Immersion Day

Wednesday, January 8

Schedule

9:00– 12:00 Immersion Labs (Optical Sciences)

Spend the morning in small groups getting hands on experience in one of the many teaching and/or research labs at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences. Please sign up for one of the labs listed below.

12:00 – 5:00 Explore Tucson

Spend the afternoon “immersing” yourself in the beauty of Tucson! We have several options for you listed below, from guided tours and hikes to exploring downtown. There’s plenty to do and see on and off campus in the “Old Pueblo”.

6:00- 9:00 Workshop Welcome Reception & Student Poster Session (La Quinta)

Immersion Labs

#1 3D Displays (host: Pierre-Alexandre Blanche) Meinel 563

Come and learn about holography, make your own hologram in photopolymer (bring a shiny piece of jewelry), and see how computer-generated holograms diffract light from spatial light modulator.

#2 Interferometric Characterization of Optomechanical Oscillators

(host: Felipe Guzman) Meinel 106F

Learn about optomechanical oscillators and their use as precision sensors while utilizing optical heterodyne techniques to characterize their performance.

#3 3D design and rapid prototyping of optomechanical components (host: Lars Furenlid)

Location: meet in lobby

Students will work in Solidworks to design components for an adaptive pinhole aperture and print prototypes for testing on a Stratasys Connex 350. 2-3 students max.

#4 FPGA-based acquisition electronics for light sensors (host: Lars Furenlid)

Location: meet in lobby

Students will work with a post-doc on performance measurements of a novel acquisition electronics system that implements one- and two-bit sigma-delta modulation for waveform capture. 2-3 students max.

#5 Laser cooling of a nanomechanical resonator (host: Dal Wilson) Meinel 676

Radiation pressure can be used to cool vibrations of a macroscopic object to near absolute zero, forming the basis for the new field of Quantum Optomechanics. We will explore this technique using a Michelsen interferometer and a nanogram vibrating mirror.

#6 Magneto-optical trapping (host: Dal Wilson) Meinel 452

Magneto-optical trapping is the starting point for most experiments in cold atom physics, and was the basis for the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics. In this lab, we will walk through the steps of creating a ~100 microKelvin cloud of Rubidium atoms using a commercial “MOT.”

#7 Interferometry for micro lens metrology (host: Joel Berkson and Dae Wook Kim) Meinel 101

This lab will demonstrate the interferometry technology for micro aspheric lens metrology application. Note: delayed start time of 10:00

#8 Microlithography using a maskless alignment tool (host: Roland Himmelhuber) location: cleanroom

You will spin photoresist on silicon wafers and then expose the resist with a lithography tool. The pattern to be transferred onto the photoresist can be designed by yourself. We will briefly talk about pattern design using standard layout software and review the principles of photolithography. Samples can be taken home afterwards.

#9 Ultrafast Optics with Fiber Lasers (host: Jason Jones) Meinel 452

Participants will learn about the construction of an Er femtosecond pulse fiber laser and characterization of the ultrashort pulse trains. You will align and use an auto-correlation device to characterize femtosecond pulses.

#10 Build your own fiber laser (host: Jason Jones) Meinel 656

Learn basic fiber handling techniques (splicing, fusion splicing, etc..) and construct your own cw fiber laser.

#11 Laser Cooling and Optical Pumping (host: Poul Jessen) Meinel 5xx

Students will measure the temperature of laser cooled atoms as function of laser parameters and optimize the cooling process to maximize atom number and minimize temperature. They will explore optical pumping as a means to control the atomic spin state and use Stern-Gerlach analysis to observe the results.

#12 Laser Cooling and Dipole Force Trapping (host: Poul Jessen) Meinel 5xx

Students will optimize the loading and cooling of Cs atoms in a dipole force trap and measure temperature, density, lifetime, and oscillation frequency along the traps major axes. If time allows, polarization spectroscopy will be used to monitor atom number and spin in real time.

#13 Senior Teaching Lab: Optical Forensic (host: Hillary Mathis) Meinel 438

Use optical tools to evaluate a “crime scene”. We will use hands on methods to gather evidence and analyze the data through diffraction, spectroscopy, infrared and other devices. Learn how to use these tools to take data and apply them to real world lab environments.

#14 Senior Teaching Lab: Exploring Florescence (host: Euan McLeod) Meinel 438

Measure properties of fluorescent and phosphorescent materials, including fluorescence lifetime, quantum efficiency, and absorption and emission spectra. Measure the spectrum of luminescent chemical reactions. The luminescent materials include fluorescein, rhodamine, eosin, quinine, rocks & minerals, scorpions, glow-sticks, and glow-in-the-dark paint.

#15 Senior Teaching Lab: Acousto-Optic Devices (host: Euan McLeod) Meinel 438

In this lab we shall inspect and characterize the properties of an acousto-optic device. Acousto-optic devices can be used as either beam deflectors or modulators, and many diverse applications have been identified. We will study this use of an acousto-optic device as a beam deflector, as an AM modulator and as an FM modulator, transmitting audio and video signals over light.

Explore Tucson

#1 Sabino Canyon Tour (guide/host: Masud Mansuripur).

Bus departs at 12:30. Sack lunches provided to eat on the way. Explore beautiful Sabino Canyon. This is one of the “must see” areas of Tucson. Bring good shoes for this hike up through Sabino Canyon. Main group will hike approximately 2 hours round trip on a paved path. Optionally, for those who don’t wish to walk as far, you can opt to ride the new electric shuttles up to the top of the canyon path and walk down. Hiking paths available from easy to moderate.

#2 Campus Tour (guide/host: John Koshel)

Explore the many museums and other sites on campus.

#3 Hike in Tucson Mountain Park. (guide: Dal Wilson)

Tucson Mountain Park, just south of Saguaro National Park West, is a good spot for wildlife viewing. Go on a roughly 90 minute hike guided by Dal Wilson on Bowen Trail to Hidden Canyon Trail, behind the Starr Pass Marriott Resort. Transportation by carpool. Option for post-hike lunch/snack at the hotel. Note: This is a rocky trail in a dense grove of cactus. Sandals not advised.

#4 Drive up to the top of Mount Lemmon (guide: Poul Jessen)

Hop in a car for a ride up to the top of Mount Lemmon, the highest peak within the Santa Catalina Range. Driving through the Sonoran Desert at the bottom and into the pine forest at the top, you will pass through 4 distinct “life zones”, equivalent to driving from Mexico to Canada in only an hour. Download the University of Arizona App for a guided tour during the drive. Number of participants limited to carpool availability.

Explore on your own options:

“Things to do” overview for Tucson: https://www.visittucson.org/visit/things-to-do

Light rail to downtown– passes for the light rail connecting UA campus to downtown will be available. Ride downtown, jump on and off the light rail and see the sites and sounds in the heart of the Old Pueblo.

Flandrau Science Center -check out the exhibits and catch a show at the planetarium.