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This report summarizes the development of an interdisciplinary Masters Program with a concentration in Optics and Photonics Technology under the U.S. Manufacturing Education and Training Activity of the Technology Reinvestment Project. The program was developed in collaboration with various organizations and emphasizes the fundamentals of optics, optical systems manufacturing and testing, and the principles of design and manufacturing to cost for commercial products. The report also provides the origins of the program and the participating organizations.
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Contract No. NAG8-
Report Period: 18 March 1997 through 17 March 1998
I. Project Summary: An interdisciplinary Masters Program with a concentration in Optics and Photonics Technology has been developed under the U.S. Manufacturing Education and Training Activity of the Technology Reinvestment Project. This development has been a collaboration between the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama A&M University, Northwest Shoals Community College, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the U. S. Army Missile Command, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Advanced Optical Systems Inc., Dynetics, Inc., Hughes Danbury Optical Systems, Inc., Nichols Research and Speedring Inc. These organizations as well as the National Institute for Standards and Technology and SCI, Inc. have been participating fully in the design, development and implementation of this program. This program will produce highly trained graduates who can also solve practical problems, and includes an on-site practicum at a manufacturing location.
The broad curriculum of this program emphasizes the fundamentals of optics, optical systems manufacturing and testing, and the principles of design and manufacturing to cost for commercial products.
The MS in Physics and MSE in Electrical Engineering Degrees with concentration in Optics and Photonics Technology are offered by the respective UAH academic departments with support from and in consultation with a Steering Committee composed of representatives from each of the participating organizations, and a student representative from UAH.
The origins of the new Master's of Science and Master's of Science in Engineering program with Concentration in Optics and Photonics Technology go back to early 1993 when a group of scientists and engineers representing mostly Huntsville area government, industry and academic organizations started meeting to discuss the possibility of forming an alliance focused on defense conversion and the possible commercialization of their largely defense and government oriented technologies and business strategies. At that time the group consisted of representatives of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), Northwest Shoals Community College, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the U. S. Army Missile Command (MICOM), the Army Space and Strategic Defense Command (SSDC), the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and about a dozen mostly local companies involved in optical technology. This group shared a common objective in working together on defense conversion and the pursuit of dual-use technologies for the benefit of all participants.
The result of these early discussions was an agreement, in May of 1993, to form the Alliance for Optical Technology. The Memorandum of Agreement, which was effected on March 16, 1994, stipulates that the signatory organizations "...desire to form a strategic alliance to advance the development and transfer of technologies in the interest of enhancing the global competitiveness of the industrial members while facilitating the effectiveness of the public sector members in meeting their mission objectives particularly in the area of strengthening the technological competitiveness of the United States." The stated purpose of the Alliance is for "...coordinating ... precompetitive activities in optical technology, sharing controlled access to each other's facilities, ..., exchanging and/or sharing personnel resources ..., providing advanced education and training in applied optical technology and manufacturing, seeking funds for cooperative projects, identification of common technical and manufacturing deficiencies, pooling, ... of internal and external information, providing
controlledaccessto thetechnologyof Alliancemembers,providinglinksto newmarketsectors,and providinga sharedelectronicdesignsystemfor projectsupport."
Of thesenobleandambitiousobjectives,the onethat the Alliancedecidedto pursuefirst wasthat of developing an advancededucation and training program in applied optical technology and manufacturing. A proposalto developa newPractice-orientedMaster'sin Opticsprogramwas submitted to the U.S. ManufacturingEducation and Training Activity of the Technology ReinvestmentProject(TRP) in July 1993. It was selectedfor fundingin the fall of 1993andthe award was made in March 1994. The proposal stipulatedthat "Industry and government organizationswill participatefully in the design,developmentandimplementationof this program. The program will be designedto produce highly-trainedgraduates,who have an optimum combinationof skillsin the areasof manufacturingengineering,science,managementandbusiness- practices,andwho cansolvepracticalproblems. Theprogramwill includeanon-sitepracticumat amanufacturingindustry.Theprogramwill enablethe defenseworkforceandindustrytransitionto commercialmanufacturing,enhancetheircompetitivenessin globalmarketplace,andexpandthe US job baseandeconomy." Again,verynobleandambitiousobjectives.
A SteeringGroupfor the developmentandimplementationof the programwassetup in the fall of 1993consistingof representativesof a subsetof the Alliancemembershipandadditionaluniversity facultyfromUAH andAlabamaA&M University(AAMU). A studentrepresentativewasaddedin thefallof 1994whenthefirst classwasmatriculated.The currentprojectteamis indicatedin Table 1with a totalof 45 representativeson the SteeringCommittee.Thiswould be completelyunwieldy shouldeveryoneshowup at anyonemeeting.Most SteeringCommitteemeetingsconsistof about fifteenrepresentativeswith all sectorsof the projectteamcommunityreasonablywell represented.
MS/MSE Concentration in Optics and Photonics Technology Table 1 - Project Team
Academic Institutions University of Alabama in Huntsville Alabama A&M University Northwest Shoals Community College
Industrial Affiliates Advanced Optical Systems Dynetics Inc. Hughes Danbury Optical System Nichols Research SCI Inc. Speedring, Inc.
Government Institutions NASA Marshall Space Flight Center U.S. Army Missile Command Oak Ridge National Laboratory National Institute of Standards & Technology
Advisory Space & Systems Defense Command Boeing Mason and Hanger International Morgan Research Teledyne Brown Engineering WIT, Inc.
This group worked through April 1994 to define a program and curriculum which met their diverse requirements and expectations. It was decided that the program would be offered in two tracks under
Table 2 Curriculum Requirements
21 Hours Required Core Courses
Table 2 Curriculum Requirements (Con't)
e. Optical Materials o Elements of Material Science o Crystal Physics & Crystal Growth o Magnetic and Optical Properties of Materials o Materials for Radiation Detectors o Optical Properties of Matter f. Manufacturing Technology, Systems o Introduction to Systems Engineering o Engineering Economic Analysis g. Manufacturing Technology, Quality o Statistical Quality Control o Advanced Statistical Applications h. Manufacturing Technology, Stat. o Statistical Methods for Engineers o Advanced Statistical Applications i. Manufacturing Techn., Reliability o Engineering Reliability o Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability j. Physics o Introduction - Quantum Mechanics II o Quantum Mechnics for Opt../Solid State o Introduction -Solid State Physics I o Classsical Dynamics I o Statistical Mech. & Kinetic Theory I k. Engineering Management Integrated Production & Process o Engineering Management Theory o Foundations - Total Quality Mgt o Financial Methods for Engineers o Engineering Project Management o Labor Relations for Engineers
- Organization Structure and Motivation
Table 6 Optical Testing and Fabrication
Course Outline
1 Optical Bench Measurements Nodal Slide, focal lengths, cardinal points 2 Component Measurements Radius of curvature, refractive index, surface roughness 3 General Light Field Measurements 4 Aberrations Wavefront aberrations, transverse aberrations, MTF 5 Geometrical Tests Knife-edge, Hartman, Ronchi 6 Interferometric and Wavefront Tests Fizeau, Twyman-Green, lateral shearing, 7 Grinding and Polishing 8 Optical Coatings 9 Remote Optical Diagnostics Holographic interferometry, Moire Tests 10 Fabrication and testing techniques of optical components and systems 11 Components measurements 12 Lecture and "Hands-on" Laboratory Grind and polish 8" f/10 mirror Test with WYCO, ZYGO, Foucault Reflective Coating
Table 7 Integrated Product and Process Design
Course Description: Introduces the concepts and tools which support integrated product and process design (IPPD). Particular attention will be paid to multi-functional teams and their value in promoting the concept of life-cycle engineering. Students will also gain experience with tools and technologies that support the IPPD philosophy and allow them to implement "real" product programs and to address the design-to-cost and performance issues that will arise.
Course Outline:
Table 8 Samples of On-Site Practicum
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (a) Diamond Turning; (b) Ion Figuring; (c) Diffractive Optics; (d) Coherent Optics; (e) Video/Imaging Systems; (f) Optical Design U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL (a) Guided Wave Optical Devices; (b) Integrated Optical Components; (c) Electro-Optical Polymer Devices; (d) microfabrication for Electro-Optical Devices and Integration; (e) Diffractive and Binary Optics Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (a) Evaluation of prototype metrology instruments for optical scatter and figure; (b) Interpreting power spectrum measurements of deterministicaUy fabricated surfaces; (c) Finite element analysis approaches to distortion-flee mounting in fabrication, testing, and end- use; (d) Single point diamond turning; (e) Ion beam milling; (f) Ductile mode grinding of brittle materials; and (g) Selected topics in photonics National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (a) Laser Ranging for Remote Sensing; (b) Ultrafast Lasers; (c) Absolute Cryogenic Radiometry; (d) Parametric Down Conversion; (e) Thermal Imaging Advanced Optical Systems, Huntsville, AL Optical Image Processing Dynetics Inc., Huntsville, AL Wideband High-Speed Signal Processing and Microwave Device Development based on Acousto-Optic Technology Hughes Danbury Optical Systems, Danbury, CT (a) White Light Interferometer for Coarse Metrology; (b) Caustic Scanning Interferometer for Testing Aspheric Optics Nichols Research Corporation, Huntsville, AL (a) Passive Ice Detection System for Flight Safety; (b) Advanced Optical Instrumentation SCI Systems, Huntsville, AL Fiber Position Sensor - Testing of the prototype of a high accouracy position sensor for fiber optic cable winding, perform additional analyses, and make design improvements Speedring, Cullman, AL Precision Optical Manufacturing
III. Curricular Reform: The combination of courses in fundamental optics with courses in manufacturing technology and engineering management encompassed in this program was new at UAH and certainly not common in the United States. As noted in section I, this is considered as a trial to be possibly adopted in other disciplines by the UAH academic departments. Although this program has had outstanding success in placing its graduates in industry it is felt that this is still a nice area in general academic science and engineering education. Even after four years, we consider that this program is still in its infancy, and, though it is growing steadily, it is still too early to determine if its principles should be more broadly adopted by the university.
