2.1

Program curriculum

As described in the Introduction, the College transition to a semester schedule in fall 2017 provided the opportunity for a detailed review of the program curriculum resulting in several program improvement changes. Table 1 shows the credit hour changes in the areas that make up the curriculum. Credit reductions took place in the general education, basic electric circuits, and optics and photonics areas.

Table 1.

Photonics and Laser Technology program curriculum in quarter and semester versions.

Details about the curriculum changes in the technical areas are as follows. The basic electric circuits area included DC and AC circuits, digital circuits, and solid state devices courses. The latter two courses were eliminated, and a robotics course was introduced. The faculty committee found the more applied robotics course to be an important addition to the curriculum due to the widespread application of robotics and automation in the industry in the state and region, including in photonics related applications.

The optics and photonics area included separate courses in Geometrical Optics and Wave Optics, which were taught after the first year Introduction to Photonics and Laser Technology course. The two optics foundation courses were eliminated but the introductory course was expanded to include more content in those areas. Consequently, the course requires more lecture and laboratory time, translating into more credits. Two courses were dedicated to lasers in quarter version, Laser Fundamentals and Laser Systems. These were consolidated in one 4-credit course, Laser Systems.

The Optical Systems Analysis course has been renamed Optical Components, Systems and Metrology to better capture the content of the course. The Fiber Optics and Data Communications, Photonics Applications, and Capstone Project courses have not been changed other than adjusting from 10 weeks of instruction per quarter to 16 weeks per semester.

The Photonics Applications course is intended to provide students knowledge about applications of photonics in various areas, including manufacturing, health and medicine, defense and homeland security, and energy. The course consists of a series of modules dedicated to each area. In order to keep the course relevant and current, the choice of modules is flexible. At this time with support from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program the author is working on developing modules focusing on robot assisted laser materials processing, photonics in automotive, and integrated photonics. These modules will be introduced in the Photonics Applications course.

2.2

Photonics in Automotive Educational Module

This module discusses several photonics applications relevant to current developments in the automotive industry, such as ADAS and autonomous vehicles. A special focus of the module is on sensors, in particular LIDAR. The high market growth predictions, shown in Fig. 1, and the intense competition to develop a high performing as well as inexpensive sensor indicate that LIDAR will be an important application, with multiple areas of use including autonomous vehicles, aerospace, agriculture, construction, wind farms and others.

Figure 1.

LIDAR market forecast by application, from reference ⁴.

The module explains the principle of operation of LIDAR, its characteristic parameters, capabilities, and trade-offs. Different types of LIDARs and their components are presented, including mechanically scanned, micromirror beam steering, flash, solid state, and Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW). The current state of development and products from various companies developing LIDAR for automotive applications are discussed.

Other photonics applications discussed in this module include: adaptive headlamps that adjust the beam depending on the driving situation, cameras for day time and night time driving, interior lighting with LED and fiber optics, Heads-Up Displays, and optical communications in automotive. A separate module will focus on robot assisted high power laser material processing operations.

2.3

Laboratory Resources

With the exception of the Photonics Applications course, all optics and photonics courses in the curriculum include a laboratory component. The Optics and Photonics Laboratory was created at the beginning of the program and has continued to add equipment as the program has evolved. The equipment available can be categorized as follows:

With the introduction of LIDAR content in the curriculum, LIDAR sensors will be acquired to support lab experiments and supplement the theoretical material. A hobby device from Scanse has been used so far to illustrate the basic concepts. Figure 3 shows the 2D output of the sensor. A 3D image can be obtained by mounting the sensor on a rotating base.

Figure 2.

Students working in the Optics and Photonics Laboratory.

Figure 3.

Single plane mapping with Scanse hobby LIDAR sensor.

A second laboratory for the PLT program is currently under construction. The Advanced Laser Applications Lab will allow us to teach experimental skills in the area of high power laser materials processing at a level comparable to current industry processes. We envision the lab to be used for delivering program curriculum, projects including the Capstone Project, non-credit training, as a showcase during events and visits to the College, and for collaboration on research projects that require a high power laser. The two key components for the new lab are a 1 kW fiber laser from IPG Photonics, model YLS-1000, and a 6-axes high payload ABB robot, model IRB-1600. The lab will have its own dedicated space with all the safety measures required. Construction is expected to be completed in the next two months.

3.1

Outreach activities

One of the more challenging aspects of offering a two-year photonics technology college program is ensuring a pipeline of students to enroll in and complete the program. Even though photonics applications are everywhere and are encountered in every day life, awareness of rewarding careers for photonics and laser technicians is lacking in the public. In the Baker College program, we have had more non-traditional students enrolling than high school graduates. However, the enrollment of non-traditional students in technology-oriented college programs seems to be affected by factors such as availability of jobs and unemployment rate at a given time. There are of course many other variables that come into play when looking at the enrollment of students in two-year college programs^{6, 7}.

In order to increase awareness, since the start of the program we have delivered numerous outreach activities targeting mostly high school students, but also middle school and even elementary school students. These included presentations from faculty members given at the K - 12 schools, Open Houses, visits and summer camps for K - 12 students at Baker College, participation in outside public events such as summer festivals and car shows, and others. In a majority of events, we have strived to make them as interactive as possible so that participants can have a direct hands-on experience of optics and photonics phenomena. Outreach activities that took place during the 2015 International Year of Light in Michigan were described in a previous paper⁸.

Through the generous support of SPIE we were able to offer a new outreach activity to several middle schools in southeast Michigan this spring. About 600 students had the opportunity to learn about lasers and then enjoy the excellent Prismatic Laser Show in celebration of the International Day of Light 2018. Outreach activities will continue as an integral part of offering the PLT program. The next event we will participate in will be the Back-to-the-Bricks car festival in August. This will be the fourth year of participation by Baker College and the Optics Students at the University of Michigan (OSUM) group in this large event taking place annually in the city of Flint.

Also new in spring 2018 was the first annual Baker College Photonics Symposium. The event was envisioned to bring together the photonics community at large with participation from high school students, teachers, and counselors. The speakers represented a broad spectrum, from industry to academia, with presentations covering the range from technology to research to photonics career exploration. The Photonics Symposium is intended to be an annual event, with a goal of increasing participation every year.

Figure 4.

Photonics career presentation at the Photonics Symposium, April 19, 2018.

3.2

Collaborative activities

In 2017 Baker College received a second NSF ATE grant to continue to develop and grow the PLT program. One of the objectives of the grant aims to create a more direct route from high school to the college program, by introducing photonics topics in the curriculum of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs taught in the state, with the ultimate goal of creating a Photonics CTE program. At this time the existing Engineering and Mechatronics CTE programs have been identified as appropriate for adding photonics topics. The Engineering program provides students with broad knowledge of engineering and engineering technology using a project approach. Students complete a series of projects throughout the year chosen from different engineering disciplines. The Mechatronics program provides student knowledge and hands-on skills from areas such as machining, welding, electric circuits, programmable logic control, and robotics. Professional development for CTE teachers in the form of workshops delivered in the Optics and Photonics Lab at Baker College is planned to support them with the introduction of photonics in the curriculum. Depending on the amount of material they will be able to include, college credit can be given for the Introduction to Photonics and Laser Technology course.

Another component of the grant objective described above is creating articulation agreements between the PLT program and 4-year Bachelor in Engineering Technology programs. Four-year programs offered in Michigan that can provide such a pathway include Manufacturing Engineering Technology and Electronic Engineering Technology. The first is more general and can offer a 2 + 2 path for students, while the second is more specialized and will require more than two years to complete for graduates of the Baker College PLT program. Some graduates are also interested in 4-year BS Engineering programs such as Electrical Engineering. For this pathway the general education courses and only a few technical courses transfer, extending the time needed to complete the degree.

The industry in the state has continued to support the program by participating in Advisory Board meetings, offering internships to students in the program, hiring our graduates, and providing donations and equipment support. The industry continues to express an unmet need for well-prepared photonics technicians, which goes beyond the state of Michigan.