Secondly, the workshop provides faculty and students from primarily undergraduate institutes (PUI) with the opportunity to network with colleagues at similar undergraduate institutes, and with attendees from larger graduate schools and from the photonics industry. As a result, PUI faculty and students will become more effective ambassadors for the field of optics in general, and better positioned to encourage the pursuit of graduate level optics & photonics education. This ultimately results in a stronger and more highly skilled workforce in optics and photonics to address the technological and scientific needs of our society.The inaugural Optics and Photonics Winter School and Workshop ran January 8-14, 2016, thanks to support provided by the NSF. Feedback from participants was very positive. For the Optics and Photonics Winter School and Workshop in 2017, an external advisory committee will be formed consisting of select PUI faculty who attended the inaugural event of 2016. This will enable guidance from a broader community of people who are keenly aware of the challenges and need for optics education at the undergraduate level, and who have additional contacts in such communities. Together, the local organizers and external advisory committee will seek out a diverse group of PUI faculty to attend the 2017 workshop based on: i) experience and expertise with optics education at the undergraduate level, and/or ii) interest in improving or introducing optics and photonics education at their home institution. A special effort will be made to ensure participation from PUIs with strong female and/or minority presence. Student nominees will be solicited from the group of invited faculty, as well as by direct advertising and outreach to a broad range of PUIs. The PIs of this proposal will serve as the organizing committee, in charge of the educational and scientific program, and responsible for selecting the core group of participants to whom financial support will be offered. This will again be publically advertised through the COS web page.