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’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’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.