Optics Day will be held noon to 4 p.m. Friday, April 6, at CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics, featuring tours, presentations, giveaways and free pizza at lunchtime.
Bahaa Saleh, dean of the college, will talk from 12:15 to 12:30 p.m. about how ubiquitous optics and lasers have become, as well as the big picture of optics and CREOL Âé¶¹¾«Æ· S™s mission.
Professor Peter Delfyett will talk from 12:30 to 12:50 p.m. about one application of optics, fiber optic communications, and some of his group Âé¶¹¾«Æ· S™s latest research.
During the lab tours, visitors can see how optical fibers are made, diffraction and spatial filtering, how a pulse of light can be used to generate a wide spectrum of colors, and other displays. Lab tours start at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.
Demonstrations will run continuously in the lobby from 1 to 4 p.m., illustrating principles such as reflection, refraction, waveguiding, and diffraction.
Optics Day is sponsored by the CREOL Association of Optics Students (CAOS), which will give away keychain laser pointer/LED flashlights and diffraction-grating glasses. The glasses split the spectrum of a light source into its different color components, and can also be used in conjunction with the laser pointers to create interesting patterns, said Tony Klee, graduate research assistant.