My Discipline

As the overarching question for this project is to determine how professionals in optics communicate to different audiences, let's take a look at some of the leaders in the field of optics and their places in mass media. 

go_nils. "Fiber Optics" 2/11/9 via Flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

1) What do students optical engineering learn how to do?

Students in optics learn how to manipulate light. They can learn about creating or engineering materials to preform specific light related tasks. They can learn about integrating optical design into mechanical systems. Or, they can learn about integrating optics in electronics.

2) What do people who get degrees in optics usually go on to do for work?

Graduates can do anything from working with medical imaging to analyzing artwork with lasers. They can also work for defense contractors and the military. Furthermore, there are many opportunities in astronomy and satellite technologies.

3) What drew you to this field?

I remember a day in physics 2 during high school when we started talking about light. My teacher had just revealed the dual nature of light as both a particle and wave. I remember being stunned after that revelation and went home that night to talk to my father about how strange light was. He told me that there was an entire field dedicated to studying light and its applications: optical engineering.

I remember googling optics and coming across satellites and amazing satellite designs that incorporated origami! As origami has always been a passion of mine, I immediately learned how to fold self-collapsing and self-expanding satellites using the Miura fold along with the math behind it.

I knew I wanted to study in a field that has a wide variety of applications and purposes. Optics appeals to me because it is so vast and has crazy things like light and origami that I cannot wait to learn about!!

4) Name three of the leaders/most exciting people involved in this field right now in 2016. Why are they interesting or exciting to you? 

• Robert Lang- Robert Lang is one of the first to integrate mathematics deeply with origami. Through his research with origami, he has come up with many usages of origami in engineering. He helped the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California design crease patterns and methods of folding optical lenses for the Eyeglass telescope, a  massive telescope that can be folded and launched into space.
• General Electric- GE is a leader in medical imaging. Medical imaging is extremely important as it is a non-invasive method of diagnosing conditions. They are currently working on a new Revolution CT scanner that allows doctors to take detailed images of beating hearts, lungs, liver and other organs. The pictures they produce are amazing and detail much more than what was previously possible.
• International Society for Optics and Photonics(SPIE)- SPIE is a non-profit professional society. It is an extremely large network of technical conferences, exhibitions, and educational programs for R&D in optics. SPIE publishes peer-reviewed scientific journals and many other resources.

4) What are the names of three leading academic/scholarly journals in your field? Where are they published? 

• Nature Photonics- published by the Nature Publishing Group which originated in the UK
• Optics Express- published by OSA, the Optical Society of America
• IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics- published by the IEEE Photonics Society which originated in America