This paper addresses a not-too-distant need for many more optically trained personnel, far more than the current system can supply. The field of photonics and optics is quickly maturing in a very natural evolutionary manner. However few people, maybe none, fully recognize and appreciate the current evolutionary state of its markets, their size, and the state of manpower preparation, or the lack thereof, of the associated industry. Nor are the threats that this positive growth poses being recognized. Some enlightened countries have their sights on specific sectors of the industry and are investing heavily, some are just entering with great expectations, and other countries are just not in the chase. However, few national programs have come to the realization that there will not be enough trained personnel to meet the market demand.

Optics for industry today is a branch of engineering; at this level the science is well understood and what is required is the ability to use it to make devices and systems for application. The optical and electro-optical companies which specialize in this area are able to educate and train their own employees satisfactorily as a consequence of their extensive experience, even if their new recruits are inadequately informed when they join; but in fact many of them come from universities with strong optical departments and so are very well informed. However, because optics is today so widely used throughout industry, for everything from alignment, communications and data storage to security and viewing, it is becoming a service technology and many non- specialist engineers now need to use and understand optical and electro-optical systems. This presents new challenges, and this paper considers how they might be met.

For the past three years, the National Alliance for Photonics Education in Manufacturing (NAPEM) has 'partnered' with industry to develop, deliver and evaluate continuing education programs on optics and photonics applied to manufacturing processes. NAPEM is an alliance of CREOL/University of Central Florida, the Industrial Technology Institute, the University of Connecticut, The University of Texas at Austin, and SPIE -- The International Society for Optical Engineering. NAPEM formed in 1994 as the result of partial funding through a U. S. Technology/Reinvestment Project/Manufacturing Education and Training grant monitored by the National Science Foundation. NAPEM targeted four applications of optics in manufacturing processes. Each of these manufacturing process corresponds to a geographical region in the United States: semiconductor manufacturing in the Southwest, durable goods manufacturing in the Midwest, laser materials processing in the North East, and optics manufacturing in the South East. Course programs were typically modular, offered in half- to full-day formats. This paper focuses on lessons learned by Alliance members in the process of fulfilling NAPEM's mission. Specifically this paper addresses: (1) Challenges and benefits of university and professional association partnerships on program development, promotion and evaluation; (2) challenges and benefits of partnering with industry on program development, evaluation and continuation; (3) the importance of developing 'learning partnerships' with human resources, engineering and technical managers from industry; (4) matching delivery mechanisms to industries' educational 'habits;' (5) challenges and solutions for addressing different industries' readiness to utilize high-technology.

The successful design of optical imaging systems requires many skills. In this paper we are considering 'lens design,' the design of the refracting (or reflecting, or sometimes diffracting) surfaces in an optical imaging system, to give the best possible image quality. To be effective in lens design, it is necessary to understand geometrical optics, aberration theory, physical optics and image formation, and to be able to use optical design software and to know what optical systems have been used successfully in the past. In addition some understanding of optical testing and the properties of sources and detectors is also necessary. After teaching lens design for over 30 years, I have come to the conclusion that, while other topics are clearly important, the central subject, that must be well understood, is aberration theory. Without a good understanding of aberration theory the designer will simply try one 'trail-and-error' solution after another, possibly even using a computer program to generate these solutions automatically. In our courses, we teach students about Seidel aberrations, and about other topics which help understanding. We concentrate on explaining which aberrations are introduced by individual surfaces, or by individual groups of surfaces: from this the designer should appreciate which types of design have the potential to give good performance, and can use lens design software intelligently.

Advanced geometric optics as traditionally presented uses the approach of Conrady. The subject can be made easier to teach and learn through the use of two powerful tools: matrix-based paraxial optics and computer-based non-paraxial analysis and design. Programs which handle many different kinds of problems are discussed and misunderstandings concerning the definitions of the point aberrations are corrected.

In education in optics the explanation and demonstration of aberrations are an essential part. Of the third order monochromatic aberrations usually most attention is paid to spherical aberration, astigmatism, field curvature and distortion. Coma is more complex to explain and more difficult to demonstrate in its pure form. In 1933 Van Heel has designed a 'lens with pure coma' for demonstration purposes. With this lens a number of photographs have been made to show the development of the coma circle from the pupil plane (single circle) to the image plane (double circle) and to demonstrate the coma images around the focal plane. In 1948 a second lens for demonstration of coma was made by Van Heel. Both lenses are described in this paper and their performance is determined by computer calculations. Comparison with original coma photographs is made.

A simple analogy between mechanics and optics has been found for introducing imaging properties of lenses. In this analogy the light beam in optics has the role of a sample beam in mechanics; while in optics the light beam is expanded or reduced in size by the power of the lens in mechanics the sample beam suffer elongation when a tensile or compressive stress is applied. Following the analogy the aberration introduced by the lens can be the correspondent nonlinear effect that occurs in mechanics when elastic limit is over. Using the simple developed analogy astigmatism aberration of cylindrical lenses can be explained through a very simple classroom demonstration using rubber stripes.

Abbe's sine condition or other imaging conditions for the aperture rays of an axial pencil determine how an object volume is imaged by the optical system in image space. We analytically derive the imaging condition which should lead to the largest possible volume in image space where the aberration (spherical aberration and coma) stays below a certain prescribed level.

In texts on geometrical optics and lens design usually two types of chromatic aberrations are discussed: longitudinal and transverse. From basic considerations on first order geometrical optics follows that, for an axially symmetric system there are three paraxial constants. Therefore three, instead of two types of chromatic aberrations can be discerned. The third, new, chromatic aberration can be called chromatic pupil aberration. We describe the consequences of this aberration for the color correction of optical systems, and show that stable chromatic correction requires the elimination of all three chromatic errors. We give expressions that can be used in the lay-out of optical systems. In teaching geometrical optics it is necessary to determine the generic aberrations of a system of given symmetry from first principles: our treatment of chromatic aberrations is an example of this necessity.

The present paper describes the requirements for software for diffractive optics and briefly explains some basic facts and algorithms. Examples from an academically developed software package are given.

In an attempt to determine what other teachers of lens design teach, I constructed a short questionnaire and sent it by e- mail to a wide range of schools that are listed in the SPIE's 'Optics Education 1997.' I wanted to see what commonality there was between lens design courses and where the emphases are placed. This paper describes the types of courses that are taught, their content, the approaches used, and the tools the teachers used to introduce a fairly narrow technical subject to novices.

LightPipes is a portable set of software tools, designed to model the propagation of coherent light in optical systems using a numerical approximations of the scalar theory of diffraction. Models of interferometers, laser resonators, waveguides, holographic setups and many more can be easily built using the components of the package. The command-line shell-based version of the toolbox written originally in C works under Unix, MSDOS and MAC OS. The toolbox also exists as a stand-alone program written in C++, which can be compiled virtually under any existing operational system. A MathCad port of LightPipes provides an extended user interface and full compatibility with the MathCad environment, the Java port allows for running the package over the net using the Netscape web browser.

At present, previously developed curriculum materials designed to teach the technology of lasers and electro-optics for two- year postsecondary students are becoming outdated. In an effort to update technology-oriented curricula for the new and emerging applications of photonics, the authors are proposing a systemic process that would facilitate the interaction of educators in an innovative electronic format. The morphing process is NOT a listserve, but an established set of curriculum materials in laser/electro-optics that in print contain over 1900 pages and an excess of 1300 illustrations, all placed on the World Wide Web that would allow access to faculty only. The faculty will be allowed to make peer- reviewed changes to the curriculum via an e-mail submission process and submit ideas for lecture and laboratory techniques that will be hyperlinked to specific parts of the curriculum. The curriculum and the process will be available to optics/photonics faculty world-wide as recently proposed in a 3-year project with the U.S. Department of Education.

Diffractive beam-shaping elements focus a given aperture with intensity and phase distributions with high efficiency into a pregiven intensity pattern in their focal planes. The design of appropriate phase-only hologram functions can be carried out in a very illustrative and convenient way through the use of geometrical optics. Using inverse raytracing, wavefronts performing geometrical transformations between the hologram and the reconstruction plane can be easily designed. Such geometrical transformations allow to compensate for the intensity and phase distributions of the impinging laser beam as well as for the shape of the hologram aperture. For separable beam-shaping tasks it is often possible to solve the design problem directly by analytical or numerical integrations. In other cases a numerical approach based on iterative finite element mesh adaption can be used. In this way a variety of elementary reconstruction objects like points, straight line segments, circles, rings, triangles, rectangles, etc. in various types of apertures can be handled. More complex reconstruction patterns are decomposed into a few of those elementary objects as possible. The total hologram function is then found by the subsequent superposition of its constituents, with a relative amplitude and phase weighting for each of them. This concept leads to a modular construction kit for diffractive optical elements which on the one hand is easy to use and to understand and on the other hand is a very powerful design tool.

The teaching of Fourier optics is greatly facilitated by the introduction of certain key tools -- conceptual and analytical -- and by a suitable sequencing of topics. Points addressed in this paper include the following: (1) Students of electrical engineering easily relate to an analysis of wave field propagation based on the angular spectrum concept, which can be exact but also leads in simple approximations to Fresnel regime expressions. (2) The notion of inverse propagation, where the wave field is in effect propagated backwards in time (possibly to a virtual or effective source distribution), can be an extremely useful tool in certain optical system analysis problems. (3) The preferable canonical systems for examining the Fourier transform property of a lens have the lens imaging a point source and the object in either the converging or diverging beam; the FT appears in the plane conjugate to the source point. (4) Coherent imaging systems are often analyzed incorrectly in Fourier optics courses, and adequate attention is rarely given to systems of a general nature. These deficiencies can be overcome by proper sequencing of systems analyzed and by including the analysis of a general system characterized by entrance and exit pupils.

Plane wave expansion of optical fields is well known in optical textbooks. The wave vector is normal to the wavefront and has the magnitude indicating the angular spatial frequency of the fields. Maxwell equations lead to the equations connecting the wave vector and temporal angular frequency, so- called, dispersion relations. The relations are derived for isotropic dielectric, metal, and anisotropic crystals. Then laws of reflection and refraction are derived from continuity of the wave vector components along the boundary. Geometrical construction based on the condition is shown for refraction into isotropic materials and crystals. Evanescent waves arising from total reflection are also formulated from the construction. Then formation of interference fringes between two plane waves propagating in different directions is graphically displayed and optical beat signals generated between different frequencies are explained in terms of the movement of the fringe patterns. Finally diffraction by periodic structures is constructed together with the difference between thin and thick gratings is also discussed. The case of a moving grating is also discussed.

Recently has been developed a two component interferometer that has several advantages when used for eduction and training in optics. It is a wavefront division interferometer based on the use of a reflective grating that is used for recombination of two portion of one plane wavefront, obtained using a low cost parabolic mirror of commercial telescopes. The alignment operation is performed setting the mirror and the reflective grating at 90 degree each other. Interference fringe pattern are presented in all the volume in front the reflective grating interferometer and a screen or a CCD camera without lens can be used to visualize fringes. The interferometer being made of only two components is also very stable. Fringe pattern spacing and orientation can be simply changed rotating the mirror on a vertical axis or tilting it respectively. The fact that mirror and the grating are adjacent has some advantages on the pedagogical side because students can understand better how relative movements of the two components affect the changes in the fringe pattern. This interferometer is used not only to study interferometry but can be used also to study geometrical optics using the fringe pattern as a grid to perform Ronchi test. In such a way it is possible to conduct investigation on aberrations of optical components (Spherical, astigmatism and coma) or determine focal lengths lenses by using Moire effect. In conclusion the RGI is a system that comprises, at same time, in its operation different areas of the optics: interferometry, diffraction, wavefront picture of light, geometrical optics, testing. Examples of application for education purposes are described.

We introduce a new approach for teaching interference and diffraction, which expresses the Huyghens-Fresnel diffraction formula in terms of the observation plane. This makes it easier to obtain the expressions for Fraunhofer diffraction and for Youn's fringes, which appear as special cases, as well as the far-field condition. This allows interference and diffraction to be covered in a fraction of the classroom time usually required. Once the approximation is made, all waves are expressed in terms of their angular distance from the optical axis. The method may be applied to more complex cases like Newton's rings and diffraction by multiple slits.

The question posed by the title is important for how optics is taught and how research is funded for optical sciences and engineering. We think that the simple, correct answer to this question is 'yes.' This paper addresses this issue and suggests strategies for raising the profile of optics education at all levels.

In this paper, I outline the approach taken at the Blackett Laboratory (Physics Department) of Imperial College to the teaching of optics through laboratory work. The discussion includes both the undergraduate degree programs (three year BSc and four year MSci) and the one year specialist MSc program in applied optics.

General principles of arranging laboratory practice for training undergraduates are considered. Connections between laboratory practical training and training in designer's skills are discussed. Specific equipment of MIIGAiK optical and electro-optical laboratories are described.

UV embossing offers the possibility to provide a range of optical components for educational purposes at very low cost.

We describe simple experiments that allow students to observe, identify, understand and measure different noise sources always present in photodetection systems: amplifier noise, thermal resistance noise (Johnson noise), and photon noise (shot-noise). With a suitable low noise amplifier and a commercial photodiode, students can verify the dependence of photon noise versus light level. This photon shot-noise is directly related to the quantum << nature >> of light and it has long been considered as a fundamental limitation of the optical photodetection systems. It is sometimes mistakenly described as due to the detector itself. We show that it is possible, with fairly affordable laboratory teaching equipment, to measure a photocurrent with a noise power below the shot-noise level using a suitable light source. More precisely, using a photodiode and a high-quantum-efficiency light-emitting diode driven by a constant current source, we can observe a reduction of the photon noise power of about 0.8 dB below the shot-noise level.

Professor Bram van Heel (1899-1966) initiated applicable optical techniques in the Netherlands. His optical aligning methods helped to accelerate the rebuilding of his country after the second world war. He lowered the threshold to successful optical design by creating, together with his pupils, practical formulae and algorithms, which were dug out of the existing, but rather forbidding, theory of geometrical optics. The resulting optical calculation schemes enabled designers, equipped with electromechanical and/or the first small 'modern' computers to create optical systems that were used worldwide. He also helped to establish state of the art optical industry in the Netherlands. Many of his pupils were and are working in optics, mainly in the Netherlands and the U.S.A., but also in the Middle East and South East Asia. As a talented teacher he popularized optics in the technical world. Even students not majoring in physics attended his attractive lectures, spiced with experiments and witticisms. The prominent opticists of his time were his friends. Therefore it is not surprising that van Heel was among the founding fathers of the ICO, which was established during an optical conference in 1948 in Delft, and of the thentime European journal Optica Acta, which came into existence in 1954. In the following paragraphs we briefly give some details in van Heel's optical career, his research, its spin-off, and the impact of his teaching.

In times where traditional curricula are questioned and multidisciplinarity is encouraged, optics -- in its broadest sense -- is playing a very privileged role. In this paper we wish to illustrate this statement by analyzing how optics is infiltrating many related basic disciplines and many coming- of-age technologies, making it an exciting new field. By tempting to answer the questions: What is teaching? What is optics? What are called other disciplines? we show how we strive to meet the expectations of students, industry and research labs. We report on our experience of teaching optics to small classes of electrical engineers and applied physicists, allowing to provide them with skills and insights much broader than the purely technical ones.

A proposal for a multidisciplinary teaching approach, applied to optical technologies in some major fields related to electronic engineering degree is presented. The methodology involves broad overview of selected application oriented topics in several courses and laboratories.

Demonstrations of fiber optic transmission are described, using light emitting diodes, plastic fiber and a photodiode. Total reflection is visualized by a laser pointer and a Plexiglas bar. Rayleigh scattering can be seen from a plastic fiber. Bend loss and coupling loss can also be shown.

A multilevel skills approach has been developed to convey information on optical techniques to a wide range of health care staff whose basic technical and scientific education varies considerably. The typical problems encountered in the delivery and assessment of the information are considered in the context of an operational hospital with a range of optical and electro-optical equipment.

We describe a one-semester undergraduate course in optical engineering that has been taught at University of Central Florida since 1985 to junior and senior students of electrical engineering. The choice of topics emphasizes first-order system-engineering calculations, rather than the more traditional theoretical viewpoint often found in junior/senior-level optics courses. Representative topics include: paraxial raytracing, field of view and F/#, diffraction-limited resolution, Fresnel equations, radiometric/photometric units, paraxial flux transfer, blackbody radiation, detector responsivity and sensitivity, shot noise, Johnson noise, and laser-beam propagation. Homework problems emphasize estimation of magnitudes, as well as more exact numerical calculations. We have found this approach to be accessible to typical engineering undergraduates, and to be a good foundation for entry-level practitioners.

Having designed a kit of optics components with simple experiments for the Optical Society of America, there was a question: 'What, if anything, do you do for an encore?' This talk will look at several possibilities for introducing the public to science, in general, and optics, in particular.

On this communication I will report a pedagogical experience undertaken in the 1995 class of Image Processing of the course of Applied Physics of the University of Minho. The learning process requires always an active critical participation of the student in an experience essentially personal that should and must be rewarding and fulfilling. To us scientists virtually nothing gives us more pleasure and fulfillment than the research processes. Furthermore it is our main way to improve our, and I stress our, knowledge. Thus I decided to center my undergraduate students' learning process of the basics of digital image processing on a simple applied research program. The proposed project was to develop a process of inspection to be introduced in a generic production line. Measured should be the transversal distance between an object and the extremity of a conveyor belt where it is transported. The measurement method was proposed to be optical triangulation combined with shadow analysis. To the students was given almost entire liberty and responsibility. I limited my self to asses the development of the project orienting them and point out different or pertinent points of view only when strictly necessary.

In 1996 the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology opened a scholarship program aiming the improvement and enlargement of the use of experimentation on teaching science classes in non university schools. Inscribed on that program' spirit I proposed two different projects on the theme of elementary optics teaching. In both, approved, projects I count with the active cooperation of two groups of physics (and chemistry) teachers and the respective schools (grades from fifth to twelfth). Both projects had the same object and goals. However they correspond to different ways of meeting the objectives. The first project named 'Light, Color and Vision' is located on a small village' school with a large percentage of students coming from rural areas. The actions take place mostly in the eighth grade classes of physics and chemistry, during class time and were included on teacher's class programmation. On the other hand the project 'The Fascination of Light' takes place on a town's large high school. The experimental work sessions occur after school time and are not mandatory. A group of voluntary science students (with no age or grade limitation) was accepted to attend all sessions. However the sessions are always open to all school' students at any time. In the overall over 400 students are involved.

The basic elements of a fairly complete optomechanical kit based on the use of LEGO^TM is presented. Through a careful exploitation of the many standard LEGO elements, and adding a few new simple components made of plexiglass, we demonstrate that almost all of the mechanical parts of an optical setup can be built with little effort and at an extremely reduced cost. Several systems and experiments are presented, mainly in the fields of optical filtering and interferometry, to show that the proposed mountings are perfectly suitable for didactic purposes, and can often be employed even in more demanding scientific applications.

The object of this study was to find the connection of photonic training in the Netherlands between the participating schools and the trade and industry. The Dutch Society of Optics did an enquiry into the quality of photonic education at the MBO/HBO level during the period of November 1996 to July 1997. The research was about the connection of the schools which educate photonics and the trade and industry. The main target of the research is to have a better understanding of the quality of the connection. Both from a students and/or graduate point of view as well as from a trainee mentors one. This research was strongly supported by the schools in the Netherlands who teach this kind of education. The way of research was by poll, which is held under a population of students and graduated people which at least had been in contact with the trade and industry in the area of photonics and their mentors.

The training program that has been developed for operators, engineers and technicians in the factory and development department of Philips Optoelectronics is described. Optoelectronics is a supplier of optoelectronic devices like semiconductor lasers, photodetectors and optical amplifiers for digital telecom, CATV and multimedia applications. The program is based on small dedicated modules with a clear learning objective and all modules finish with a test. Different levels of training exist depending on the target group and required knowledge and skills. Most modules are made towards skills and daily practice. Optoelectronic device- and technology concepts are taught by experienced scientists form Philips Research and Development Departments.

To satisfy the growing skilled manpower demands of the modern optoelectronics industry, Strathclyde University in collaboration with OptoSci Ltd have developed a range of optoelectronic laboratory experiments to provide the hands on practical training required by engineers and scientists who will be involved in the design, installation and operation of optoelectronic systems. The hardware and experimental procedures developed so far enable students and trainees to investigate the basic principles, characteristics and design of optical waveguides, optical communications systems, fault location techniques for optical networks and optical amplifiers. The experiments have been designed with the constraints of academic teaching budgets firmly in mind but still enable the investigation of real technical issues such as mode spectrum analysis in optical waveguides and optical pulse dispersion/bit rate limits in fiber communications systems. The design philosophies, hardware and experiments are examined in this paper.

This paper describes the development of numerical simulation models of an Er-doped waveguide laser and a mode-locked fiber soliton laser. The Er-doped waveguide laser model is a simple and straight-forward but powerful dynamic model using time domain algorithm. It is based on (1) time dependent rate equations of a quasi-two-level-system for the population densities and (2) time-dependent traveling wave equations for the pump and signal power which are solved simultaneously in time-domain. The dynamic responses of population densities, pump and signal power are investigated. The model is used to study more sophisticated structure with cross-coupling from optical feedback of an etched grating. Another simulation model is developed to investigate the generation of sub- picosecond solitons in an active mode-locked fiber ring laser which consists of a polarization preserving Er-doped single mode fiber, an amplitude modulator and a phase modulator and has taken into account of dispersive spreading, self-phase modulation, finite amplification bandwidth, pump depletion, and Raman self-frequency shift. A newly developed numerical technique, Fourier series analysis technique, is used to solve the non-liner Schrodinger equation of soliton propagation. Time trace of the soliton pulse propagation and its spectrum can be obtained under a wide range of operation conditions.

Coupled waves are used in many fields of modern optics: volume holograms, Bragg reflectors, acousto-optic modulators, waveguide couplers, distributed feedback lasers, polarization effects in optical fibers and liquid crystals, non-linear optics, parametric amplifiers and oscillators, four-wave mixing, etc. First, the general concept of coupled waves is introduced for any kind of perturbation (spatial and temporal) of the dielectric polarization within an optical medium. The result is a general form of coupled wave solutions. Second, the particular topics mentioned above are treated by introducing the special conditions for the basic modes to be considered (plane waves, guided waves, optical polarizations) and the physical effects relating the induced perturbation of the dielectric polarization to the electrical field (spatial and temporal variation of refractive index, absorption or birefringence, non-linear optical effects, etc.). This approach puts the emphasis on teaching concepts rather than presenting particular effects. The fundamental role of phase- matching (Bragg) and the similarities of the solutions for different physical effects emerge clearly.

The van Cittert-Zernike theorem allows interpreting the coherence distribution of an electromagnetic field from simple interferential experiments, like Young experiments. The visibility of the interferential fringes is equal to the modulus of the complex degree of coherence of the optical field. In the experiments commented in this communication, an electrical bulb linear carbon filament and the focal line of a cylindrical lens illuminated by a collimated expanded He-Ne red laser light, were both assumed to be filamentary light sources in order to observe Young interferential fringes with each of them. The electric lamp is a polychromatic light source, while the laser is a monochromatic one. When a filamentary light source is parallel to the Young slits, the interferential fringes are well defined and highly contrasted. If the source is rotated in a plane parallel to that of the slits, the visibility of the interferential fringes monotonically decreases and reaches zero in case of perpendicularity. Interferential fringes were photographically recorded and the color slides were electronically scanned and processed.

The results of very simple experiments to evaluate Lord Rayleigh Resolution Criterion validity are discussed in cases of quasimonochromatic sources of small angular dimensions (LEDs) and monochromatic sources (lasers), the emissions of which have different or equal spectral compositions. Visual observations as well as color photographs and color video recording were utilized in the experiments. The validity of the resolution criterion was confirmed when the diffraction patterns were produced using LEDs and lasers of the same color (red or green). However, when LEDs and lasers of different color were used, better resolutions than those of Rayleigh Criterion were obtained owing to the non-spectral yellow false color resulting from the overlapping of the red and green spectral colors. Therefore, the observation of the non- spectral false color implies the super-resolution process.

It is shown that reproduction of sounds from old wax cylinders using various optical methods gives quite excellent materials in optics education. The laser-beam reflection method is explained by the geometrical optics, and is further discussed on the basis of the diffraction theory. Various techniques for improving the quality of reproduced sounds are introduced. Fiber optics is used for reproduction of sounds in a low pressure stylus contacting method. Applications of the laser- beam reflection method to other analogue recordings are introduced.

Premises of the course of electro-optical remote sensing systems (EORSS) creation are discussed. Structure and some particularities of the course are presented.

Traditionally two intercompletely training forms are used in Russian optical industry: a training at University and at the high technology optical plant laboratories. The curriculum adaptation for specific part-time conditions is made by associating of similar courses, intensivizing of the methodic preparation, using of the highest qualification faculty's lectors. Special attention is given to a master's skill development by the intensification of the practice part of each course of studies. Since 1961 about 2,300 diploma engineers in optical design graduated MIIGAiK Part-time Faculty. Among them are chiefs of the large scientific groups, the authors of the newest electro-optical devices, the lecturers and professors at the professional educating system.

Photonic technology definitely plays an important role in the worlds of informatics, telecommunications and instrumentation. Therefore, at the faculty of applied sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, we have established a new multidisciplinary engineering curriculum in Photonics, where besides theoretical courses, a lot of time is spent giving students a hands-on, in depth practical training. In this paper we focus on the different innovative aspects of our approach to train basic and practical photonic skills of EE students. The concept of the practical classes is special in the sense that they encompass the different theoretical courses, like 'Diffractive and Fourier Optics,' 'Physical properties of optical materials and artificial structures,' 'Optical telecommunication,' 'Displays,' and 'Computer aided design of optical and opto-mechanical systems.' Students acquire the methodology and the skills to work with modern, sophisticated instrumentation and experience team work. In a first phase, the integrated practical classes are concerned with teaching students how to make basic table-top set-ups with modular opto-mechanical elements, using visible lasers and opto-electronic devices. In addition, they learn how to use measuring and diagnostic equipment and how to interpret measurement results. The next step consists in dealing with mini-projects. Topics can be either academically or industrially oriented. Here we focus on 'How to report, communicate and disseminate results.' We strongly believe in combining the assimilation of fundamental concepts with the acquisition of practical skills in electronic and photonic instrumentation, design methods and experimental set-ups to form flexible and practically inspired photonic engineers.

Development of laser physics has resulted in the fact that the limits of this field have fallen far beyond the scope of conventional physical optics and quantum radiophysics. At present laser physics has virtually transformed into 'optical physics' -- the field of fundamental and applied physics, which employs specific laser and -- more widely -- optical approaches in experimental and theoretical investigations. In the present report we outline the concept of teaching in optical physics and discuss methodical problems of education of students at the Department of General Physics and Wave Processes of the Physics Faculty and International Laser Center of the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. The method of teaching in optical physics have resulted from the more than thirty years' experience of work of the Department staff on the training of contemporary highly skilled specialists.

The curriculum in Electrical Engineering at the University of Twente has been recently adjusted in order to increase the proficiency in optics of the graduates, providing a general background and preparing especially for integrated optics and optical communication techniques. This involves mainly three undergraduate courses during the second through fourth year of the five-year curriculum. Two of these courses involve intensive use of computer aids. In the first one, Electrodynamics, Maple worksheets are extensively used for diminishing the tedium of the mathematics and for visualizing (using animation) of traveling and standing wave patterns. In the last course, computer programs (a slab mode solver and an implementation of the beam propagation method) are used as design tools. We describe the aims, contents, and the relationship between the courses and some organizational issues. It is concluded that the courses meet our requirements: undergraduate students become productive quite fast in the field of integrated optics when they work in an internship or in their MSc-project. The background thus provided to our graduates seems to be well received in the relevant industry.

We have just redesigned the organization of courses in our Optical Engineering school. Mathematics was merged with signal to emphasize the more generally useful concepts derived from Fourier analysis, sampling and convolution. Computers are introduced as tools with a practical understanding of systems based on training on several programing languages.

A new Msc study course program on biomedical optics has been developed and adapted. The program consists of three main parts. (1) Fundamentals of tissue optics, (2) Optical sensing for diagnostics and monitoring, (3) Laser-tissue interaction and laser treatment. The full program and some comments on it are presented.

The explosive photonics industry in the United States and elsewhere signals a critical need for comprehensive programs in education for the preparation of photonics technicians, engineers, and scientists. This paper outlines curricular plans in photonics education which begin at the ninth grade in high school and end generally at the fourteenth grade with an associate of applied science degree. Beginning with comprehensive lists of appropriate tasks for photonics technicians -- as identified by photonics-related industries - - extrapolation is made to specific courses, sequences of courses, and on to comprehensive high school/ post-secondary curricula, with appropriate emphasis on the necessary basics in mathematics, science communications, and introductory technology courses. The identification of a photonics core for technician education is a major part of this paper. In addition, a strategy for the development of the photonics core courses in modular form -- with the desired pedagogical organization of a typical module -- is discussed.

The teaching of applied and instrumental optics at the University of Helsinki Department of Physics originally grew out of the needs of the research group of molecular physics as a basis for the experimental work in the group. The training program starts with a one-year course for senior undergraduates and graduates comprising geometrical optics, eikonal theory, image forming components, matrix methods, optical instruments, the optics of laser beams, radiometry and photometry, ray tracing methods, optics of anisotropic media, diffraction theory, general image formation theory and Fourier optics. The course starts from fundamentals, but the mathematical level is kept adequate for serious work. Further applications are treated in courses on molecular spectroscopy, where ruled and holographic diffraction gratings (both plane and spherical), interferometric spectroscopy and imaging properties of spectral equipment are treated. Aspects of image analysis, information in optics, signal-to-noise ratio, etc. are treated in separate courses on Fourier method and digital spectral analysis. The applicability of optical techniques to various fields of physics and engineering and the analogies with them are especially brought out. Experimental and calculational and skills are stressed throughout. Computer programming is introduced as an indispensable tool for the optics practitioner, and the students are required to write programs of their own. The students gain practical experience, e.g., by working in the molecular physics group. Close cooperation is maintained with other research groups in laser physics, ultrasonics and physical chemistry. The training in optics has proved very useful, with students frequently ending up working in the industry on optics and spectroscopy problems. Parts of these courses have also been given at other universities and to engineers and scientists working in the industry.

The principles of optical fiber communication and optical data storage have evolved over the past decade into industry standards for transmission, distribution, storage, and archival of digital audio, multimedia, and computer data. The fundamentals of these sophisticated systems are traditionally taught in the lecture hall, and laboratory exposure to the hardware is at the device rather than the system level. In our educational approach, after the student has been introduced to the device basics, the compact disc audio player is used as a tool to teach the fundamentals of optical communication and storage. The ubiquitous compact disc audio system, from analog input, through optical storage and distribution, to audio reproduction, provides an excellent model of a complete real world optical transmission and storage system. The laboratory time is divided into three segments: Introduction to Electro- Optic Devices, Optical Storage, and Optical Communication. During the introduction, students learn the basics of emitters, detectors, and optical fiber. The optical data storage and retrieval function of the compact disc player is investigated in the second segment. Students are introduced to optical information storage techniques, information density limits, the optical pick-up, laser diodes, photodiode arrays, eye patterns, and the tracking and focusing sub-systems. In the third segment, the compact disc system is used as a model of an entire optical communication system. Students are introduced to sampling and quantization, channel encoding techniques, modulation, high-speed transmitters and receivers, demodulation, decoding, error correction, digital signal processing, and digital-to-analog conversion.

In this paper some setups are described for demonstrating the basics of diffractive and/or Fourier optics. It is first shown that the eye in fact can be used as a Fourier transformer: this makes the setups extremely simple. When using one extra lens, a 4-f processor can be built, by which such properties as, e.g., filtering can be demonstrated.

Observations of wave-optics effects in sunlight are reported. In particular, conditions are described that allow for visual detection of diffraction phenomena from line edges. Typical fringe patterns are demonstrated, also showing color features that account for the wavelength dependence of the diffraction process. Hints to optimize the observation are given, outlining the aspects of simplicity and naturalness of the occurrence.

The use of Zernike polynomials, in their Cartesian form, as a basis for wave front fitting in shearography, has been enabled by an efficient representation in computer memory. This method is presented and applications of a portable computer program employing this method are discussed. The value of this program for educational purposes is indicated.

Last generation of digital printer is usually characterized by a spatial resolution enough high to allow the designer to realize a binary CGH directly on a transparent film avoiding photographic reduction techniques. These devices are able to produce slides or offset prints. Furthermore, services supplied by commercial printing company provide an inexpensive method to rapidly verify the validity of the design by means of a test-and-trial process. Notably, this low-cost approach appears to be suitable for a didactical environment. On the basis of these considerations, a set of software tools able to design CGH's has been developed. The guidelines inspiring the work have been the following ones: (1) ray-tracing approach, considering the object to be reproduced as source of spherical waves; (2) Optimization and speed-up of the algorithms used, in order to produce a portable code, runnable on several hardware platforms. In this paper calculation methods to obtain some fundamental geometric functions (points, lines, curves) are described. Furthermore, by the juxtaposition of these primitives functions it is possible to produce the holograms of more complex objects. Many examples of generated CGHs are presented.

Two optical experiments, optical sensitometry and spectrograph, are prepared for sophomores majoring in physics. The purpose of the first experiment is to examine the sensitivities and contrasts of photographic films. Students learn a correct development processing method for scientific photography through the experiment. The purpose of the second experiment is to take spectrograms of various light sources. Students obtain knowledge and experimental techniques for spectroscopy using a spectrograph with logarithmic slit. It is proposed to perform a preliminary experiment. Students will be familiar with experimental operation. Thus the actual experiment can be done more smoothly by the knowledge of the preliminary experiments. Moreover, students' interest in understanding the actual experiment has increased. In addition, taking pictures by a pin-hole camera has opened students' minds to the world of physics optics.